Which open-source Python or Java library provides an easy way to draw circles on a ESRI Shapefile?

Question

I need to write a software that creates an shapefile with various circles or circumferences on it. The shapefile created should be readable by ESRI ArcMap.

I need a library that let me add circles or circular arc to it.

The library could be in for Python or in Java.

Answer 1

If you look at OpenMap, it may be possible to write some code using that set of libraries in Java to do what you are asking.

I don't know if its possible from a single call, but there is definitely code in OpenMap to generate circles and arcs and it also has code to read in a shapefile. The jump to exporting a shape file shouldn't be too big.

Answer 2

Matt Perry has a short and sweet example of creating circles in a shapefile in Tissot Indicatrix - Examining the distortion of map projections. Not listed in the post is how to install the prerequiste gdal/ogr; for that see OSGeo4W on windows or a simple apt-get install gdal python-gdal on ubuntu linux.