Messages from Usenet group comp.lang.idl-pvwave, compiled by Paulo Penteado
I found the same problem -- Vancouver Island, for example, did not appear on a map of North America while some others did. I sent a message to RSI, which led to a short chain before I gave up. Here is a precis: RSI: You must specify the coasts keyword with map_continents for islands. I agre that this is a bit confusing, but the coasts database contains all data for coastlines, islands, and lakes. Me: This is asinine! Not only is this behavior unexpected and undocumented, it differs from previous versions of the program and from the behavior of the MAP_SET command without the HIRES keyword in this version. RSI: I agree that this is slightly different than in 4.0. In fact, I originally logged the problem as a bug when I first tried this. However, the documentation for the continents keyword to map_set states "set this keyword to plot the continental boundaries." The coasts keyword to map_continents states "set this keyword to draw coastlines, islands, and lakes instead of the default continental oiutlines." I will suggest to development that this be clarified in the map_set routine. It should be stated somewhere that if the low-res database is used islands and so on are drawn, but not in the high-res database. Thanks. Obviously there is a difference of opinion here, and lack of consistency is not a problem for RSI! It should be noted that only SOME islands are left out -- Long Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland seemed to be there, as well as Cuba and SOME but not all of the Carribean islands. I thought it might be a question of size, but Vancouver Island is much larger than the Carribean islands that do show up.
In article <JSABA.95Jul18160455@magus.gsfc.nasa.gov> jsaba@magus.gsfc.nasa.gov (Jack Saba) writes: > From: jsaba@magus.gsfc.nasa.gov (Jack Saba) > Subject: Re: Errors in continental outlines > Date: 18 Jul 1995 20:04:55 GMT If RSI ever does get around to rationalizing the hi-res maps, I hope they do something with the Great lakes. We do radar experiments between Boston and northern Ontario, and it's useful to have the Great lakes on maps as a reference. However, using /Coasts with /Hires gives nice Great lakes, but also draws every lake in Ontario. Sort of painful. It would be nice if one could specify Coasts=1,2 or 3, to get large features (Great lakes, Vancouver Island), medium and large, or features of all scales. Brian Jackel University of Western Ontario
There is also an additional problem in that the coasts dataset does not fill in the /fill_continents routine. This is a major problem if you are trying to produce maps where the land is masked out. I would say that your first gut instinct was right. It _IS_ a bug, and a fairly major one at that! If it was meant to happen this way, then why do some of the smaller islands in the Faroes or Orkneys appear, but the major ones are missed out??!!! Joel -- Joel Smith Satellite Observing Systems Godalming, Uk Tel: +44 (0)1483 421213 Fax: +44 (0)1483 428691