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WhiteboxTools v1.5.0
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@jblindsay jblindsay released this 06 Jun 16:19
· 178 commits to master since this release
1.5.0
05d9113

Version 1.5.0 (31-05-2021)

  • This release does not include very many new tools. Despite this, this is probably one of the largest
    releases yet. We have made extensive changes to the codebase, improving functionality in many
    significant ways. Therefore, we're very excited to announce the release of v1.5.
  • Probably the most exciting change is the introduction of plugin tools. Up until now, WBT has had a
    monolithic architecture, where all of the tools live within a single binary. This architecture has
    provided a number of benefits up until now. However, as the number of tools in WBT grows, it becomes
    increasingly difficult to maintain this program structure - in particular, compile times have grown
    significantly since the projects start. A plugin architecture provides much greater flexibility in
    this regard. Single tool plugins can be created, placed within the new 'plugins' folder within the
    WBT directory, and the whitebox_tools.exe binary will treat these plugins like any other tool within
    the monolith. This also means that WBT users can develop their own custom tools, without the required
    know-how of figuring out how to integrate their tool into the large WBT code-base. The user manual
    will be updated shortly to describe how this process works. For now, there is only one plugin tool
    example in the open-core (SplitVectorLines) although several other plugins have been developed (more
    on this below). The one downside of the new plugin architecture is that the size of the WBT download
    will inevitably grow, as individual tool executables will be larger than the single monolith. We
    believe that this is an acceptable compromise.
  • In order to accommodate plugin tools, we have significantly changed the codebase. Most significantly
    We have pulled the code associated with low-level functions, the so-called 'plumbing' code, (e.g.
    code for reading and writing various data files) into separate sub-repositories. In this way, the
    tools in the monolith and the plugin tools can both use this code without duplication.
  • WBT now has persistent environment variables contained within a 'settings.json' file within the WBT
    folder. Currently, these settings including 'verbose_mode', 'working_directory', 'compress_rasters',
    and 'max_procs'. More environment variables may be added in later releases. The fact that verbose mode
    the working directory, and the compress_rasters flag are now persistent does have implications for the
    Python and R front-ends and for the way these settings are used. The user manual will be updated
    shortly to reflect these changes.
  • We introduced the 'max_procs' setting. Now, all tools that run in parallel, or partially parallelize,
    can be restricted to a maximum number of processes. Before, WBT would simply use all of the available
    cores in the machine it was running on. While this is still the default (max_procs: -1), there are
    certain conditions where this behaviour is undesirable. For example, when WBT is run on large servers
    or cloud-computing environments where a great many cores are shared among many users, it can be
    problematic when a single user/program consumes all of the available cores. This setting limits
    the maximum number of procs.
  • Added the EmbankmentMapping tool for mapping transportation embankments (road, rail) in LiDAR DEMs.
  • Added the SplitVectorLines tool. This tool will parse an input line vector into a series of segments
    of a specified length. It is also an example of a WBT plugin.
  • The code has been updated to reflect the new zLidar v1.1 specification, which has significantly improved
    compression rates (testing shows it is between 91% and 109% of LAZ), greater flexibility (users may
    specify the degree of compression versus speed of reading/writing), and numerous bug fixes. The zLidar
    specification webpage will soon be updated to reflect the new version. Further news on this front,
    it has come to our attention recently that there is now a Rust-based LAZ encoder/decoder, which provides
    an opportunity for us to add LAZ support in a future version of WBT. We are currently evaluating this
    as an option.
  • We are trying to be more engaging with the WBT user community. In this regard, we have set up a new
    Google Groups forum for user to ask questions (https://groups.google.com/g/whiteboxtools), and have a
    new Twitter account (@whiteboxgeo) and newsletter to make announcements. Feel free to sign up for
    either if you're interested in staying in touch.
  • Lastly, we are very pleased to announce the creation of WhiteboxTools Geospatial Inc., a new company
    based on providing extension services around the open-source WBT platform. It is our vision that this
    company will provide a way of making the ongoing development of the WBT open-core more sustainable in
    the future, by enabling developers to work full-time on the project. Please read my 'open letter to the
    WBT community' (https://www.whiteboxgeo.com/open-letter-whiteboxtools-community/) for more details
    about this exciting development. Our plan is to maintain, and continue development of, the open-core of
    WBT, while providing plugin extensions that enhance the core capabilities. To begin with, we are launching
    the Whitebox General Toolset Extension, a set of (currently) 19 tools to help GIS professionals with their
    everyday workflows. Please see the newly redesigned WBT webpage at www.whiteboxgeo.com for more details.
    If you have been interested in supporting the WBT project in the past and haven't known how, buying a
    license for the General Toolset Extension is a wonderful way of doing so.
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