Debrief NG User Documentation

Ian Mayo

Autumn 2020

Revision History
Revision 2.86th October 2015IM
Update images to new look & feel
Revision 2.74th June 2015IM
Natural Earth, dynamic annotations, new Symbology
Revision 2.622nd May 2014IM
Include SATC, plus updates to reflect GitHub hosting
Revision 2.510th June 2012IM
Include Charting, plus Exercise Planning
Revision 2.41st June 2011IM
Full document update/tidying. Update to DocBook 5.0
Revision 2.31st December 2010IM
Add guidance for right-click integration, worm in the hole
Revision 2.21st July 2009IM
Update for single-sided reconstruction
Revision 2.11st July 2007IM
Polish final Debrief NG content
Revision 2.01st March 2006IM
Start transition to Debrief NG
Revision 1.710th July 2004IM
Include track-shifting
Revision 1.610th March 2003IM
Update to Debrief 2003 functionality
Revision 1.510th Nov 2002IM
Add ETOPO-2 data support
Revision 1.410th July 2002IM
D2002 post-beta revisions, including starting with higher memory allocation
Revision 1.37th May 2002IM
Update to reflect Debrief 2002
Revision 1.213th February 2002IM
Bought up to date with new features (per-fix colouring, cascade/tile, x-y plot tracking bar)
Revision 1.125th October 2001IM
Acknowledged Debrief users added, together with extended Welcome/History
Revision 1.08th October 2001IM
Initial version, following collation of existing HTML pages to DocBook format, together with full review by SMTAC OA.

Contact details

Should you wish to learn more about Debrief please make contact the Project Manager:

Debrief Project Manager. 


            Mr Ian Mayo
            Deep Blue C Technology Ltd
            Fareham
            HANTS
            UK
            e-mail: ian@DeepBlueC.com
          


Acknowledgements

Third Party Libraries.  Debrief uses a licensed copy of the WMFWriter library from Piet Jonas (http://piet.jonas.com/WMFWriter/WMFWriter.html ).

Open Source Libraries.  Debrief also uses these Open Source libraries:

License.  Debrief is an Open Source application, offering a set of benefits (Section 2.2, “The Switch to Open Source”)

            
/*
 *    Debrief - the Open Source Maritime Analysis Application
 *    http://debrief.info
 *
 *    (C) 2000-2015, Deep Blue C Technology Ltd
 *
 *    This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
 *    modify it under the terms of the Eclipse Public License v1.0
 *    (http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-v10.html)
 *
 *    This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
 *    but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
 *    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. 
 */
            
          

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Welcome
2. History
2.1. Prehistory
2.2. The Switch to Open Source
2.3. Debrief 2001 onwards
3. Debrief users
4. Document conventions
I. Getting started
1. First steps
1.1. Before Installing Debrief
1.2. Performing installation
1.3. Configuring reference data
1.4. Start Debrief
1.5. Importing track data
II. Using Debrief
2. Moving around the view
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Mouse mode buttons
2.3. Click buttons
2.4. Chart Overview
2.5. Undo
2.6. Formatting the plot
3. Manipulating track data
3.1. Property editing
3.2. Adding chart features
3.3. Adding drawing features
3.4. Layer management
3.5. Saving and re-opening plots
3.6. Lightweight tracks
3.7. Grooming track data
3.8. Using the Grid Editor
4. Analysing Data
4.1. Assigning tracks as primary and secondary
4.2. Controlling time
4.3. Measuring range and bearing
4.4. Show time-related variables
5. Exporting Data
5.1. Exporting images
5.2. Exporting engagements to PowerPoint
6. Symbol sets
6.1. Introduction
7. External datasets
7.1. Natural Earth data
7.2. VPF data
7.3. Viewing VPF data
7.4. Configuring VPF defaults
7.5. ETOPO Data
8. Exercise planning
8.1. Introduction
8.2. Creating tracks
8.3. Manipulating tracks
8.4. XY plots of planning tracks
9. Viewing narratives
9.1. Introduction to narrative data
10. Using chart backdrops
10.1. Introduction
10.2. Loading data
11. Analysing sensor data
11.1. Getting your data in
11.2. Analysing your data
12. Management of TMA and TUA solutions
12.1. TUA data
12.2. TMA Management
12.3. Semi-Automated TMA generation
13. Support for DIS Protocol
13.1. Introduction
13.2. Configuring DIS
13.3. Monitoring a DIS simulation
13.4. DIS Tips & Tricks
III. Maintainer's Guide
14. Participating in Debrief development
14.1. Debrief online
14.2. Keeping up to date
14.3. Debrief at the Maritime Warfare Centre
14.4. Debrief across the Internet
14.5. Providing feedback
15. Debrief maintainer's guide
15.1. Installation guidance
15.2. Fault-diagnosis instructions
15.3. Storing Chart Folios
15.4. Debrief properties
15.5. Master template for export scenario to PowerPoint
IV. Reference Guide
16. Debrief file formats
16.1. Replay file format
16.2. Debrief file format
16.3. KML file format
16.4. Flat file format
16.5. Multipath analysis datafiles
16.6. S2087 Track files
16.7. SVG Symbol Format
16.8. Third Party BRT Format
17. Scripting Cookbook
17.1. Introduction
18. GeoTools in Debrief
18.1. Introduction
19. Debrief algorithms
19.1. Range/Bearing calculations within Debrief
19.2. Worm in the hole algorithm
19.3. Other Debrief algorithms
19.4. Remove Jumps
19.5. Contouring algorithm
20. Semi Automated Track Construction (SATC)
20.1. High-Level SATC Concepts
20.2. Optimisation Strategies
20.3. Solution Generator based on Genetic Algorithm
21. System Documentation for DIS integration
21.1. Introduction
21.2. Command line options
21.3. Messages supported
21.4. Other DIS specifics
A. Debrief Glossary
A.1. Introduction
Glossary
Index

List of Figures

1.1. Debrief's Welcome view
1.2. Debrief's default view
1.3. A Debrief plot
1.4. Detailed Sample Replay file contents
1.5. Select Track Mode
1.6. Debrief's Preferences
2.1. View toolbar
2.2. Overview chart in use
3.1. Properties view
3.2. Stacked Dots view
3.3. Chart features menu
3.4. Sample scale
3.5. Time Display (Absolute)
3.6. Renaming Time Display
3.7. Time Display (Relative)
3.8. Sample of default coastline data
3.9. Sample of ETOPO gridded bathymetry
3.10. Sample of chart library portfolio
3.11. Sample of vectored coastline data
3.12. Sample of Natural Earth
3.13. Drawing toolbar
3.14. Location Editor (initial view)
3.15. Location Editor (expanded view)
3.16. Location Editor (paste view)
3.17. Initial view of polygon
3.18. Calculated Label
3.19. Outline View
3.20. Save-file dialog
3.21. Grooming Track Data
3.22. Splitting Track Sections
3.23. Track Sections Split
3.24. Joining Track Sections
3.25. Removing Track Jumps
3.26. Track Jumps Removed
3.27. Smoothing back-tracking jumps Jumps
3.28. The Grid Editor
4.1. The Debrief Tote
4.2. Assigning Tracks
4.3. Display of an interpolated point
4.4. Time Controller view
4.5. Time Controller menu
4.6. Example of a normal trail
4.7. Example of a snail trail
4.8. Sample of primary centered/North oriented mode
4.9. Sample improved SAM Export dialog
4.10. View of time-variable plot
4.11. View of time-variable plot in waterfall mode
5.1. Property for current plot size
5.2. Specifying donor file location
5.3. Controlling Debrief plot size
5.4. Sample of exported scenario
6.1. Symbols provided by Debrief
6.2. Indexed SVG symbols
6.3. Non-indexed SVG symbols
6.4. Scaled vessel symbols in Debrief
6.5. Highlighting Symbols in Tracks
7.1. Natural Earth logo
7.2. Natural Earth in use (110M resolution)
7.3. Natural Earth in use (50M resolution)
7.4. Natural Earth in use (10M resolution)
7.5. VPF preferences
7.6. VPF Data in Outline View
7.7. Layers within Chart Features
7.8. List of VPF layers
7.9. Boundaries theme
7.10. Coastlines feature
7.11. First coastline
7.12. Coastline of British Isles
7.13. Coastline of British Isles with depth contours
7.14. Railways of British Isles
7.15. ETOPO preferences
7.16. ETOPO2 data sources
8.1. Create tracks toolbar button
8.2. Adding a new track segment
8.3. Naming the new track
8.4. Specifying the track's DTG
8.5. Naming the leg
8.6. Track created
9.1. New narrative entry wizard
9.2. Viewing a narrative
9.3. Filtering a narrative by Type
9.4. Filtering a narrative by Source
10.1. Chart data in Debrief
10.2. Chart options
10.3. Chart folio
10.4. Loading a chart
14.1. Debrief home page
14.2. Debrief's home page at GitHub
14.3. GitHub Issue Reporting page
15.1. Repository location dialog
15.2. Elements of master template
15.3. PowerPoint folder structure
16.1. 2015 Debrief shades
16.2. XML file structure in Debrief
19.1. Rhumb line parts
19.2. Some of the CONREC input parameters.
19.3. Possible line orientations
19.4. Line permutations within contouring algorithm.
19.5. Some of the notation used for identifying the rectangles and triangles in the subroutine
19.6. Function to be contoured
19.7. Sample contour plot using CONREC algorithm
20.1. Solution showing all bounded states
20.2. Solution showing low precision cut suppression
20.3. Example
20.4. Islands structure
20.5. Bearing lines for new points
20.6. Polygon without bearing line
20.7. one point crossover example
20.8. Illustration of arithmetic crossover for 2D points
20.9. Arithmetic crossover example
20.10. Random mutation
20.11. Mutation to vertex example
20.12. Point generation
20.13. Inconsistent range
20.14. Consistent legs
20.15. Speed plot with smooth speed change
20.16. Speed plot with peaks near to straight legs
20.17. Speed plot with huge peaks

List of Tables

1. List of acknowledged Debrief users
2. Document conventions
4.1. Relative calculations (range, bearing, etc)
4.2. Absolute calculations (range, bearing, etc)
15.1. Requirements for Debrief
16.1. Fields in Debrief position entry
16.2. Debrief symbology color codes
16.3. Debrief symbology symbol codes
16.4. Debrief extended symbology data fields
16.5. Debrief extended symbology data fields
21.1. DIS Messages Supported
21.2. DIS Event Report messages

List of Examples

1.1. Sample Replay file contents
20.1. Example