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ascii2kml

Transform plain ascii files to kml format

This is a dead simple python script to transform points recorded in plain ascii format to Palcemarks in a valid KML document. The program will read points (aka lines of code, latitude, longtitude) from STDIN and transform them to KML Placemarks inside a KML document. For a description of the input file format, see the file sample.ascii; the output of the script for this file is presented in the file sample.kml.

input format for data points

The program reads in points from STDIN; every line is considered a new individual point. The points should follow the following convention: CODE LATITUDE LONGTITUDE DESCRIPTION where:

  • CODE is a name for the specific point; it will be interpreted as the Placemark's name tag. In default mode, CODE must not contain whitespace characters. If it does (contain whitespaces and or tabs characters), then use the switch --name-w-spaces; this will trigger a different approach where the programm will interpret as CODE all columns starting from the first one up untill it finds a column that contains a float number. The latter is interpreted as latitude; everything before this column is interpreted as the CODE. E.g. 046007 37.305266755 21.553844827 is ok, '046007' is interpreted as CODE. Name With Spaces 37.794930591 22.817623263 is not ok in default mode. If we use the switch --name-w-spaces though, the program will interpret the string 'Name With Spaces` as CODE.

  • LATITUDE is the latitude of the point. It must follow the CODE and follow a floating point format convention. Latitude should be given in decimal degrees.

  • LONGTITUDE is the longtitude of the point. It must follow the LATITUDE and follow a floating point format convention. Longtitude should be given in decimal degrees.

  • DESCRIPTION [optional] An optional description of the point which will be written in the Placemark's description tag. Note that you must use the switch --description-after-col=N for the program to know that the string starting at column N to the end of line is a description (otherwise columns after LONGTITUDE will be ignored). Note that column numbering starts at column 0 and that if you specify the --name-w-spaces switch, the string interpreted as CODE will be counted as one column (whatever number of columns/whitespaces it contains). E.g. the line Name2 With Big Name 37.694930591 22.717623263 and it also has a description! with the command ascii2kml.py --description-after-col=3 --name-w-spaces will be interpreted as: Column[0] = CODE = 'Name2 With Big Name', Column[1] = LATITUDE = 37.694930591, Column[2] = LONGTITUDE = 22.717623263 and everything after column 3 is a description, Column[3 to EOL] = DESCRIPTION = 'and it also has a description!'.

For more information and usage, type: $>./ascii2kml.py -h to display the help message.

Example:

$> cat sample.ascii
046006 38.305266755 22.553844827
047007 39.023304923 23.246122441 This   is       a      description for the point  with code "047007"
048052 37.594930591 22.617623263
# this is a comment line, no problem!
        # this is also a comment line
046007 37.305266755 21.553844827
Name With   Spaces 37.794930591 22.817623263
Name2 With  Big Name 37.694930591 22.717623263 and it also has a description!
This is an erronuous line
Also an erronuous line 37.594930591
# the following is also an erronuous line
37.594930591 22.617623263

$> cat sample.ascii | ./ascii2kml.py \ 
  --document-name=foobar --description-after-col=3 \
  --name-w-spaces --ignore-error-lines
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<kml xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/kml/2.2">
<Document>
  <name>foobar</name>
  <Placemark>
    <name>046006</name>
    <description></description>
    <Point><coordinates>22.553844827,38.305266755,0.0</coordinates></Point>
  </Placemark>
  <Placemark>
    <name>047007</name>
    <description>This   is       a      description for the point  with code "047007"</description>
    <Point><coordinates>23.246122441,39.023304923,0.0</coordinates></Point>
  </Placemark>
  <Placemark>
    <name>048052</name>
    <description></description>
    <Point><coordinates>22.617623263,37.594930591,0.0</coordinates></Point>
  </Placemark>
  <Placemark>
    <name>046007</name>
    <description></description>
    <Point><coordinates>21.553844827,37.305266755,0.0</coordinates></Point>
  </Placemark>
  <Placemark>
    <name>Name With   Spaces</name>
    <description></description>
    <Point><coordinates>22.817623263,37.794930591,0.0</coordinates></Point>
  </Placemark>
  <Placemark>
    <name>Name2 With  Big Name</name>
    <description>and it also has a description!</description>
    <Point><coordinates>22.717623263,37.694930591,0.0</coordinates></Point>
  </Placemark>
</Document>
</kml>