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1995-04-08
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Geodesic Dome Design
DOME
Version 3.50
April 8, 1995
=============
What is DOME?
=============
DOME is a program which calculates the properties of a
geodesic dome symmetry triangle. DOME calculates spherical
vertex coordinates, symmetry triangle topological abundance,
and chord factors. DOME supports class I (alternate)
and class II (triacon) breakdowns for Icosahedron,
Octahedron and Tetrahedron polyhedron types.
=============
Why DOME?
=============
DOME began as a set of geodesic math test algorithims for
use in investigating properties of generalized geodesic
structures. This continues to be the main purpose of my
development of the DOME code. DOME should serve as a basic
tool for those interested in geodesic dome design and
modeling. All source code is also included in this package
and is freely modifiable under the conditions of the GNU
General Public License.
================
System Requirements
================
DOME has been complied using Borland C++ 3.1 to run on any
PC class system. Dome frequency is limited by the amount of
memory available. Full spheres use more memory so that the
frequency should be reduced accordingly.
================
Changes From Previous Release Version 2.18
================
-Added headers & spherical coordinates to PRN output file
-Added a test routine for the bottom face rotation of the
tetrahedron.
-Added checks to rotate_phi & rotate_theta functions
-Class constructor now passed a structure with input
parameters
-Removed interactive interface
-Streamlined verbose output to only the basic topology
-Moved help to a seperate function
-Added class I rotations for full sphere formation
-Updated exit codes to non-zero where required
-Added portability ifdef's and defs to aid in porting
to non-Borland C compilers...specifically UNIX/Linux
Thanks to Chris Fearnley & John Kirk for the patches.
-Added automatic revision tracking on logo display
-Enabled Class II support. Program now calculates
class II symmetry triangle data.
================
Usage
================
DOME is run from the DOS command line. The program will terminate
with an error message if there is not enough memory to allocate array
space for the coordinate matrix. If this occurs, re-run DOME and request
a smaller subdivision frequency. Only even frequencies are allowed when
using class II. Rotations of class II triangles are not currently supported.
Usage: dome -fnnn -cn -px [-s] [-v] [-h] [filename.xxx]
Where: -fnnn is geodesic frequency (default nnn=2)
-cn is class type (n=1 or 2; default n=1)
-px sets the polyhedron type
where x is: i for icosahedron (default)
o for octahedron
t for tetrahedron
-s generate full sphere data (default: symmetry triangle)
-v verbose data display at run-time
-h displays a help screen
filename.xxx is a standard DOS filename
where xxx is: DXF, DAT, POV or PRN
================
File Formats
================
DOME currently supports four file formats:
1.) DXF - DXF chord data which can be input into most
computer aided design packages. Each polyhedron face is
saved on a seperate level if spherical data generation is
requested.
2.) DAT - An ASCII report format. Shows only symmetry triangle parameters.
3.) PRN - An ASCII comma delimited format. Contains vertex
coordinate and chord coordinate data. Suitable for
parsing into custom routines and spreadsheets
4.) POV - POV-ray script file. Generates spheres for vertexia
and cylinders for chords.
================
Other Goodies
================
A DXF to POV converter DXFTOPOV is now included. This utility facilitates
POV rendering generation of modified DXF data. This is handy if you use
a CAD program to rotate the symmetry triangle into a complete sphere.
Several sample GIF files rendered with POV-ray are included for fun.
================
UNIX Portability
================
Several defines have now been added to the DOME & DXFtoPOV source code to allow
porting to UNIX machines.
================
DOME Updates
================
The next release of DOME should include:
Full sphere constructions for Class II triangles
Class II Method 3 Coordinates
A graphics viewer
If all goes well It will be ready for release in the
Summer of 1995
Following releases will add:
Axial, dihedral, & face angle calculations
Truncation options
Space frame support
Non-spherical geodesic structure design
================
Copyright Information
================
DOME 3.50, Copyright (C) 1995 Richard J. Bono
This program is free software; you can redistribute it
and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public
License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
version 2 of the License, or any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be
useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied
warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more
details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public
License along with this program; if not, write to the Free
Software Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA
02139, USA.
Please direct inquiries, comments and modifications to:
Richard J. Bono
44 Augusta Rd.
Brownsville, TX 78521
email:70324.1712@compuserve.com
-or-
rjbono@AOL.com
================
Acknowledgements & References
================
The main reference used in the creation of this code was:
"Geodesic Math & How to Use It" by Hugh Kenner, 1976,
University of California Press.
ISBN 0-520-02924-0; Library of Congress Catalog Card Number:
74-27292.
Many thanks to Hugh for putting this data in an accessible
format.
Also, many thanks to J. F. Nystrom for turning me on to
Bucky back in the summer of 1984, my wife Sonia and my
daughter Kathy for their de-finite patience, Chris
Fearnley for pushing me to release this code, providing
uploading tips, general comments & his GNU POV scripts, Kirby
Urner for introducing me to POV-ray and R. Buckminster Fuller
for changing the way I view Universe.
=================