Floppyshop 2/Floppyshop - 2.zip/Floppyshop - 2.iso/art&graf.ix/art-4774/easy_pov/easy_pov.eng

Text File | 1996-05-29 | 16KB | 333 lines

------------------------
- Easy POV Version 1.0 -
------------------------

What is Easy POV?

Easy POV is a program which allows easy launching of the marvellous
Ray-Tracing program Persistence Of Vision. This wonderful program
however is far from user-friendly, with the command line requesting a
host of complex options which are daunting for a beginner and
unforgiving of anyone who keys an error.

It is for this reason that I decided to create the eponymous Easy POV to
make for easy program launching, without too many mistakes, thus
bringing POV within the reach of everyone. So as to make POV even
easier, Easy POV also verifies the options to avoid sending bad commands
to POV.


How does it work?

In order to use Easy POV you must have use ST high resolution as a
minimum (640*400) which shouldn't be too much of a problem, but a lower
resolution version can be released should there be the demand.

So that everything works satisfactorily you must have the version of POV
corresponding to your ATARI and Easy POV itself both in the same folder.
Click on EASY_POV.PRG to start the magic.


What must I do?

Once launched, a main window opens showing all the possible POV
configuration options. To change the options just click on them and,
depending upon the case, other parameters will be requested. Clicking on
the round buttons reverses their state; for path names (where POV will
look for it's various files), script names and the name of the picture, a
click opens the file selector allowing you to select the required file. A
maximum height and width of 32767 is possible for the resolution of the
picture. If you enter an incorrect value, the program will tell you and
disregard the entry.

For those with several computers, a very practical option has been
provided to enable the picture to be split into several pieces to speed up
processing time, prior to sticking them back together again. Lines at the
beginning and end can be defined to warn you if these are any
discrepancies in the resolution and if an error results.

Holding down the mouse button produces a popup menu allows the options
of the type of picture, quality and the POV program for your Atari to be
selected. Having selected your options, just press ENTER on the numeric
keypad and your calculations can begin.

TO USE POPUP MENUS, CLICK ON THE CORRESPONDING FRAMES TO VIEW
THEM AND KEEP THE MOUSE BUTTON HELD DOWN TO SELECT THE CHOSEN
ITEM. POPUP MENUS DISAPPEAR WHEN THE BUTTON IS RELEASED.


THE OPTIONS.

Window options

Paths        : Search paths where POV will look for the different files
               and scripts.
Script       : Name of your script picture (*.POV).
Picture      : Name of the picture to be created.
Picture type :
        TGA  : TARGA picture format (type 2, 24 bit), recognised by
               many art programs.
        DIS  : POV's own format, which is only recognised by POV but
               can be converted with a utility.
        RAW  : A format creating three files (RED, GRN, BLU), each one
               comprising a single colour (red, green, blue) which must
               then be superimposed to create the final picture.
        NONE : Does not create an output file. Not very useful but
               practical for those who want to see if their script speeds
               up the calculations, thus saving time on writing to disk.

Width, Height       : Picture resolution (from 0 to 32768).
Start               : Line at the beginning of the calculation (for those
                      who want to make their calculations in several pieces)
End                 : End line of the calculation.
Anti-aliasing       : Calculation method for softening the differences
                      between colours. (Be careful, this slows down picture
                      calculation times enormously).
Anti-aliasing value : A number between 0 and 1.
Buffer              : Memory buffer to speed up disk accesses when saving
                      the picture.
Buffer value        : Size in kilobytes.
View picture        : Choose if and in what form you want to see the
                      picture during calculation. Note that viewing the
                      picture will significantly reduce calculation speed.
Picture quality     : POV allows you to produce pictures of differing
                      quality; for example as a preview, without all the
                      details, thus speeding up processing time.
Viewer information  : Shows calculation information when not in
                      viewer mode.
Interrupt           : Stops picture calculation in progress by means of a
                      simple keystroke (an indispensable option in my
                      opinion.)
Continue            : Restart processing of a picture which was interrupted
                      using the above command.
Wait at end         : Waits at the end of a calculation for a keystroke
                      (useful for checking that all has gone well.)
Wait on error       : Waits for a keystroke after POV finds some sort of
                      error (useful for seeing why POV has bombed.)
Type of POV         : Depending on which Atari you are using there are
                      several versions of POV available. This option allows
                      you to choose which one you will use. If Easy POV
                      detects a 68030 or a 68882, the program
                      will give you the best version for use with your
                      configuration. For information, the different POV
                      programs are:

                            POVST.TTP exclusively for the 68000.
                            POVST_82.TTP for the 68000 and the 68882.
                            POV30.TTP for the 68030 version.
                            POV30_82.TTP for the 68030 and the 68882.


Drop down menus

Quit      : Quit Easy POV (CONTROL Q).
DIS->TGA  : Conversion from DIS to TARGA 24-bit format.
DIS-> RAW : Conversion from DIS to Quick Ray Trace's RAW format. Note
            that this format is different from the three distinct RAW
            files that POV produces.
DIS->TIF  : Conversion from DIS to the great standard TIF format.
TIF->DIS  : Conversion from TIF to DIS format.
Start POV : Starts picture processing (ENTER).
Help      : A little help screen (HELP).


How Easy POV passes parameters to POV.

In order to work, POV needs all it's options to be placed in the command
line and also uses the default file POVRAY.DEF. I decided to use the latter
as the means whereby the different options would be sent to POV, as this
file is used directly by it. If you have insufficient memory, you can
create your command line in Easy POV and then quit the program to
regain the memory space. Then all you have to do is to launch POV from
the desktop, without entering anything in the command line, as all the
options will have been selected previously.

The POVRAY.DEF file in Easy POV is saved directly POV is launched if any
changes have been made. If on the other hand you want to quit Easy POV
and a change has been made, the program will ask you if you want to
save the options before quitting. During normal usage the saving of the
configuration is entirely transparent and so you don't need a save option,
which is why one has not been provided. When Easy POV is launched the
options are taken from the POVRAY.DEF file; should this file not exist, the
defaults which I have outlined above will be taken.


Easy POV and MULTITOS.

With the arrival of market of the new Atari multitasking systems on the
market, I thought it would be desirable to be able to run POV in the
background, if MULTITOS was present. When MULTITOS is active the
program looks for the environment variable TOSRUN which allows
programs which do not use GEM (*.TOS, *.TTP) to run in the background.
This environment variable is defined in the MULTITOS configuration file
GEM.CNF. The following line (or something similar) must appear:

setenv TOSRUN=C:\MUTITOS\MINIWIN.APP

For those who do not know to configure MULTITOS following it's
installation, this line is automatically created. I have inhibited picture
viewing (during calculation) when running under MULTITOS, otherwise it
would be bye bye multitasking, as POV keeps all the screen for itself, so
don't try to select this option.

When you run POV under MULTITOS a new window opens showing the
progress of the calculations. After launching POV you can even quit Easy
POV without any problem to free up a bit more memory. If the fancy takes
you, you can even run several calculations at one time, although I don't
recommend this as MULTITOS isn't exactly a speed freak at the moment.

In any event we shouldn't complain, as MULTITOS is sufficiently viable; I
must say that someone who manages to make it bomb out is either
unlucky or has really tried to make it do so. Note that if you want to run
several POVs at the same time, don't forget to change the name of the
output picture, as it is impossible for several applications to write to the
same file at the same time. If you don't change the file name you will get
an error message like 'Output file error .....'.


Final word

That's the end of this little documentation file, but I would like to say
that this program is Postcardware (a term invented by Vincent Pomey,
author of STZIP). If you want to send me a little card to thank me for my
good work (I'm so modest!) or if you want some more contacts, you can
contact me at the following address:

M Cordonnier Christophe
ETR 55.665 Base Aérienne 107
78129 Villacoublay-Air

Or by Minitel on 3615 STMAG in 'fatboy78' or on the AZIMUT server on
(1)39-98-09-02 in the same bal.

I would also like to say that I have modified the POV source code to
correct certain bugs and completely translate it into French. If you would
like a copy (68000, 68030, 68882), do not hesitate to contact me, saying
which version you want.

May I say to everyone developing their own applications that I am a
member of the ST&CO association which edits a fanzine of some 40 pages
with a disk of DP. To subscribe to our AMAZING magazine or to
distribute your own creations, you can also contact me using your
preference for one of the above methods.

Wishing good pictures to all and long live Atari ...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATES

Version 1.1 (26/08/93) :

Correction of the redraw of a value button following the change of it's
contents.
Problems with the window bar following changes have been fixed.
Improvement to the management of the option changes.
Improvement to the way popup menus are treated.
Addition of an option to create a file of statistics. Using this option
creates a file called POVSTAT.OUT containing all the information POV will
use to create your picture. Useful for those who start a calculation and
leave their machine to get on with it, allowing them to read the results of
their calculations later.


Version 1.2 (10/09/93) :

Another improvement to the way popup menus are handled, avoiding the
use of additional memory and assuring redraws over the covered up part.
Keyboard shortcuts conformed to ATARI definition.
A bug in the management of the anti-aliasing value persists in this
version; currently it is impossible to change this value, but the default of
0.3 is the one which gives the best results. For those who would still
change this value, just get a text editor to the POVRAY.DEF file and
change the value placed after the +aX.XXXXXX.


Version 1.3 (01/11/93) :

Easy POV is currently the best shell available for POV2.
This represents an important stage for Easy POV; the arrival of POV2 with
it's new options has necessitated an adaptation to make the most of the
new features of the new version. Easy POV has just about retained the
same interface, with the addition of the ability to select between POV1 and
POV2. I did not want to penalise those users who do not have POV2 and
so according to the version of POV you have, Easy POV presents more or
fewer options accordingly. Apart from these new options, the program is
used in the same way.

Correction of the anti-aliasing bug, as it is now possible to change this
value without the slightest verification error.
Correction of an important bug in the management of the mouse; when
clicking outside a window the program locked out! I wonder that I hadn't
noticed the bug before, but it's fixed now and everything works fine.
Addition of an alert box if you want to change the values without
validating the corresponding options (anti-alias, buffer etc.)
Yet another correction to the popup menu routine, as MULTITOS still isn't
quite stable and the old version worked perfectly under TOS and certain
versions of MULTITOS, but didn't work well under MULTITOS 1.08, for
example. Now the popups work as well under TOS as all currently
available versions of MULTITOS (0.8 to 1.09).


Version 1.4 (01/12/93) :

Not really a new version as version 1.3 has not been released (apart to a
few friends). This version corrects all the little bugs in 1.3 and is the
first really available complete shell for POV1 and 2 which works on the
whole range. For the new options available in POV2, please refer to the
POV documentation.

Now under MINT (not MULTITOS) you can run POV in the background. As
POV is not a GEM program, there was no reason why POV shouldn't work
with multitasking. As with MULTITOS, the environment variable TOSRUN
must be declared.
With the arrival of the ScreenBlaster card for the Falcon 030 I realised
that viewing pictures with POV was impossible. With the ScreenBlaster
card installed, changes of resolution within an application are either
impossible or cause the Falcon to bomb (a bug in ScreenBlaster?). So, as
with MULTITOS, viewing options have been removed to avoid any bombing
out of POV or Easy POV.

A little bug appears when the accessory found in STMAG79 (CLOGGE) is
active. This program effectively uses interruptions to display it's
information, causing the popup menus to work incorrectly. As this problem
is quite new I don't have the answer yet but I'm thinking about it. For
now, just disable the accessory and everything goes back to normal.


Version 1.5 (01/01/94) :

Another fairly important evolution in the life of EasyPOV. As the workings
of the utility have stayed exactly the same, this is where a new option
gets to see the light of day. Now you can load or save any configuration
you like (files with a .DEF extension as the configuration file for POV).
This option is a lot more practical and allows you to create and load your
configurations easily and as desired. Loading a configuration file is as
easy as falling off a log; a file selector opens giving you the choice of
options already available. It's the same for saving a configuration. When
manipulating files, if you don't add the .DEF extension, it is automatically
entered for you, but if you load one it will be recognised.

Further, an option to reset all values to zero (default values) is now
available (a choice from the drop down menu or keyboard shortcut
CONTROL R) makes Easy POV even easier to use.


Version 1.6 (01/02/94) :

No modifications to the functionality of the utility but principally
corrections to the popup menus which now work almost everywhere (well,
nearly, as I don't have all the existing configurations to be able to do
some tests). Also there is no more incompatibility with such accessories
as BEFORE DAWN or CLOGGE, for example. To this end, for those who are
interested in the correction of this bug, I must say that I was simply
forced to make an illegal call to the 'evnt_multi' function to get
everything in order!! This GEM is really bizarre.


========================================================================
English translation by Ralph Nelson-Tucker, May 1996
========================================================================