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1993-06-04
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RDS version 1.1
Copyright 1993 - Ben Charles Sutter
This software is Freeware. I, Ben Sutter, retain full Copyright to the source
code and executable. RDS can be distributed for non-commercial purposes.
This software is released with no warranty whatsoever. Use it at your own risk.
****************************************************************************
The biggest change between this release and release 1.0 is the
inclusion of UnRDS. UnRDS will decode a stereogram created by my
program RDS as close to its original look as possible. Try it out.
It's pretty cool!
****************************************************************************
Contents:
RDS - executable version 1.1
UnRDS - executable decode program version 1.1
RDS.doc - this file
iff.library - library required in LIBS:
Mand - an example picture of a Mandelbrot
Dips - an example picture, a bunch of dips
Special Thanks (in alphabetical order)
Warren Block - for the reference books, suggestions,
tapes of the Simpsons, and moral support
Dr. Ed Corwin - for lending me the book on 68000 assembly
Pete Covert - for the 68000 assembly suggestions, and for
being my one-and-only pseudo beta tester
Jim Sinks - for being a test subject for all of the
pictures I made with this program
Cristian A. Weber - for writing a terrific iff library, without
which this program would not exist
RDS runs fine on my stock A2000.
RDS has also been tested and runs fine on the following:
A1000 KS 1.1 and ICD AdSCSI w/homebrew Zorro I to Zorro II converter
A1000 Lucas/Frances '020 16mhz
A2000 Microbotics VXL '030 33mhz
A2000 Progressive '040 33mhz
A2000 with GVP 40mhz '030
A4000 25mhz '040
Conclusion: RDS will run on ANY Amiga.
RDS has been tested with versions 15.3 - 22.3 of the iff.library and
it works fine with all.
I. Introduction
This is a little program (2836 bytes) that will generate a random dot
stereogram. It is written in 100% assembly language. I wrote it in assembly
for a couple of reasons. First, the small code size, and speedy execution.
Second, it was a challenge. I have only been programming in assembly language
since January 1993. I took it last spring at my college, where I am a sophomore
Computer Science student. Unfortunately, the only personal computer in the
world, as we all know, is an IBM compatible, so what we learned was 8088
assembly language (move memory to memory, what's that?). I had first written
this program in C (in about two hours). Converting it to 68000 assembly
language, however, took about two weeks. It's finally ready to be released.
II. Random Dot Stereograms - what the hell are they?
A random dot stereogram is a picture that looks like snow on a TV.
By training your eye muscles to behave in a certain way, a 3-D image will
magically appear. I do not know the specific optical properties that cause
this to work. All I know is that it does.
First, a little background on how our eyes work. Our eyes are focusing
instruments, just like a camera lens, or the Hubble Telescope (except the
Hubble can't see as far). If you stand on the sidewalk and look at your house,
and then hold your finger at eye level with your arm fully extended. Now, close
one eye. You can now focus your open eye so that your finger will be clear,
but your house will be blurry. You can then make the house clear, and your
finger will become blurry. This is called focus.
The way we perceive depth is by the angle between our eyes. In other
words, the further an object is from you the closer the line of site of your
eyes is to being parallel.
To see the stereogram, you need to angle your eyes as though you are
looking at something twice as far away as the paper (or monitor). BUT, your
eyes need to be focused at the surface of the paper, beacuase when it comes
right down to it, that is where the image actually is, on the paper.
It will take some practice. Your eye muscles aren't doing anything
they haven't before, you just need to train them.
Some of you may have seen these in magazines, or malls, where there
were two dots above the image. These can be a big help. Hold your finger
behind the paper just above the dots. Slowly pull your finger away, keeping
your eyes focused on your finger, until the two dots turn into four dots and
then the two middle dots merge into one, so you see three dots. Keep in mind
that you must keep your eyes focused on your finger. You will see the two,
or three or four, dots in your peripheral vision. When you have the three dots,
you should see the image from your peripheral vision. Then you can slowly move
your eyes down the page to see the rest of the image.
A note about the dots: If you look at the image, you will see a pattern
repeating itself several times across the page. The space between the two dots
corresponds to the width of the repeating pattern. In the pictures generated
by RDS, this distance is always one eigth of the width of the picture.
III. Help
Sometimes it's easier to see these when they are on paper. If you are
having difficulty seeing these, try printing them out on an 8.5 x 11 page. It
helps some people to have the two dots at the top of the page. After some
practice, you probably won't even need the dots.
If you are stuck, but are still interested, send me a self-addressed,
stamped envelope, and I will send you a couple of my printouts.
If you still need more help, or have suggestions, comments, bug
reports, or anything to say, I can be reached in several ways:
Snail Mail: Ben Sutter
2415 Minnewasta Rd
Rapid City, SD 57702-5156
USA
Voice Phone: (605)343-5121
Internet: bcs8624@silver.sdsmt.edu
****************************************************************************
History of RDS:
****************************************************************************
version 1.1 Released 4-June-1993
Added some minor optomization
Included UnRDS, a stereogram decoder
RDS no longer requires version 18 or better of iff.library
version 1.0 Released 20-May-1993
Initial Release