I've created a new basemap branch https://matplotlib.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/matplotlib/trunk/toolkits/basemap-testing
with lots of under-the-hood optimizations and code refactoring. The most significant change is that I now use the GEOS library (http://geos.refractions.net) to determine whether a given coastline or political boundary feature is within the map projection region or not. If it is, the library clips it to the map region, and only the clipped features are processed. This results in big speedups (more than a factor of 10) for small map regions with high-resolution coastlines and boundaries. These changes were motivated by the oceanographers (Eric and Rob Hetland) who often deal with quite small domains. There are a couple of downsides: 1) an external dependency on the GEOS lib (which is LGPL). I've included a copy of the source in svn, but there's still an extra ./configure; make; make install required. Eric and I searched high and low for a lighter weight, well-tested, BSD licensed solution, without much luck. General, robust polygon clipping is trickier than I thought. 2) more code paths through Pyrex C-extension code, increasing the probability of segfaults and bus errors. All in all, I think the speed gains and increased code readability are worth it. However, before I make a new release I'd appreciate any feedback. Are there build issues? (esp. on Windows, which I've not tested) Does it feel faster? Is the dependence on an LGPL'ed lib a problem? -Jeff -- Jeffrey S. Whitaker Phone : (303)497-6313 Meteorologist FAX : (303)497-6449 NOAA/OAR/PSD R/PSD1 Email : [EMAIL PROTECTED] 325 Broadway Office : Skaggs Research Cntr 1D-124 Boulder, CO, USA 80303-3328 Web : http://tinyurl.com/5telg ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2005. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse0120000070mrt/direct/01/ _______________________________________________ Matplotlib-devel mailing list Matplotlib-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/matplotlib-devel
