Book Image

Learning Geospatial Analysis with Python

By : Joel Lawhead
4 (1)
Book Image

Learning Geospatial Analysis with Python

4 (1)
By: Joel Lawhead

Overview of this book

Geospatial analysis is used in almost every field you can think of from medicine, to defense, to farming. It is an approach to use statistical analysis and other informational engineering to data which has a geographical or geospatial aspect. And this typically involves applications capable of geospatial display and processing to get a compiled and useful data. "Learning Geospatial Analysis with Python" uses the expressive and powerful Python programming language to guide you through geographic information systems, remote sensing, topography, and more. It explains how to use a framework in order to approach Geospatial analysis effectively, but on your own terms. "Learning Geospatial Analysis with Python" starts with a background of the field, a survey of the techniques and technology used, and then splits the field into its component speciality areas: GIS, remote sensing, elevation data, advanced modelling, and real-time data. This book will teach you everything there is to know, from using a particular software package or API to using generic algorithms that can be applied to Geospatial analysis. This book focuses on pure Python whenever possible to minimize compiling platform-dependent binaries, so that you don't become bogged down in just getting ready to do analysis. "Learning Geospatial Analysis with Python" will round out your technical library with handy recipes and a good understanding of a field that supplements many a modern day human endeavors.
Table of Contents (17 chapters)
Learning Geospatial Analysis with Python
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Using GPS data


The most common type of GPS data these days is the Garmin GPX format. We covered this XML format in Chapter 4, Geospatial Python Toolbox, which has become an unofficial industry standard. Because it is an XML format, all of the well-documented rules of XML apply. However, there is another type of GPS data that pre-dates XML and GPX, called National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA). These data are ASCII text sentences designed to be streamed. You occasionally bump into this format from time to time because even though it is older and esoteric, it is still very much alive and well. But as usual, you have a good option in pure Python. The pynmea module is available on PyPI.

The following is a small sample of NMEA sentences:

$GPRMC,012417.859,V,1856.599,N,15145.602,W,12.0,7.27,020713,,E*4F
$GPGGA,012418.859,1856.599,N,15145.602,W,0,00,,,M,,M,,*54
$GPGLL,1856.599,N,15145.602,W,012419.859,V*35
$GPVTG,7.27,T,,M,12.0,N,22.3,K*52
$GPRMC,012421.859,V,6337.596,N,12330.817,W,66.2,23...