amr@dukee.egr.duke.edu (Anthony M. Richardson) (11/08/89)
I've been working pretty hard on an update to plplot and I've
just about got everything completed. I believe the code is
pretty solid, but I would like to ask for volunteers to test out
the package before I release it. So if you have ftp access and
are willing to help test out the package and have experience with
the previous version of plplot send me mail and I'll
tell you how to get the new version.
Here's what's new in the update:
General stuff:
Several bug fixes. I've also tried to clean up the code a bit
(nicer behavior on error exit). Memory is now dynamically
allocated for 3d and contour plotting (so it's less of a
memory hog and those "heap exceeded" messages are a thing of
the past). The plgrid3 and plside3 routines have been
"absorbed" into plbox3 and plot3d (this is where they should
have been all along). I've made it much, much easier for
new drivers to be added also (you no longer need to touch
plstar, just update a table containing function pointers to
your new driver routines).
New stuff:
A mesh routine (like the 3d routine but does hidden line removal
on both top and bottom). A polygonal fill routine (bar charts
and pie charts, yeah!) with an infinite (well virtually infinite)
number of fill patterns. Color support for all color devices
(including the Amiga window output) and pen width support.
New drivers:
A lot of work here. All the drivers are much more efficient.
Drivers for iff files and preferences (thanks to Tom Rokicki),
both of these are really nice. Black and white only but the
preferences driver works at the pref selected resolution
(plotter like output at 300 dpi on my DeskJet). Preferences
driver uses pref selected page size also (so you can get a plot
of a specific size, also handy if you're strapped for memory).
Aegis Draw format and plt: drivers also. (I'm trying to update
the PostScript driver Sam Paolucci wrote, but I don't know
postscript or have a ps printer). A much improved Amiga window
interface. Plots in a window with all the standard gadgets.
When you resize the window the plot is rescaled and redrawn.
(And you can resize in the middle of a plot too.) Window can
be on either the workbench or a custom screen. You can save the
window as an iff file (in color) to "touch up" with a paint
program. Also you can print the window (full preferences support)
or plot the window (partial pref support, black and white, full
printer resolution) from a menu selection.
That's about it. Sorry it sounds so much like a sales pitch, I'm just
excited to have finally completed the update. Also I have Glen
Lewis' ARexx stuff adn I'll start work on that. It doesn't look
to be that difficult, but I haven't looked at it in any detail.
I've compiled all this stuff under Lattice 5.04 (Oh that reminds me,
everything is prototyped now too.). I've tried to put in the
appropriate #ifdef's so that things will work with Manx, but I
really need someone to help me with this (someone with a Manx compiler
I mean). I posted this request before and got one response, but
unfortunately he can't work on it for another month. Please, now is
time to help out with this (I got a lot of messages inquiring about
a Manx port after I posted the original version, but there was
nothing I could do.) I believe I know where I'm going to run into
problems with the Manx version and I don't think it is going to be
that difficult to get around them.
Regards,
Tony Richardson (amr@dukee.egr.duke.edu)