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QiblaLocator (option to north point)

Anonymous
Not applicable
Would it be a simple excersise to code a qibla locator into the ArchiCAD standard north point?
Has anyone done this for themselves?
Share maybe?
5 REPLIES 5
Karl Ottenstein
Moderator
Not sure if you meant this as a wish, or as a discussion in the GDL/Library forum...

This would seem to be a pretty complicated thing for the North object to do. Even if you properly geolocate your project, that data cannot be read by an object ... so it would have to be copied into the Qibla-north object (which is then not-linked to the project location if it changes - so the result would not be 100% reliable) ... and then the complex computation to Mecca would have to be performed. That computation might be more easily done using an existing internet site ... but GDL objects have no capability of interacting with the internet, either...

I think that the safest route at the moment is to use one of the internet sites that lets you enter an exact location and it gives the Qibla ... then place a screenshot of that into your project using the Figure or Drawing tool...
One of the forum moderators
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James B
Graphisoft
Graphisoft
Karl wrote:
Even if you properly geolocate your project, that data cannot be read by an object ... so it would have to be copied into the Qibla-north object (which is then not-linked to the project location if it changes...
Hi Karl,

As part of the Project Location settings we introduced a number of GDL commands to access the longitude and latitude from this dialogue. One GDL example is the Coordinate Dimension 16 object.

Samovar, maybe you try to create such an object and put on the BIMcomponents website? but the calculation to determine the direction between mecca and your projects location is difficult with the earth not being flat and all.

Cheers,
James.
James Badcock
Graphisoft Senior Product Manager
Karl Ottenstein
Moderator
James wrote:
As part of the Project Location settings we introduced a number of GDL commands to access the longitude and latitude from this dialogue. One GDL example is the Coordinate Dimension 16 object.
Great news, James. Thanks.

Samovar,

If you can't write the object yourself, them some of us can help - and again, I should then move this discussion to the Libraries/GDL forum from this wish forum...

I read on one site that there are two conflicting views on what the proper direction is - and hence two (at least? maybe only two?) different computations. Maybe you can point us to the most generally accepted one. Dr. Abdali's paper here:
http://www.geomete.com/abdali/papers/qibla.pdf
is very persuasive that the great circle direction is the right method.

The code that could be transcribed into GDL for his method is on this page:
http://www.islamicsoftware.org/qibla/qibla.html

As noted there, right-clicking and selecting View Source in your browser shows the script to be transcribed...
One of the forum moderators
AC 27 USA and earlier   •   macOS Ventura 13.6.6, MacBook Pro M2 Max 12CPU/30GPU cores, 32GB
Anonymous
Not applicable
Karl, James!

Thanks for your comments. I'd be very proud to code it myself, but I only speak tourist GDL so it's a bit beyond me for now. Hence wish rather than discussion.

I have been using the method Karl suggested: using http://www.qiblalocator.com/ and pasting the result over the north point.

It hadn't occurred to me that the direction to Mecca was arguable, but that's religion for you.

Is it a function we could piggy back on the google earth plugin?
Rod Jurich
Contributor
This site has a formulae ........ eqibla.com/docs/
........ it may assist you if you do not know already.
Rod Jurich
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