staff@cadlab.sublink.ORG (Alex Martelli) (04/08/90)
> My question is, if someone wants to view these graphical files, what format > under Unix do they have to be in. And what special hardware is needed to > view these graphics files on line. This will depend in good part on the nature of the graphics - my area of expertise is graphics coming from CAD systems. A very simple overview was in a recent article in Personal Workstation, from M&T Publishing, April 1990 issue. For simple *visualization* of data from CAD work, with no further rework, I would go with IGES: any CAD package can build SOME variant of it, and good visualization packages (such as desktop publishing programs such as Framemaker) can import most of these directly. If there are no shaded surfaces and such, but simply line graphics (segments, curves, splines, etc), a much simpler alternative is a graphics or page description language - mostly any package for CAD or for any kind of drawing can output HP-GL (what HP plotters used to take before their recent "2nd generation" announcements), and many modern ones support the PostScript PDL from Adobe. The hardware requirements are really simple, ANY kind of graphics-capable video - even an humble PC clone with CGA running freely available terminal emulators can accept Tektronix 4014 graphics output - AS LONG as you have, or are willing to write, the software to drive it appropriately. SUN or Next workstations with Postscript built in, for example, might be a nice way to go - or, if you want many visualization seats, you might want to look into X-Terminals (specially bought, or obtained via software emulators from existing PCs), with a tailored version of the Ghostscript freeware postscript-clone with X support (X-terminals look like a good bet to replace purely character-oriented terminals over the next few years, anyway). I don't know what kind of support UTS, or other mainframe-oriented Unix'es, offer for X-windows and other approaches, but I suspect that you might be able to find rather easily some reasonable solution. Good luck! -- Alex Martelli - CAD.LAB s.p.a., v. Stalingrado 45, Bologna, Italia Email: (work:) staff@cadlab.sublink.org, (home:) alex@am.sublink.org Phone: (work:) ++39 (51) 371099, (home:) ++39 (51) 250434; Fax: ++39 (51) 366964 (work only; any time of day or night).