OTB Wrapper in link2GI

In link2GI: Linking Geographic Information Systems, Remote Sensing and Other Command Line Tools

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The Orfeo ToolBox (OTB) provides a collection of command-line applications for remote sensing and image processing. link2GI wraps these applications in R with a focus on reproducibility, transparency, and robustness across OTB versions.

link2GI supports two layers:

• a legacy wrapper layer (kept for backward compatibility)
• a new Self-describing API (recommended) that derives parameter metadata from OTB’s own -help output

Two APIs: legacy vs. Self-describing

Legacy API (parseOTBFunction() / runOTB())

The legacy layer builds a modifiable R list by parsing the output of:

otbcli <algorithm> -help

Characteristics:

• permissive and convenient
• minimal upfront constraints
• useful for older scripts

Limitations:

• required parameters and defaults are inferred heuristically
• sensitive to OTB help formatting changes
• less suitable for strict, version-stable workflows

Self-describing API (recommended)

The Self-describing API treats the OTB CLI help output as the single source of truth for parameters and their status (mandatory vs. optional). It supports a strict “write-to-disk” workflow and avoids implicit assumptions.

Core functions:

• otb_capabilities(): retrieve CLI help text (source of truth)
• otb_args_spec(): normalized parameter spec table parsed from -help
• otb_build_cmd(): create a runOTB()-compatible command template (valid keys only)
• otb_set_out(): set file-based outputs safely (including [pixel] outputs)

Minimal workflow (Self-describing)

library(link2GI)

otb <- link2GI::linkOTB(searchLocation = "~/apps/otb911/")

cmd <- link2GI::otb_build_cmd(
"DimensionalityReduction",
otb,
include_optional = "defaults",
require_output   = TRUE
)

cmd[["in"]]     <- "in.tif"
cmd[["method"]] <- "pca"
cmd[["nbcomp"]] <- "3"

cmd <- link2GI::otb_set_out(cmd, otb, key = "out", path = "out.tif")
str(cmd)

Typical transparent workflow (Self-describing)

This example demonstrates a complete workflow:

1. link an installed OTB
2. read and display the raw -help output (source of truth)
3. inspect the parsed parameter table (spec)
4. build a command template from valid keys
5. set input and explicit output
6. run via runOTB() and verify the output file

NOTE (CRAN/vignette hygiene): this vignette writes outputs into tempdir().

Example: DimensionalityReduction (PCA)

This example avoids guessing parameter names. The only manual step is choosing the correct parameter key for “number of components” by reading the spec table printed from your local

# OTB build (for OTB 9.1.1 this is `nbcomp`).


library(link2GI)
library(terra)

# 0) Link OTB

otb <- link2GI::linkOTB(searchLocation="~/apps/otb911/")

# 1) Choose algorithm

algo <- "DimensionalityReduction"

# 2) Read the OTB help text (source of truth)

caps <- link2GI::otb_capabilities(algo = algo, gili = otb, include_param_help = FALSE)
cat(paste(head(caps$text, 60), collapse = "\n"), "\n")

# 3) Parsed parameter table

spec <- link2GI::otb_args_spec(algo, otb)
print(spec[, c("key", "class", "mandatory", "default")], row.names = FALSE)

# 4) Build a template containing only valid keys (mandatory + defaults)

cmd <- link2GI::otb_build_cmd(
algo,
otb,
include_optional = "defaults",
require_output   = TRUE
)

# 5) Identify component-count key by inspecting the spec table (no heuristics)

pca_related <- spec[grepl("^method\.pca\.|^nbcomp$|outdim|comp", spec$key), ]
print(pca_related[, c("key", "mandatory", "default", "desc")], row.names = FALSE)

# 6) Set PCA method + number of components (OTB 9.1.1: nbcomp)

cmd[["method"]] <- "pca"
cmd[["nbcomp"]] <- "3"

# 7) Input + output (explicit on-disk paths)

infile  <- system.file("ex/elev.tif", package = "terra")
out_dir <- file.path(tempdir(), "link2gi_otb_vignette")
dir.create(out_dir, recursive = TRUE, showWarnings = FALSE)

cmd[["in"]]  <- infile
cmd[["out"]] <- file.path(out_dir, "pca.tif")

# Show the exact CLI that would be executed

cat(link2GI::runOTB(cmd, otb, retCommand = TRUE), "\n")

# Run (writes to disk)

res <- link2GI::runOTB(cmd, otb, quiet = FALSE)

# Verify output exists

file.exists(cmd[["out"]])

Legacy workflow (supported but not recommended)

The legacy workflow builds a command list by parsing -help output and then executes it. Because the legacy parser may expose parameter names that vary between OTB versions/apps, the safe pattern is:

1. parse the command list
2. inspect names(cmd) / cmd$help (if present)
3. set inputs/outputs and required parameters explicitly
4. run

library(link2GI)

otb <- link2GI::linkOTB()

algo <- "EdgeExtraction"
cmd  <- link2GI::parseOTBFunction(algo = algo, gili = otb)

# inspect keys (legacy API may expose app-specific names)

names(cmd)

# then set required parameters according to the returned structure:

# cmd[["<input_key>"]]  <- "in.tif"

# cmd[["<output_key>"]] <- "out.tif"

# cmd[["<other_key>"]]  <- "value"

# finally execute

# link2GI::runOTB(cmd, gili = otb, quiet = FALSE)

What changed (Self-describing)

The new Self-describing API removes fragile heuristics and centralizes metadata on:

• OTB’s own Parameters: block emitted by <Algo> -help

Consequences:

• otb_capabilities() / otb_args_spec() become the source of truth
• otb_build_cmd() prevents invalid keys (reduces “parameter does not exist” failures)
• runOTB() on Linux/macOS uses the OTB launcher plus explicit environment, matching the help/spec stack
• Windows isolation is handled by runOTB_isolated() via otbenv.ps1/.bat

Compatibility and deprecations

Compatibility

• Existing scripts using parseOTBFunction() plus runOTB() should continue to work (best-effort).
• The Self-describing API is stable as long as OTB provides a parseable Parameters: section.

Deprecations (explicit list)

• parseOTBFunction() is legacy (supported, but not recommended for new code).
• parseOTBAlgorithms() is legacy (if present in your build; prefer otb_capabilities()).

For new projects, prefer:

otb_capabilities() + otb_args_spec() + otb_build_cmd() + otb_set_out() then runOTB().

link2GI documentation built on Dec. 23, 2025, 9:09 a.m.