[Octave-patch-tracker] [patch #8377] Added new 3D Coordinate system conversion functions for Geodesy in Mapping toolbox

[Philip Nienhuis]

Follow-up Comment #11, patch #8377 (project octave):

@Felipe:
Core Octave is GPL, Octave-Forge requires "compatible" licenses.
Reading up here: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/license-list.html
I conclude that the "original BSD license" (which is what Matlab Central
requires I think) is incompatible with GPL. 
The "3-way" aka "modified" BSD license seems to be compatible, but AFAIK that
is not the license accepted on Matlab Central.
Please read up yourself.

> But I have to ask: is it necessary to fork the code and make it
> Matlab-incompatible?  The version that I maintain is cross-compatible,
rather
> than compatible with Octave only.
> 
> For example, myassert exists because each of Matlab's and Octave's assert.m
> are incompatible.

You mean, you want to keep the toolbox on Matlab Central and the functions in
the mapping package in sync?
That would be one good reason not to fork them, as long as you want to
maintain the geodesy functions. 
The OF tsa toolbox has a similar setup. So if you want to follow that line I'm
fine with it.

But then I do not follow what work was done by Sandeep etc. to port the
functions to Octave.

BTW please note that I'm not mapping package maintainer, I know too little
about projections, geodesy, etc. I just have an interest to make a release
because there has been a lot of progress in this package that currently is
only in the repo.
Maybe later I might pick up pkg maintenance but not soon.


A point to consider is that none of the geodesy function seem to have any
usable user documentation; i.e., if I type...
"help aer2ecef"
...I only get "Origin of the system in geocentric coordinates", but no info on
the input and output parameters and the values they accept and return.
So some action is required to document all functions.

AFAIK Octave accepts Matlab's help syntax (function call at top line, followed
by the actual help text). Looking at the tsa package that help stuff also
makes it to the on-line documentation on the Octave-Forge web site for each
package.


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