owf-app-geoprocessor-python-doc-user

This repository contains the Open Water Foundation (OWF) GeoProcessor software user documentation. The documentation is written for the layperson in order to encourage use of the OWF GeoProcessor. See the following resources:

• Published GeoProcessor User Documentation.
• Published GeoProcessor Developer Documentation.
• GeoProcessor download page.

GeoProcessor Software

The OWF GeoProcessor software is a Python application and supporting modules that runs QGIS Python modules and other code to process spatial data. The OWF GeoProcessor is under development and is being tested internally at OWF on multiple projects. The OWF GeoProcessor is designed to provide the following functionality:

1. Command-based workflow language similar to TSTool Software, but focusing on processing spatial data layers.
2. General commands similar to TSTool, such as file manipulation, logic controls such as For and If commands, and support for processor properties to allow dynamic scripting.
3. Spatial data processing commands for basic operations such as clipping, joining, format conversion, and coordinate system conversion.
   1. Leverage QGIS functionality.
   2. Commands beyond what QGIS provides.
4. Commands to automate creation of map configuration files, which allow developing web applications that use the maps.
5. Built-in testing framework, which is used to run functional tests, suitable for software developers and also non-programmers who want to validate processing workflows.
6. Multiple run modes including batch, command shell interpreter, user interface, HTTP server.
7. Integration with other tools such as TSTool, R, GDAL, and ORG, to leverage the strengths of those tools.

The goal is to allow software users to install QGIS, install the OWF GeoProcessor software, and begin automating simple to complex geoprocessing tasks. The approach also facilitates maintaining geoprocessing workflow in text files that can be maintained under version control, such as on GitHub.

Repository Contents

The repository contains the following:

.github/              Files specific to GitHub such as issue template.
.gitattributes        Typical Git configuration file for repository attributes.
.gitignore            Typical Git configuration file for ignored file list.
README.md             This file.
build-util/           Useful scripts to view, build, and deploy documentation.
mkdocs-project/       Typical MkDocs project for this documentation.
  mkdocs.yml          MkDocs configuration file for website.
  docs/               Folder containing source Markdown and other files for website.
  site/               Folder created by MkDocs containing the static website - ignored using .gitignore.

Development Environment

The development environment for contributing to this project requires installation of Python, MkDocs, and Material MkDocs theme. Python 3 is used for development. See the OWF / Learn MkDocs documentation for information about installing these tools.

The development environment will change as the developers upgrade to newer versions of software tools.

Editing and Viewing Content

If the development environment is properly configured, edit and view content as follows:

1. Edit content in the mkdocs-project/docs folder and update mkdocs-project/mkdocs.yml as appropriate.
2. Run the build-util/run-mkdocs-serve-8000.sh script (Linux) or equivalent.
3. View content in a web browser using URL http://localhost:8000.

Style Guide

The following are general style guide recommendations for this documentation, with the goal of keeping formatting simple in favor of focusing on useful content:

• Use the Material MkDocs theme - it looks nice, provides good navigation features, and enables search.
• Follow MkDocs Markdown standards - use extensions beyond basic Markdown when useful.
• Show files and program names as code (tick-surrounded) formatting.
• Where a source file can be linked to in GitHub, provide a link so that the most current file can be viewed.
• Use triple-tick formatting for code blocks, with language specifier.
• Use bold italics when referencing UI components such as menus.
• Use slashes to indicate Menu / SubMenu.
• Place images in a folder named images.
• Minimize the use of inlined HTML, but use it where Markdown formatting is limited.
• Although the Material them provides site and page navigation sidebars, provide in-line table of contents on pages, where appropriate, to facilitate review of page content.

License

Copyright by the Open Water Foundation (2017-2020). The documentation is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The GeoProcessor software is licensed using the GPL v3 (or later) license. See the GeoProcessor software repository for more information.

Contributing

Contribute to the documentation as follows:

1. Use GitHub repository issues to report minor issues.
2. Use GitHub pull requests.

Maintainers

This repository is maintained by the Open Water Foundation.

Release Notes

See the GeoProcessor software release notes for appropriate software version.