[comp.os.vms] Graphics software query

gil@limbic.UUCP (Gil Kloepfer Jr.) (01/18/89)

In article <0091EA2EEB92B26020403BC9@YMIR.BITNET> TP@MCCALL.CLAREMONT.EDU (Terry Poot) writes:
>1) If there is a better place to ask this question, could someone send me
>the request address of the list?

It isn't exactly the greatest place, but certainly not the worst.  Another
good group would be comp.graphics.

>
>2) We are porting some graphics applications to VAXstation 2000's. It is
>our desire for the resulting code to be more portable than what we started
>with, so we want to use a standard graphics package.
[...]
>We bought GKS and modified the graphics to use it. The performance is
>totally unacceptable. Based on what I was told, PHIGS would also suck eggs.
>DECwindows being unavailable, we are faced with using UIS (so much for
>standards).
>Terry Poot 
>BITNET:   tp@mccall.claremont.edu
>INTERNET: tp%mccall.claremont.edu@cunyvm.cuny.edu
>UUCP:     {any smart host}!psuvax1!mccall.claremont.edu!tp (I think)

For a specialized GIS (geographic information system) application I am
working on which also involves interactive graphics displays, we are
using DEC's Cgraf package, which comes as part of Spatial/II (which
also sucks eggs).  Cgraf is DEC's implementation of CORE.  The same
performance problems you experience in GKS we also experience in Cgraf.

If you're really looking for a FAST way to get out of your dilemma,
you could form a set of graphics-handling routines of your own which
would in turn call the host-machine's graphics-handling routines (in
the case of the VAXstation, UIS).  In this way, you would only be
changing the implementation of your graphics "library".  However, as
some netters will pick-up, this definitely doesn't seem like the
_best_ way.  As you mentioned, this will also take a good deal of
development effort and a pretty good knowledge of UIS.

Other than these experiences, I also don't know what else is available
and would, too, be interested in alternatives to PHIGS, GKS, and Cgraf.
Would X be a reasonable choice (does it give what we need?)?

-------
Gil Kloepfer, Jr.          U-Net: {decuac,boulder,talcott,sbcs}!icus!limbic!gil
ICUS Software Systems      Voice: (516) 968-6860 [H]   (516) 746-2350 x219 [W]
P.O. Box 1                 Internet:  gil@icus.islp.ny.us
Islip Terrace, NY  11752   "Life's a ...  well, you know..."