OpenCPN

[cagney]

Originally Posted by bdbcat

All...

Cagney: What happens with gpsd with no GPS attached? Massive CPU load? This sounds suspicious.

Dave

No big deal. It is not a massive cpu load. "top" reporting 50 - 80%CPU means that opencpn used 50-80% of totally used cpu time, but as this was fairly low, a load average of ~1.5, this does not mean anything, I'm actually writing this as the problem is recreated. If the load was up to, say 8 -10 or above the computer would appear "hung", but that is not the case.
This is how man "top" puts it:

%CPU -- CPU usage
The task's share of the elapsed CPU time since the last screen update, expressed as a percentage of total CPU time.

Sorry for not being clearer about this.

Thomas

[chris blair]

Extemp, Glad to help. I created the new thread under Navigation. I'll add the overview of my computer in a few minutes.

Regards,
Chris

[oddysea]

Hi Dave

On opening openCPN the cursor and ownship bar at the bottom is grey with tiny font. I opened the toolbox and unchecked the show status bar, then OK no change, then back into toolbox checked show status bar, then Ok - openCPN then shows a readable font and "white" background. This works until you zoom in or out, it then returns to grey with tiny font!

Am i doing something wrong?

Thanks again

Mike

[manimaul]

Mike,

Do you have more information? What version of opencpn, what operating system are you using, etc? Perhaps even a screenshot of the problem might help.

edit: ok, is see the problem too in windows on the beta 1.3.3 825 where when you select "show status bar", the screen does not update properly unless the opencpn window loses focus ie alt-tab or minimize-maximize.

problem does not exist in latest cvs on linux

As for the small font, the font scales with the window size. This might be a limitation of having a small screen or small window size.




Will

[cagney]

Originally Posted by manimaul

Thomas,

What configure flags are you using? The reason I ask is 2 fold.

1. I imagine you are passing a -debug switch to the compiler for ddd somehow.

2. I noticed panning is slower in Linux on vector charts. This might have something to do with the way I'm compiling or just graphics driver difference. There is something about BUILD_WITH_GTK_OPTIMIZATION in the Makefile but not in ./configure --help

I've just been using ./configure --prefix=/usr

Any thoughts?

I haven't used any flags, but your post made me check around a bit.
In the Makefile with no arguments to configure, you have

CFLAGS = -g -O2

meaning debug is on by default + optimization level 2.
For the heck of it, I just compiled the latest CVS with
CFLAGS = -O3 , no debugging + better optimization.
This area is probably worth digging into a wee bit.

Way back in this thread David explained about ddd.
Start like this "ddd opencpn" , then "Program -->>Run" from ddd:s menu bar - no arguments.

Dave -- what compilation flags do you use for the official releases??

Thomas

[oddysea]

Hi Will

Using latest Beta on XP

Mike

[jerrymc]

Originally Posted by oddysea

Hi Dave

On opening openCPN the cursor and ownship bar at the bottom is grey with tiny font. I opened the toolbox and unchecked the show status bar, then OK no change, then back into toolbox checked show status bar, then Ok - openCPN then shows a readable font and "white" background. This works until you zoom in or out, it then returns to grey with tiny font!

Am i doing something wrong?

Thanks again

Mike

I'm running 1.3.2 on XP and cannot reproduce this..once I change the status bar to "white", it stays that way when i zoon in/out. But THANKS for relating this, as the dk grey status bar made it difficult to see when underway in bright sunlight..much better now.

Jerry

[manimaul]

Originally Posted by cagney

CFLAGS = -O3 , no debugging + better ptimization.
This area is probably worth digging into a wee bit.

hmm, I think this is related to my graphics card, as panning is smooth with a smaller window. graphics chip is just a cheap gma945 on this laptop

i tested a side by side comparison of

./configure --prefix=/opt

and

CFLAGS="-02 -march=native" ./configure --prefix=/usr

there does seem to be a small difference with -d being not set... -O2 by itself is probably the best way to go on the release. maybe I'm majoring in the minors here like a gentoo fan

[sinbad7]

Dave...

Add to wish list for future versions:
Possibility to copy text in AIS Query Box. At the moment impossible to copy ship info.
i.e. make the text copyable. When only MMSI number is shown it would be handy to be able to just copy the number for later lookup in ship registers.

[oddysea]

Gone back to 1.3.2 - stays grey with large font..no problems there..maybe a glitch with the latest beta release?

Mike

[cagney]

manimaul

I don't know if you saw this...?
Worth considering on a dedicated on-board computer.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...&postcount=328

Thomas

[chris blair]

Dave,

I've been running the latest beta all afternoon on my fairly simple dedicated boat nav computer. Loaded east coat RNC and ENC charts with no problem and everything is working fine. Nobody knows less than I do on here. Maybe it is something with your system.

Regards,
Chris
SV Toucan Dream(42 Manta Sailcat)

[raisin56]

New beta causes the same tiny unreadable font on gray background on my HP laptop with XP. I can also reproduce the temporary change by toggling the "show status bar" off and back on. Dan

[bdbcat]

All....

Build 825 scales the font size in the status bar so that all the required text can be shown in each box. This makes the status bar messages barely readable on smaller sized ( fewer pixels) screens.

I'll tweak it slightly for the next Beta.

But the fundamental problem is that we are trying to squeeze too much into the status bar.

I'll take votes and opinions on which, if any, status bar fields could be dropped immediately for Release 1.3.4.

The longer term solution of course involves the dreaded "Console", which I resist for the following reason: On the bridge of my pilothouse trawler, the GPS SOG and COG are repeated in 4 other places. Depth, wind, HDG, etc. all have visible indicators. I prefer having the full computer screen available for charts.

Of course, the console could be selectable in size, data, and position, just like the other commercial ENC systems. It's nothing but but a bunch of design, code, and test effort. But we are not trying to clone the commercial systems. They do what they do just fine.

So, a fully featured integrated console is currently at a very low priority on my list. It could be part of Major release 2.0 due next spring.

Or, a separate app could be designed, built, and tested. There is currently a Frontend application for windows that looks good to me, and is compatible with openpcn. Windows only, unfortunately....


Thanks for listening
Comments appreciated.
Dave

[chris blair]

Originally Posted by bdbcat

All....

Build 825 scales the font size in the status bar so that all the required text can be shown in each box. This makes the status bar messages barely readable on smaller sized ( fewer pixels) screens.

I'll tweak it slightly for the next Beta.

But the fundamental problem is that we are trying to squeeze too much into the status bar.

I'll take votes and opinions on which, if any, status bar fields could be dropped immediately for Release 1.3.4.

The longer term solution of course involves the dreaded "Console", which I resist for the following reason: On the bridge of my pilothouse trawler, the GPS SOG and COG are repeated in 4 other places. Depth, wind, HDG, etc. all have visible indicators. I prefer having the full computer screen available for charts.

Of course, the console could be selectable in size, data, and position, just like the other commercial ENC systems. It's nothing but but a bunch of design, code, and test effort. But we are not trying to clone the commercial systems. They do what they do just fine.

So, a fully featured integrated console is currently at a very low priority on my list. It could be part of Major release 2.0 due next spring.

Or, a separate app could be designed, built, and tested. There is currently a Frontend application for windows that looks good to me, and is compatible with openpcn. Windows only, unfortunately....


Thanks for listening
Comments appreciated.
Dave

Dave,

This is from a user only perspective. I sail extensively 9 months per year but I know absolutely nothing about programming. I just tried your software and am thrilled with its performance. Thanks so much!! I like it so much I'll be testing it for several months as we sail the east coast waiting for storm season to pass. After that we head south to the Keys and then Bahamas.

I am assuming the status bar is at the very bottom. I can do without the zoom level and the chart scale. You could always make this a button that displays that info. But it is rarely needed for navigation. If you want to have zoom level you could always put it inside one of the zoom buttons. The current position of the boat and the position/range of the curser are invaluable for navigation. Also it would be superb if you could add a button that will locate the boat. Lastly, the section at the top bar that includes the chart title and location could easily be reduced to a button that displays that info. It's nice to find when you need it but most of the time it isn't necessary for navigation either.

Thanks again for a superb program!


Best regards,
Chris
SV Toucan Dream (42 Manta Sailcat)