Python utililities should support command-line wildcards

[mwtoews]

At present, a command that uses wildcards does not work as expected, for example with gdal_merge.py:

> gdal_merge.py -o test.tif 094a*
ERROR 4: `094a*' does not exist in the file system,
and is not recognised as a supported dataset name.

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\PROGRA~1\FWTOOL~1.1\bin\gdal_merge.py", line 358, in ?
    ulx = file_infos[0].ulx
IndexError: list index out of range

The present workaround is to use batch files and additional parameters (e.g.,  http://n2.nabble.com/gdal_merge-multiple-files-td2032804.html).

There are two solutions that should be used for all Python command line utilities:

•  glob module, which was introduced in Python 2.5
•  fnmatch module, introduced pre Python 2.2 (not sure when)

[mwtoews]

patch for gdal_merge.py using fnmatch solution

[hobu]

applied in the 1.6 branch in r16856 and in trunk in r16857. Thanks for the patch! I don't know that we'll generally support wildcards for all of the python utilities, but it sure makes sense for the merge operation in my mind.

[mwtoews]

I've reviewed my comments and submission, and I'd like to improve on it. I was misinformed about the glob module, in that I misread it was introduced in Python 2.5. The glob module was actually introduced in Python <=2.3 (I'm not sure how to check this history). The glob module really helps wildcard expansions, and should be used in place of fnmatch due to its ease of use.

I have also learned that wildcard expansion is only needed for MS-DOS BAT files. Of course, this is still of valid importance for many users.

Nevertheless, I've included a patch "glob_patch2.diff" using "svn diff" for both gdal_merge.py and gdalident.py. These have been tested in MS-DOS and Linux. It is also much more simpler to read than the previous patch.

[mwtoews]

improvements to gdal_merge.py and gdalident.py using python glob module

[hobu]

Applied in trunk in r17632 and backported in r17633. Please reopen if this is not working.

[warmerdam]

Howard,

Globbing of arguments to gdal_merge.py or any other scripts by default is inappropriate as some objects are not in the filesystem as detailed in:

 http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/gdal-dev/2010-March/023830.html

I think the globbing needs to be backed out or only applied when a -glob or -wildcard switch is passed in.