krm@aluxz.UUCP (Kurt Marko) (08/19/88)
I'm posting this since the mailer bounced my attempt at direct e-mail, and the reply may be of general interest. In article <160@isagel.sunet.se> you write: >I am trying to find a program that can make 2D images of 3D plots. Hopefully >could this program use multiple colouring and take advantage of the MacII. > >I might have a 3D data set (that would produce a complicated valley-and-hill >plot) and I would like to make a plot of this data-set with this unknown >program, and then select the "best" view of the plot from "above" it. I would >also like to be able to change the "view distance" to the plot. > I have two recommendations: ImageTool (v1.1) from NCSA at the University of Illinois, and/or Mathematica from Wolfram Research (not coincidentally also in Champaign, Illinois). Mathematica, which has received a lot of press lately, is an extremely powerful tool for doing just about anything you want to do with numbers, equations, formulae,... (i.e. everything from symbolic equation solving to 3-D data plotting and analysis). ImageTool is strictly a data-visualization tool which makes extensive use of color to represent three-dimensional data. With ImageTool, you can select a two-dimensional region (by simply dragging a rectangle) to examine more closely with contour plots or 3-D (hidden line) plots. ImageTool is available for $10 or $15 from NCSA (free if you can get there via anonymous ftp) and only runs on a MacII. Mathematica lists for about $795 for the MacII version (ComputerWare has it for $690). While Wolfram also sells a version for "standard" Macs, I wouldn't recommend it, as it takes at least 4MB to run effectively, and you lose all of the color plotting capabilities. E-mail me if you need more info, or specific addresses. Kurt Marko AT&T Bell Labs ...!att!aluxz!krm