Help about finding a python script on geographic masking

[tkhan10]

Thank you for your reply.

Actually I wanted to post it on the list but didn't notice that it went only to your email. 

For the shape file part: yes I have a sample patients' data in a shape file with the patients' address locations (where the lat/long for the addresses are available) and these actual locations need to be masked. Some arbitrary points have to be made to represent these locations so that actual addresses (privacy of the patients) can be protected.
 
I am very much interested in creating my own script but the fact is that my adviser wants me to find if there any script available from the people who did work with these methods. Actually for making my script I just need to understand detail of these methods so that I will have ideas how I should proceed. But I am trying to make my own script and I hope to get help from you and others on that.

Thank you so much
 
________________________________________
From: Python-list [python-list-bounces+tkhan10=gmu.edu at python.org] on behalf of Michael Torrie [torriem at gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2013 6:50 PM
To: python
Subject: Re: Help about finding a python script on geographic masking

Let's keep this on the mailing list.  Replying to back to the list.

On 02/06/2013 10:47 AM, tkhan10 wrote:
> Yes I have some shapefiles where some locations are geocoded. You can
> think it as a layer containing some points. I need to hide the actual
> point locations and create a new locations in a way that further
> analysis on that point layer would not affect the result but i can
> hide the actual point locations.

It definitely helps when asking questions on the list to include all
these important, relevant details, such as the fact you are trying to
process shapefile data.

But more questions remain.  What are you trying to do with the
shapefile?  Are you trying to parse a shapefile, remove certain things,
add other things, and generate a new shapefile?  Who or what are you
trying to hid things from?  From your comment below I gather you want to
do some sort of transform to the shapefile?  And the output is a
shapefile?

Do have any python code you've been working on?  Check out:

https://github.com/sgillies/shapely

It appears to be an actively developed GIS library for python.  I think
you could use it to read the shape file and then you could program any
transformation you want using math libraries like numpy.  There are
other GIS libraries for python; you only have to google to find them.
Though I know nothing of their state or communities.

> There are some methods available on masking including:: aggregation
> of area or point  / affine transportation/ random sample perturbation
> [random points are created within a buffer and then actual locations
> are assigned to random points]  /  attribute perturbation/ location
> swapping  /   transformation [[ translation (shift locations at a
> fixed distance and direction); scale (expand or contract points by a
> scaling factor), rotation (rotate points by a fixed angle about a
> pivot point) ]]

Not being a GIS person or a linear algebra person, I'll take your word
for it.

Your question seems more to be about finding and using a ready-made
tool, more than about python programming.

> there are many articles are out there where these methods have been
> utilized and I think for some of these the authors made their own
> script. I am trying to search for any of these types of script. if I
> can find one, I will have idea how to do these maskings.

You might contact these authors.
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