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

[Dave Allured]

I made a quick test of the new binary version for Mac OS.  It ran 
fine on Mac OS 10.6.8, and it ran my grungy old plot script without 
a hitch.

The new environment variable GASHP works great with multiple 
directories.  This allows me to untangle my shape file data sets 
from the setup for normal Grads data files via $GADDIR.  Much 
appreciated.

Thanks Jennifer and Brian!

--Dave A.
NOAA/PSD/CIRES

On 9/29/2011 8:34 AM, Jennifer Adams wrote:
> 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 <mailto: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