Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist

* Package name    : gpsmaster
  Version         : 0.62.97
  Upstream Author : Rainer Fügenstein <rfu@oudeis.org>
* URL             : http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/GpsMaster
* License         : GPL
  Programming Lang: Java
  Description     : application to create, view, edit and analyse GPX files

The program is focused toward the analysis of recorded tracks, but also
offers features for planning outdoor activities such as backpacking, hiking,
and biking.

I consider this package as worth adding to Debian repository, because no other
software available currently in Debian allows merging segments.
For last year I used the this piece of software, as I was limited only
to the Windows based laptop. Now I'm back on Debian and first I've checked
existing packages for required functionality. Because I didn't found any,
I fetched the GPS Master which I am quite happy to uise on regular basis.

Best regards

Hi Artur,

How does gpsmaster compare to gpsprune and qmapshack? It seems to
overlap with their functionality, and both are already available in Debian.

The gpsmaster project doesn't seem to use a bugtracker nor version
control, so I'm doubting the maturity of this project.

Would you be willing to help co-maintain the gpsmaster package in Debian
since the Debian GIS team is low on manpower?

Kind Regards,

Bas

Hi Sebastian,
Maybe little background. The GPS device I own occasionally resets
itself. So, instead of having one segment track from the trip I have few
segment. The list of requirements I have from the software is:
 - remove some points from the track: close the home to protect my location
   when I publish the path and the gps drift from places when I stopped for
   a break without turning off the device
 - merge segments into one track
 - provide me the background map to remind me where I have been

As I've got back to Linux based workstation, first I've tried available
software, including the gpsprune. At first glance I cannot find required
functionality. Now I am digging through the documentation - maybe I would
be able to achieve what I want.

I've just run qmapshack. Again, at first glance I was unable to find what
I want. After some digging I've found what I need, but the interface is far
for comfortable to use.

If I would have a choice only from gpsprune and qmapshack I would try to
learn how to merge the segments in gpsmaster (stil keep trying), as the
points' removal is quite easy. The qmapshack makes from such basic operations
elaborate procedure requiring clicking through the few windows every time.

Contrary to the above, the gpsmaster is straightforward and intuitive to use.
It doesn't require any additional configuration. Run the ѕoftware, open the
track, the software fetcheѕ the map of the region. After one guess to click
one button visible on the toolbar to enable a side toolbar, the new options
are available. As a bonus, there are quite nice trip stats visible.
There is a presence of .svn directory in the sources. So it is a high
chance the developer uses private subversion repository. I agree, lack
of bugtracker could be a drawback.
Well, I used to have a Debian Maintainer status with a few packages under
my care. For last year I was unable to maintain them properly and all of them
are reported as RFA. Situation changed in a good way recently so I am going
to have a closer relation with Debian again. If the Debian GIS team is not
against the new package I will contact you again as soon as I will be ready
for a new commitment.

Best regards
    Artur

Hi Artur,

The Debian GIS team is not against the new package, there is simply not
a lot of manpower in the team to maintain all our existing packages. You
clearly have an interest in the gpsmaster package, so I invite you to
help co-maintain it within the team. There are only a handful of people
somewhat active in the team, and not munch Java expertise, but for that
latter the debian-java list is a good option.

Please refer to the Debian GIS Policy for the team specific documentation:

https://pkg-grass.alioth.debian.org/policy/index.html#introduction

Kind Regards,

Bas

Sebastiaan,
Sounds fair. I will contact you soon, then.

Regards
    Artur

Hi Artur,

Beware that packaging gpsmaster won't be trivial, some of its
dependencies are not packaged in Debian yet, and it requires and older
version of metadata-extractor which will require patches to work with
the newer version in Debian. You may be better off just using the
upstream jar which bundles the dependencies.

Kind Regards,

Bas

To run the program, after downloading, do

$ java -jar GpsMaster_*.jar
(But this did not seem to work. So maybe do something else)

Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: javax/xml/bind/JAXBException

I just downloaded gposmaster 0.64.02 and the jar runs fine on current debian stable:
java -jar GpsMaster_0.64.02.jar

It does look like a nice package and I agree it has a nicer interface that either GPSprune or qmapshack.

I will use it a bit more to see if it really provides enough advantage over the other tools available.

It is quite easy to use unpackaged, but as no-one else has got far
with this in the last 8 years, I might give it a packaging go sometime
if the UI advantages and packaging effort align.

Wookey