Requst for Comments on a proposal to rename the G93 file extension and API

[gwlucastrig]

This note is a request for comments regarding a proposal to rename the Gridfour project’s G93 file format and related API. I have a proposed name, but would be delighted to hear suggestions for something better.

I originally chose G93 as a tribute to an old software project called Gem93 which anticipated many of the ideas used in the G93 API. Additionally, I wished to acknowledge that the algorithms used in G93 were well known and had been around for decades.

Unfortunately, the name g93 has a number of disadvantages:

1. It seems dated. The “93” suggests that the format may be obsolete and is not relevant to current software development efforts.
2. It’s not memorable. It is not meaningful.
3. Typographically, it doesn’t look particularly appealing when used in an API. I believe that an API class name should have a good mix of upper and lowercase letters. For example, in the existing G93File class name, it is not clear from a quick visual scan where the prefix ends and the descriptive class name begins. Something like AbcFile has an advantage in that the lowercase letters in the prefix are clearly separated from the capital “F” in “File”.

Now, the problem is that finding a 3-letter code that isn’t already in use by some application is extremely difficult. Likewise, many 4-letter extensions are already claimed. And, even when an abbreviation isn’t covered by trademark, it would be discourteous to try to claim a file extension that just happened to be associated with a user’s favorite application. So I am trying to find something that is not already in wide use.

My first idea, “grv” for “Gridfour raster virtualization” turned out to be used by Microsoft Office Groove. After looking a number of alternatives, I settled on “gvr” for “Gridfour virtualized raster”. The “gvr” file extension was used in the past, but it appears that the associated applications are no longer being updated. I found two: GeoVisu which appears to not have been updated since 2009, and Phantasy Star Online which marked the gvr file type as “obsolete and no longer supported”.

So I propose the following:

1. Files that were formerly written using the “.g93” file extension will now use “.gvr”.
2. The classes, interfaces, and enumerations associated with g93 will be renamed to use the prefix “Gvr”. Thus “G93File” becomes “GvrFile”. The package org.gridfour.g93 would become org.gridfour.gvr.

If you know of an application that would overlap this extension please let me know. Also, if you know of a use in other contexts that might make this extension a poor choice, please let me know.

Thank you for your attention in this matter.

Gary

[gwlucastrig]

I have settled on the extension ".gvrs", which is short for Gridfour Virtual Raster System. I am preparing to update the code. It will mainly entail updating class and package names.

This change will represent a large update and will break compatibility with earlier releases.

I will consider trying to make the new classes capable of reading the old .g93 files. However, I have to consider the fact that the Gridfour system is still an evolving standard and I need to avoid saddling future development with baggage from earlier versions. So it may not be worth the effort of carrying forward "special code" to provide backward compatibility unless there is a user base with a set of existing .g93 files. Since I have received little feedback on the G93 format, I assume that it has not yet found a user community. However, I would be willing to support such a community if a need existed. Please let me know if this situation applies.

Thank you for your attention.

[gwlucastrig]

The change was posted. However, I am now working on an set of changes to the API and file format that will affect backward compatibility (see Issue #10).