Debugging in Python

 

Python Fundamentals

 

Python Environments and Flowcharts

This first assignment in GIS programming was designed to show us the Python environment, how to use it, and how to create flowcharts. Going into this class with no prior experience in programming, I feel much more at ease after completing this week's module. Below is a simple flowchart created to demonstrating the logical process of how the problem (degrees=radians*180/pi) can be solved.

Another requirement for this week was to read “The Zen of Python” by Tim Peters. This is a set of 19 "guiding principles" that can be found by typing import this into IDLE. I believe these guiding principles are a shared philosophy within the Python community to emphasize to the user the importance of simplicity, clarity, and readability when writing code in Python. The purpose is to set a standard that anyone and everyone can understand and use. Python is, after all, for anyone who wants to learn to code and not just for the coding experts. The line “Explicit is better than implicit” resonates with me most, as I value clear and concise instruction that is unambiguous, leaving little space for guessing at any underlining meaning.

 

Supervised Classification

 

Spatial Enhancement, Multispectral Data, and Band Indices

 
This week's lab focused on my neck of the woods in the Pacific Northwest.  It was fun getting to learn about different spectral combinations to identify features in a region that I am very well acquainted with.

The focus this week was to learn how to use different processes to identify features in an image. Some of these processes included the use of histograms, image enhancement methods, and the use of spectral characteristics.

Introduction to ERDAS and Digital Data

This weeks lab had us focusing on using ERDAS Imagine. This was my first time using this software so, this lab was a little slow going at first. Especially since the lab instructions were clearly created using an older version of the software which resulted in a lot of "hunt and peck" on my end. However, once I got used to it, it became more intuitive. 

I appreciated the second half of the lab because it was focused on showing the functionality and utilization of tools in ERDAS. There are quite a few similarities to ArcGIS but overall, ERDAS is a little more user friendly.
 

Land Use Land Cover and Ground Truthing