Advice needed: rwy dist rem sign installation

Hi.  David Luff and Melchior Franz both indicated that this more directly
pertains to TerraGear than FlightGear at this point, so I'm posting this
here.

I recently got a chance to pick back up the work I'd done on automated
generation of runway distance remaining signs.  In principle, everything
is finished:  I have a set of signs which are designed as per the U.S.
FAA regs (FAA AC-150-5340-18C, Standards for Airport Sign Systems, and
FAA AC-150-5345-44G, Specification for Taxiway and Runway Signs).

I also have a script for generating .stg file entries.  Features:

- can read in airport data in either apt.dat or runways.dat format.
- will generate sign placements either for a single airport, a list
of airports (a list of ICAOs in a file), every airport in apt.dat
or runways.dat (but not heliports or seaplane bases), or every
airport in apt.dat that has the "has runway distance remaining signs"
flag set.
- can place signs using any of the three layout methods given by
the FAA regs.
- makes sure that there are no signs placed on top of intersecting or
nearby runways or taxiways.  Specifically, it makes sure that no signs
are placed within 50' of any other runway/taxiway at the airport.  It
attempts to adjust the positioning of a sign to avoid such a conflict,
omitting the sign entirely if it'd have to be moved by more than 50'
along the runway length, as per the FAA regs.

I'd like to contribute this to FlightGear/TerraGear -- I think they'd
make a nice addition to the scenery at the airports where it'd be
appropriate to have them.  However, I'm stuck on one thing that I'm
hoping those who build scenery will advise:  what's the best way to
write this stuff out?  Is the best option to:

- have the script determine the tile numbers, go to the .stg files, and
insert the sign entries directly?
- have the script create an "installation" script, into which the sign
entries are embedded (e.g. as a here document); such a script could also
have a removal option, to take the signs back out?
- do things monolithically (that is, create one massive installation
script, or installing all at one time) or by airport (create lots of
scripts or small files -- could be lots of files if doing all relevant
airports)?

To be of most use to the project, how should this script write its info?

-c


-- 
Chris Metzler			[email protected]
		(remove "snip-me." to email)

"As a child I understood how to give; I have forgotten this grace since I
have become civilized." - Chief Luther Standing Bear

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