shenkin@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu (Peter S. Shenkin) (11/04/90)
I've just installed Mathematica, which I purchased from SGI with my 4D-25TG.
Using the default GL graphics window, ("-- GL graphics installed --"),
a window is put up when I try to "Plot[ Sin[x], {x,0,10}]", but the window
contains gibberish; it's clearly trying to plot something, but there are
ascii characters (plot labels) scattered here an there over the screen, a
few line segments that are trying to be the plot, etc. "ps -ef" from a
shell reveals that indeed glps is running. If I override use of GL by
"<<4Sight.m", then I get good results, but of course then I'm not using GL.
I've called Wolfram associates, and they're working on it, but I thought
I'd post to this newsgroup also, to see if anyone's encountered and overcome
this dificulty.
Incidentally, I was shocked that SGI could not help me with this problem,
claiming that they do not support Mathematica, when in fact I bought it
from them, and in addition paid more to SGI than I would have had to pay
to Wolfram for it. And since I'm griping, :-), I am also unhappy with the
paucity of documentation that comes with the machine. The lack of source
for manual pages has already been rehashed in these annals (and I still don't
understand why SGI's license with ATT doesn't permit them to distribute
these, when other vendors, such as Sun and DEC, don't seem to have any
problem). In addition, all those tutorials and reference manuals for things
like awk, lex and yacc which come automatically when you buy other UNIX systems
are missing. There seems to be no reference to user.ps anywhere in the
manuals, on or off-line. True, they sent the PostScript books,
but nothing whatsoever on how PostScript is used in the context of the
windowing system.
-P.
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Peter S. Shenkin, Department of Chemistry, Barnard College, New York, NY 10027
(212)854-1418 shenkin@cunixc.cc.columbia.edu(Internet) shenkin@cunixc(Bitnet)
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