ComEasy, a new tool for the total station

Since ArcheOS 4 we added to the distro the open source software Total Open Station (in order to handle the process of downloading and converting raw data from our instruments) and I have to say that I still use the tool very often to turn Trimble .are file into .csv format, even if sometimes I experienced difficulties in connecting the hardware to my PC. For this reason I tried some alternatives and today I want to write about one of these software.
Its name is ComEasy and it is developed by Dr. Zoltàn Siki (aka zsiki) of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BUTE). To test the software I simply downloaded the source code from the repository, but I had to modify the file "maincom_easy.tcl" in order to make it work under a Debian derived distribution like ArcheOS 6 Hypathia (as you see in the image below).

The small modification of the source code

Once I changed the Tcl interpreter (from Prowish to Wish), the software worked perfectly and I tested it with a Spectra Precision Focus 10 instrument. Until now I never experienced connection problems, so I recorded I short videotutorial to illustrate how the software work and I plan to add it to ArcheOS Hypatia suite to work with total stations, (together with Total Open Station, of course).
Here below is the short videotutorial I did.

I hope it is useful. Have a nice day!

Webography

ArcheOS 4 Caesar: ATOR post 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 

ArcheOS 6 Hypathia: ATOR post 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 

ComEasy: GitHub repo; 

Total Open Station: official site; GitHub repo; ATOR post;

Bibliography

ArcheOS 4: "ArcheOS 4.0 - "Caesar": novità e aspetti della distribuzione GNU/Linux dedicata all'archeologia" (here in ResearchGate, here in Academia)

(Binary) packaging with Debreate

Working on the binary packages of ArcheOS 5 (Theodoric), I found a software that make easy (through a GUI) the entire process, especially the final (package building). With this software, Debreate, if you are able to compile form source code, than you will be able to build a deb binary package with just a few more steps. The whole workflow is guided an pretty easy, but to make things more simple a recorded the videtutorial you can see here below:

The important thing in packaging for ArcheOS is to respect the schema we decided in ArcheOS 4, that for software application is:

/bin (for executables file)
/usr/share/archeos/softwarename-version (for the software files)
/usr/share/icons/archeos/48x48/softwareicon.png (for the icon)

In the example (OpenJUMP) I recorded in the vidotutorial, the schema is the following:

/bin
/usr/share/archeos/openjump-1.8.0
/usr/share/icons/archeos/48x48/openjump.png

I hope this tutorila will be useful and that someone will join us in packaging for ArcheOS Theodoric.

Have a nice day!

Raw data to WKT: a polygon

Hi all,
this is the last (for a while) videotutorial of the mini-series regarding WKT code. This time we see how to draw a polygon. As usual, you'll find the video also on the DADP wiki. Here is the video, I hope you'll find it useful!

Raw data to WKT: a point

Hi all,

I go on in recording basic videotutorial about FLOSS in archeology. This time I show how to turn raw data (from the total station) into WKT, starting with the simplest shape (a point). 

Like always I will upload this material on the DADP wiki, udpdating the old tutorial (I am using a preview version of ArcheOS Theodoric).

Here is the video, I hope it will be useful!

Build packages for ArcheOS - Intro

One day it can happen, joining the #archeos IRC channel, to meet ORNis, alachis & C. and start learning how to build Debian package. That day I was in the channel to say hello and seeking help for some issue, and what happened to me after is logged in this wiki page.

It seems that I was in the right place at the right time, while the ArcheOS developers team was planning "the first ArcheOS Open Learning Day", and I was planning to help them in my unemployed time... :)

It seems that one of the "new year good intentions" was (is) to teach some volunteers to build Debian packages because Theodoric (ArcheOS 5.0 release) needs more developers and maintainers than the poor and only ORNis... :)

Building Debian packages can be very hard, so we decided to start the IRC tutorial with a less difficult software like Rectification, an abandoned module from e-foto  photogrammetry suit. At the moment the wiki page is just a log of that IRC meeting, but in the near future I want to complete the tutorial and build more packages.

So, invited by +Luca Bezzi, I agreed to write this post
* first of all, to thank +Romain Janvier;
* then to share my first experience with git-buildpackage;
* and finally to re-invite you to join the #archeos IRC channel, because good things happen.

Thanks,
Dome