G
G. van Toornenberg
Hallo Jos,
Volg je ook de Marpa performace discussie op rec.boats.electronics. Ik
geloof dat ik de nieuwe radar maar in de ijskast zet en wacht op een
betaalbare AIS ontvanger.
De SURPRISE is zo goed als verkocht. De koper heeft al een aanbetaling
gedaan en ik heb vanmorgen het contract gekregen om te tekenen. Het was nog
even spannend. De expert constateerde een begin van osmose. Ik kan mij dat
niet voorstellen daar ook MYS daar nooit wat van heb gezegd. We hebben wel
eens blaasjes gezien maar dat was geen osmose maar lucht insluitingen. Dus
als je het open maakte dan was er niets aan de hand van zure dit of dat.
De koper vond het niet erg maar op advies van de expert heeft hij op een
korting aangedrongen van eur 2500
Dat hebben wij maar geaccepteerd. Dan is zij maar weg en volgens Nautisch
Kwartier krijgt de SURPRISE een waardige eigenaar die verder met haar gaat
zoals wij zijn begonnen. Hij wil er lange reizen mee maken.
Kan jij C++ compileren of weet je iemand. Ik heb code voor het omzetten van
BSB naar rauwe format zie onder.
Het mooiste zou zijn om het om te zetten naar vb
Groetjes,
Gerard
Background:
Subject: Re: GISTrans: Maptech / NDI BSB Chart Format
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
I did it! I just wrote a program that reads NOAA BSB chart files
and converts them to BMP files! BMP files are not the final goal of my
project, but it served as a proof-of-concept. Next I will want to write
routines to extract pieces of the file at full resolution for printing, and
routines to filter pieces of the chart for display at lower resolution on
the screen. (One of the terrible things about most chart display programs
is that they all sub-sample the charts instead of filtering it down). How
did I figure out how to read the BSB files?
If you recall, I have been trying to reverse engineer the file
formats of those nautical charts. When I am between projects I often do a
WEB search for the BSB file format to see if someone else has published a
hack for them. Monday I hit a NOAA project status report that mentioned
some guy named Marty Yellin who had recently completed writing a program to
convert BSB files to other file formats! I searched for him and found him
mentioned as a contact person for some NOAA program. I was composing a
letter to him in my head, or considering calling the NOAA phone number and
asking for his extension number, when I saw another NOAA status report
indicating that he had retired in 1998. His name showed up in a few more
reports, one of which said that he was the inventor of the BSB file format,
that it was patented (#5,727,090), and that the patent had been licensed to
Maptech (the evil company that will not allow anyone using their file
format to convert them to non-proprietary formats). Patents are readily
available on the WEB at the IBM patent server and this one is in the
dtabase! I printed up a copy of the patent and of course it describes very
nicely (despite the usual typos and omissions of referenced items in the
figures) how to write one of these BSB files!
I was considering talking to a patent lawyer about the legality of
using information in the patent to read files without getting a license,
when I noticed that the patent is only claiming programs that WRITE the
file format. I have noticed this before in RF patents where they describe
how to make a receiver and never bother to claim a transmitter. The logic
is that the transmitter is no good to anybody unless they license receivers
from the patent holder. But I think they did it backwards here! They should
have claimed a program that can READ the described file format. Now I can
read the files, build programs that read the files, and even sell them
without violating the claims in the patent! As long as I never try to write
one of the evil BSB files, I'm OK!!!
If you ever need to read these BSB chart programs, drop me a
note. I would be happy to send you a copy of this conversion program.
.... later email ...
Well, here is my little proof of concept program. I hereby give
you permission to distribute it freely, modify for you own use, etc.
I built it as a "WIN32 Console application" which means it runs in an MS
DOS box under Microsoft Windows. But the only Windows specific stuff in it
are the include files for the BMP file headers. If you ripped out the BMP
code it should compile under UNIX or anyplace else.
I'd be overjoyed to have you announce it to GISTrans or anywhere
else. I'm philosophically opposed to the proprietary treatment of the BSB
file format and I want to break it open! Chart data for the People!
Volg je ook de Marpa performace discussie op rec.boats.electronics. Ik
geloof dat ik de nieuwe radar maar in de ijskast zet en wacht op een
betaalbare AIS ontvanger.
De SURPRISE is zo goed als verkocht. De koper heeft al een aanbetaling
gedaan en ik heb vanmorgen het contract gekregen om te tekenen. Het was nog
even spannend. De expert constateerde een begin van osmose. Ik kan mij dat
niet voorstellen daar ook MYS daar nooit wat van heb gezegd. We hebben wel
eens blaasjes gezien maar dat was geen osmose maar lucht insluitingen. Dus
als je het open maakte dan was er niets aan de hand van zure dit of dat.
De koper vond het niet erg maar op advies van de expert heeft hij op een
korting aangedrongen van eur 2500
Dat hebben wij maar geaccepteerd. Dan is zij maar weg en volgens Nautisch
Kwartier krijgt de SURPRISE een waardige eigenaar die verder met haar gaat
zoals wij zijn begonnen. Hij wil er lange reizen mee maken.
Kan jij C++ compileren of weet je iemand. Ik heb code voor het omzetten van
BSB naar rauwe format zie onder.
Het mooiste zou zijn om het om te zetten naar vb
Groetjes,
Gerard
Background:
Subject: Re: GISTrans: Maptech / NDI BSB Chart Format
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
I did it! I just wrote a program that reads NOAA BSB chart files
and converts them to BMP files! BMP files are not the final goal of my
project, but it served as a proof-of-concept. Next I will want to write
routines to extract pieces of the file at full resolution for printing, and
routines to filter pieces of the chart for display at lower resolution on
the screen. (One of the terrible things about most chart display programs
is that they all sub-sample the charts instead of filtering it down). How
did I figure out how to read the BSB files?
If you recall, I have been trying to reverse engineer the file
formats of those nautical charts. When I am between projects I often do a
WEB search for the BSB file format to see if someone else has published a
hack for them. Monday I hit a NOAA project status report that mentioned
some guy named Marty Yellin who had recently completed writing a program to
convert BSB files to other file formats! I searched for him and found him
mentioned as a contact person for some NOAA program. I was composing a
letter to him in my head, or considering calling the NOAA phone number and
asking for his extension number, when I saw another NOAA status report
indicating that he had retired in 1998. His name showed up in a few more
reports, one of which said that he was the inventor of the BSB file format,
that it was patented (#5,727,090), and that the patent had been licensed to
Maptech (the evil company that will not allow anyone using their file
format to convert them to non-proprietary formats). Patents are readily
available on the WEB at the IBM patent server and this one is in the
dtabase! I printed up a copy of the patent and of course it describes very
nicely (despite the usual typos and omissions of referenced items in the
figures) how to write one of these BSB files!
I was considering talking to a patent lawyer about the legality of
using information in the patent to read files without getting a license,
when I noticed that the patent is only claiming programs that WRITE the
file format. I have noticed this before in RF patents where they describe
how to make a receiver and never bother to claim a transmitter. The logic
is that the transmitter is no good to anybody unless they license receivers
from the patent holder. But I think they did it backwards here! They should
have claimed a program that can READ the described file format. Now I can
read the files, build programs that read the files, and even sell them
without violating the claims in the patent! As long as I never try to write
one of the evil BSB files, I'm OK!!!
If you ever need to read these BSB chart programs, drop me a
note. I would be happy to send you a copy of this conversion program.
.... later email ...
Well, here is my little proof of concept program. I hereby give
you permission to distribute it freely, modify for you own use, etc.
I built it as a "WIN32 Console application" which means it runs in an MS
DOS box under Microsoft Windows. But the only Windows specific stuff in it
are the include files for the BMP file headers. If you ripped out the BMP
code it should compile under UNIX or anyplace else.
I'd be overjoyed to have you announce it to GISTrans or anywhere
else. I'm philosophically opposed to the proprietary treatment of the BSB
file format and I want to break it open! Chart data for the People!
