peda@simplicity.Stanford.EDU (Bill Codding) (11/09/90)
As mccool@dgp.toronto.edu noted, there will be a strong need for a FAQ list. One of the FAQ's is obvious, from all the posts asking about visualization software. I would like to propose a partial list of defining issues which should be addressed in the vendor entries for at least one category of vizware, that for 3D mesh-based volumes/surfaces. 1) What are the general capabilities: slicing, isosurface contours, wireframe, shading, gradient vectors, streamlines, etc. 2) Can the data be wireframe, voxel, non-orthogonal voxel (skewed meshes -- particularly important to those in CFD), or unordered. 3) Is the software a library of routines or a fully capable package with mouse-based interaction, etc. 4) Which standards/libraries the software uses: X, Phigs, NeWS, etc. This helps define portability issues. 5) Is it commercial, shareware, or freeware. FTP sites. 6) Which platforms has it been developed on or ported to. This thread can focus on 3D scientific/design visualization software, other threads can be started to deal with image processing, bio/chemistry, 2D scientific visualization, and the like. Many of these questions will of course need to be addressed for other categories as well. (Our particular need is for 3D connected but _non-regular_ (skew) mesh vizware such as that used for CFD; it would really be appreciated if readers could please post or mail references to what you know of, and post or mail again in the future if you discover a new reference.) -Bill Codding ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bill Codding (415)493-3554 (w) Research Engineer (415)751-5484 (h) P.E.D.A. peda@simplicity.Stanford.EDU ------------------------------------------------------------------------
mccool@dgp.toronto.edu (Michael McCool) (11/10/90)
peda@simplicity.Stanford.EDU (Bill Codding) writes: >As mccool@dgp.toronto.edu noted, there will be a strong need >for a FAQ list. One of the FAQ's is obvious, from all the >posts asking about visualization software. I hereby volunteer to organize this FAQ list. I'll put together a basic one for your discussion (probably early next week) and post it, and it can be refined from there. I can have the list be automagically posted from my site once a week or so. As noted, it would be best to start with a simple list of available software, and add other stuff as needed. So, if people can send me information *by email* on their favourite visualization software package, NOT includiing apE or AVS (which I already have lots of info on), I can get going. Michael McCool@dgp.toronto.edu, Dynamic Graphics Project, U of Toronto