filip@alberta.UUCP (Don Filipchuk) (07/29/88)
Hi,
I was wondering if anybody has been able to ray trace a
fractal surface with DBW Render v1.0 (the PD one).
I have tried several (dozen!) times and get the same scenario :
I set up a huge stack (recursion is funny that way) and run the
program. I watch (via MachII) the program start to munch on all
my available memory ( ~ 600 - 750K ) and then crash. Sometimes
it is so polite as to inform me that "MALLOC --- OUT OF MEMORY"
(I assume that this is probably a system message) but usually it
just crashes, several times in a spectacular manner (ie. purple lines
across screen,random static everywhere...).
The point is this... I only use a recursion level of 1
( one fractal/stochastic subdivision of ONE triangular surface )
and it still eats up all the memory I have and then crashes.
I would not think that a single level of recursion eats up close
to a meg of memory. I set the stack as high as I can (to 250 000)
but to no avail. I do remember to define wave sources as well.
Has anybody got the fractal surface to work on that program?
I **SUSPECT** that it is perhaps buggy... I am *VERY* careful
when setting up my script file.
Anyhow, I will soon have the source code (right Kjohn?) and
will be able to determine for myself...
(I shouldn't talk about memory hungry programs... the ray tracer
I am working on here once did a core dump that was 32 MEG !
Now *that* is a memory hungry program.... )
Don
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| Don Filipchuk | "... with human females, I must |
| | restrain myself too much. They are |
| University of Alberta | quite fragile." |
| Edmonton, Alberta | |
| Canada | - Lt. Worf -- |
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