mapbox / mapbox/mapbox-gl-draw
draw_line_string from: is not usable due to float precision
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Description
**mapbox-gl-js version**: 0.45.0
**mapbox-gl-draw version**: master
### Steps to Trigger Behavior
1. Click on a vertex in a customised `direct_select` mode
2. Call changeMode to continue the line, using `draw_line_string`'s `from` option
3. It won't work, due to float precision.
### Expected Behavior
Continue line should work.
### Actual Behavior
Continue line should not work.
OK, let me explain this in a bit. I'd like to continue a line using metaClick on a vertex at one of the endpoints endpoint in a customised direct_select.
```
onVertex = function(state, e) {
const about = e.featureTarget.properties
if (e.originalEvent.metaKey && state.feature.type === 'LineString') {
const clickedIndex = Number(about.coord_path)
if ([0, state.feature.coordinates.length - 1].includes(clickedIndex)) {
return this.changeMode('draw_line_string', { featureId: state.feature.id, from: e.featureTarget })
}
}
```
There are 2 issues with this.
1. The code is actually wrong, this line https://github.com/mapbox/mapbox-gl-draw/blob/bf3dac14a7439f9c99e179c37f1f59a218b3a319/src/modes/draw_line_string.js#L22 should be
```
from = from.geometry.coordinates
```
2. The vertices are compared by geometric location, not by index. Comparing by geometric location doesn't work for some reason, I don't know if this is a bug in mapbox-gl core or in mapbox-gl-draw, but coordinates only match up till 6 digits.
Anything over 6 digits shouldn't be used in GeoJSON (as per recommendation of the specs), and the [7th digit is for 11 mm](https://gis.stackexchange.com/questions/8650/measuring-accuracy-of-latitude-and-longitude/8674#8674), but still, inside memory these coordinates should match I believe.
3. I actually liked the proposed API much better, where you submitted an index to `from:`, or at least that's what I thought was proposed here: https://github.com/mapbox/mapbox-gl-draw/issues/605#issuecomment-284491132
Why was that nice, logical proposal of using index changed into this passing of a full geometric feature and then comparing using location?
BTW, based on 1. and 2. I believe probably no one is using this feature and can be changed to use index without effecting users. Alternatively "fromIndex" could be introduced and "from" can be deprecated I guess.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start in src/modes/draw_line_string.js at the linked line and trace how the draw_line_string from option compares vertices. Reproduce continuation from a customised direct_select mode, then determine whether the existing from behavior or a separate fromIndex API should be retained. Done means continuing a line works without the reported float-precision failure and the chosen API behavior is documented by the implementation.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- javascript
- Domain
- frontend
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100