[gradsusr] * * * New Release GrADS Version 2.0.0 * * *

[Jennifer Adams]

Brian and I are pleased to announce a new release of GrADS, version  
2.0.0. We have worked very hard to make this version as stable as  
possible, and are therefore taking it out of alpha status, skipping  
over beta altogether, and calling it 'operational'. There is a very  
long list of new features, bug fixes and miscellaneous additions, the  
full text from the ChangeLog is below, please read it carefully.

Highlights of this release, other than its stability, are a new shaded  
contouring algorithm (which allows for "transparent" colors), support  
for polygon shapefiles and KML files, and some fixes and improvements  
to the streamlines, including controls for spacing, style, and size of  
the arrows. There are also new versions of some of the supplibs,  
enabling the handling of GRIB2 product definition template 4.15, and  
optimizing the netcdf5/hdf5 interface.

The GrADS downloads web page (http://iges.org/grads/downloads.html)  
has been updated with links to the source code and a few pre-compiled  
binaries. Binaries for additional operating systems will be posted as  
they become available.

Please report any problems or questions to this forum. Enjoy!

--
Jennifer M. Adams
IGES/COLA
4041 Powder Mill Road, Suite 302
Calverton, MD 20705
jma at cola.iges.org


2011-09-29  Version 2.0.0
     Features:
     * New shaded contouring algorithm: "set gxout shade2"
       Polygons are closed, have no holes, do not overlap, and are as  
large and few in number as is feasible
       Use of -1 for a color # will suppress drawing of the shaded  
contour, making it effectively transparent
     * Legacy shaded contouring routine: "set gxout shade1"
     * "set gxout shaded" is now an alias for legacy shaded contouring  
routine
     * Support for creating polygon shapefiles with new option "-poly"  
to "set shp" command
     * Support for creating polygon KML files with new option "-poly"  
to "set kml" command
     * 1D loglog plots with new command "set log1d"
     * New environment variable GASHP, contains 1 or more directories  
that may contain shapefiles.
       GASHP delimiters are space, semicolon, comma, or colon.  
Algorithm is:
         1. Tries to open filename as provided by user	
         2. Parses GASHP and prepends each dir to filename
         3. Prepends GADDIR directory (only one dir) to filename
     * New command "set strmopts" to control streamline density plus  
arrowhead spacing, size, and type.
       Support for negative streamline density values (between -10 and  
-1) for high-res grids.

     Misc:
     * Mixed case ensemble names are now allowed
     * Changes to improve masked contour labeling; also now works with  
"set vpage"
     * Support for grib1 time range indicator 7, which subtracts the  
forecast time
       from the basetime to get the valid time
     * Loosened restrictions in gribmap for mapping monthly data
     * Previously undocumented command: "screen"
     * Added "query calendar" command to discover calendar mode  
(unset, 365-day, or standard)
     * Added ":" to list of delimiters for multiple dirs in GASCRP  
environment variable (now same as GASHP)
     * Added "NULL" as an option for scale factor attribute name in  
the UNPACK descriptor file entry
       when add offset occurs alone
     * Updated wgrib.c to version 1.8.1.2a
     * Updated grib2scan to show start/ending times for averages, and  
valid times for instantaneous fields
     * Handles GRIB2 Product Definition Template 4.15
     * Added aliases 'line' for 'ln' and 'point' for 'pt' in 'set shp'  
and 'set kml' commands
     * Added alias 'image' for 'img' in 'set kml' command

     Bugs:
     * Fixed errors when retrieving data from a very large defined  
object that has more than 2Gb elements.
     * Patched memory leak when reading NetCDF attributes with lengths  
larger than 128
     * Patched memory leaks in cdiff(), gr2stn(), and coll2gr()  
functions and collect() command
     * Cannot have a leap and no-leap file open at the same time
     * Calendar mode cleared with "reinit" only
     * Fixed big/little endian error when reading 2-byte binary data
     * Fixed bug where 2-point contour segments are not drawn in upper  
right corner of grid
     * Fixed contouring bug for very high res grids with vertices too  
close together to resolve graphically
     * Fixed contouring bug for small grids that left a gap in contour  
line
     * Added check for strictly increasing contour levels
     * Fixed streamlines in areas where grid boxes are not square  
(e.g. near the poles)
     * Disabled erroneous vector/barb drawing in some projections  
(mollweide, orthographic, and robinson)
     * Fixed erroneous results from 'q xy2gr' for some projections  
(returns -999.9 instead of garbage)

     Supplib Updates:
     * Linked with jasper-1.900.1, g2clib 1.2.2, hdf5-1.8.7,  
netcdf-4.1.3, zlib-1.2.5


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