Acorn User: China/Acorn User China CD-ROM (UK) (Disc B)/Acorn User China CD-ROM (UK) (Disc B).bin/WEBSITES/FORTRAN_FRIENDS/PDRAW.ZIP/ReadMe

Text File | 1999-02-06 | 13.1 KB | 317 lines

                     !PolyDraw (Demo Version)
  'Fortran Friends', P.O.Box 64, Didcot, Oxon, OX11  0TH
              telephone:  +44  (0)  1235  834357

Introduction
    !PolyDraw is an interactive program which displays a polyhedron in 2
forms, a 3D solid and a planar net from prestored datafiles.   The full
version allows you to save Draw files of the 3D solids and planar nets; you
cannot save any files with this demo version and can only use the supplied
datafiles.

Machine and operating system requirements: Any Acorn computers using RISC-OS
operating systems: 3.XX, including networks and StrongARM.

Copyright and copying:
This program remains the copyright of 'Fortran Friends'; this demo version
is given to you on the understanding that if you give a copy to anyone else
you will copy all the files, unchanged, including this one.

To get the Full Version:

 Send a cheque for £20 payable to 'Fortran Friends' at the address above.

  With the full version you can:

  1. Save diagrams as 'Drawfiles' or to !Draw for printing and combining
     with others.
  2. Use more datafiles: 140 are included in the distribution.
  3. Use your own new datafiles.
  4. Read more documentaion (see contents of full version directory Docs
     below)
  5. Send us suggestions for improvements and report problems which we will
      try to correct.

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                      Contents of the !PolyDraw Demo Disc

Top level directory

  !PolyDraw demonstration application
  Products - software available from Fortran Friends
  Calend99 - a dodecahedron for you to make into a 3D model calendar for 1999
  ReadMe (This file)

  Within the !PolyDraw application, in addition to the usual files,
   there are the following sub-directories:
   'DatX' containing the 20 example data files acceptable to this
          demonstraion version
   'Docs' with two examples and a 'Glossary' of terms
   'PolyLists' with the only acceptable index of polyhedra
   'Resources' with files used by the program

The rest of this file is the 'ReadMe' from the full version.

**************************************************************************
          ReadMe for  !PolyDraw
           updated 25 July 1998

Introduction
 !PolyDraw is an interactive program which displays a polyhedron
in two forms, as a 3D solid and as a planar net, from prestored data files.
It is written in the Fortran programming language by:

 'Fortran Friends', P.O.Box 64, Didcot, Oxon OX11 0TH

   tel: [phone]

Machine and operating system requirements:

Any Acorn computers using RISC-OS operating systems 3.XX, including networks
and StrongARM.

Copyright and copying:

Further details can be found in the file Docs.CopyRight.
This program remains the copyright of 'Fortran Friends': it is licensed to
you for single use only; you may copy it to a backup floppy disc or to your
own hard disk but giving copies to others is illegal.   Your registration
number is unique; any illegal copies found will be reported to the
'Federation Against Software Theft' and you will be liable for prosecution.

Getting Started:

These instructions assume some knowledge of how to use an Acorn computer.
If you are a new user, more detailed instructions on how to copy files, use
the windows and the mouse can be found in the 'User Guide' manual for your
computer system. !PolyDraw is a RISC-OS compliant program which runs in the
Acorn Desktop and tries to conform to the operating conventions in the Acorn
Style guide; it supports Acorn interactive help.

Fortran Friends welcome comments and requests for new features for future
versions of this program.

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                      Contents of the !PolyDraw Disc

This section is for reference only, you may never need to use it if you just
want to use the supplied data files, plot them in various ways and save the
diagrams as Draw files. All Draw files on the distribution disc have been
compressed using the standard 'Squash' program.

Top level directory

  !PolyDraw application
  Docs directory of useful information (see below)
  POVsprite squashed sprite example of a ray traced dodecahedron
  Products - software available from Fortran Friends
  ReadMe (This file)
  TryThese directory of suggested activities (see below)

Skip to the section headed 'Installation' if this is the first time you have
looked at this file, and you are not interested in technicalities.

   Within the !PolyDraw application, in addition to the usual files,
   there are several directories, (listed below in alphabetical order of
   directory name):

  Directories Dat*
   These contain files of polyhedron data  (see Docs.DataDirs for details)

  Directory 'PolyLists' contains the files which make your list of
    possible polyhedra to plot. Each file has the reference number
    of the 'Dat' directory, the file name, the polyhedron name and
    information used by the 'select' window if you want to restrict
    the number of possible polyhedra to plot.

    'PolyList' lists polyhedra separated into types separated by headings

  Directory 'Resources'
    In addition to the usual Acorn files, Messages and Templates,
    there are several other files, which the program may change for you,
    but which most users need not bother with.

    'Choices' defines the initial settings and filenames to be read,
              for example as the initial 'Polylist'.
    'Colours' defines all the colours used initially. The program can
              change this file if the user changes the colours and then
              asks to save the 'Colours' file before quitting the program.
    'DefCols' this is the default 'Colours' file, initially it is the same
              as 'Colours'. To reset an updated 'Colours' file to the
              original colours, manually copy 'DefCols' to 'Colours'.
    'POVdat'  skeleton POVscene file copied to real POVscene.
    'Register'this file contains your name and registration information.
              It must not be changed by the user.
    'ToolSp3D'sprites used in the tools pane of the 3D display window.


   Outside the !PolyDraw application there are two directories of useful
   information.

  Directory 'Docs' contains:

   Text files
     BookKits   - WWW URLS, suggested reading, and suppliers of model kits
     CopyRight  - a statement of 'Fortran Friends' copyright
     DataDirs   - a description of the contents of the Data directories
     FaultRep   - a form for you to return if you find any problems
     FormData   - a definition of the format of the data files
     FormOpts   - a definition of format of the Choices and Colours files
                     in directory Resources
     FormPlist  - a definition of format of the Polylist file in PolyLists
     Glossary   - a text file defining terms associated with polyhedra
     NewOnes    - advice on how to add a new polyhedron of your own.
     Versions   - record of the differences between versions of !PolyDraw
     WishList   - current planned enhancements for !PolyDraw

    Draw files
     Defn      - a Draw file with an explanatory diagram showing some
                    of the terms used in 'Glossary'
     DrawEx1   - shows the range of display forms which can be saved into
                    a Draw file from !PolyDraw
     Stereo    - an example of a side by side stereo pair,
                   which can be seen as 3D if you can defocus your eyes
     ToolsExpl - an explanation of the icons in the tools pane

  Directory 'TryThese' contains

     Activities - some suggested activities for you to try when you
                  get bored with just looking at the polyhedra,
                  rotating them, and saving them as Draw files and
                  want to know a bit more about how they are related
                  to one another.
     Answers  - the answers to the questions in 'Activities'
                (Try not to look at these until after you have
                 tried them for some time yourself!)
     Squashed Draw files - 'Sheetn' and 'Answern' which are part of
     the 'Activities' and answers

      We should be most grateful for suggestions for further activities,
      or copies of new ones to pass on to other users.

      Please send yours to 'Fortran Friends' at the address above.

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Installation:

1. Make a working copy on floppy disc. Store the original safely, in case
your working copy becomes damaged. Your license allows you to make a
single copy for your own use. If the disc supplied has been damaged and
will not copy, return it to us for a free replacement within 3 months of
purchase.

Use the 'working' copy for the rest of the instructions. You can run from
the floppy if you want to.

2. Installation on hard disc:
Make yourself a directory for storing your programs, with
a name such as 'Polyhedra' and copy the contents of the floppy disc to it.

3. Read the Documentation.
Before trying to run the application, look at the file !Help file for
operating instructions, in the sub-directory 'TryThese' for some
suggested activities, and in the sub-directory 'Docs' for a glossary of
terms and some example Draw files.  You may want to print these out for
future reference.

4. Operating instructions:
Running instructions are in the file !Help of the application;
Acorn interactive help is supported.

5. Starting the program:

Double-click on the application !PolyDraw to start the program; this loads
an icon on to the icon bar and shows the default list of polyhedra you can
plot. Click MENU when the pointer is over this icon to see the options.
Choose 'info' to see the program name, version number and your registration
number, which should be quoted in any correspondence with 'Fortran Friends'.
Click SELECT to see the default list of polyhedra you can plot.

6. Stopping the program:

Click MENU over the icon on the icon bar and choose the last option, 'quit'.
If windows are hiding the icon bar, press key f12 while holding down the
SHIFT key, to bring the icon bar to the front of the windows.

7. Colour Changing:
You can change the colour used for particular faces of a polyhedron in some
of the display forms. If you try to do this and get an error message saying
'Colour Picker module is not loaded', then if you have a copy of the Acorn
Colour Picker Module load it using commands as described in the !Run file.
If you have not got this module you can get it off the Acorn User Cover Disc
for September 97 or send a blank disc plus return envelope and postage to
'Fortran Friends' at the address above.

8. Displaying your own data files:

The format of the data files is defined in the file Docs.FormData which
lists all the possible lines of the file. You need not make all the lines,
but the first line must have the string ':name ' as the 1st 6 characters,
and the last line must begin ':end '.  The vertices must be described in
clockwise direction for each face as they are seen from inside the
polyhedron. If they are not, the results are unpredictable, usually, the
face is missing from the 3D plot.

For example:

:name my new cube
:comment designed by me on 22 June 97
:solidf 6 4
4 1 2 3 4 1
4 4 5 6 1 2
4 2 1 6 7 7
4 8 3 2 7 5
4 8 5 4 3 3
4 6 5 8 7 4
:solidv 8
0  0.8 0.58
-0.8 0 0.58
0 -0.8 0.58
0.8 0 0.58
0.8 0 -0.58
0 0.8 -0.58
-0.8 0  -0.58
0 -0.8 -0.58
:end

 9. POVRay is a freely available ray tracing program.

There is a review of POVRay in Archimedes World Vol 14 #11 p60.
Full details, manual, code (C but not the Acorn specific implementation)
and many example scenes are available on the Internet at URL:

  http://www.povray.org/nf-index.html

The POVscene produced by !PolyDraw requires POVRay version 3 which may be
obtained free from HENSA (a235 and c040 for POVFront), or for small sums
from APDL (B409, 4 discs) and from The Datafile; it is on their CD-ROM PDCD5
in directory Utilities.P.

The POVscene output by !PolyDraw is simple but can be improved by adding
textures, backgrounds etc. 'Fortran Friends' do not offer support for
POVRay.  An example ray-traced image is POVsprite, a small low resolution
squashed sprite of 320 by 240 pixels.

10. Possible Faults:

Error conditions we have thought about have 'traffic sign' windows which
should allow you to choose whether to stop the program or try to carry on.

If your working disc is damaged, you may find when you try to start the
program you merely get an 'error window' saying your user registration file
has been corrupted. Delete all the files from your working disc, and make a
new copy from your original disc.

If you find the program stops in an uncontrolled way, please try to write
down details of what you were doing just before the error, and send them to
us, preferably using the fault report form in file !PolyDraw.Docs.FaultRep.

If you have changed any of the !PolyDraw files, or the fault is in reading a
new polyhedron of your own, please check carefully that you have listed the
face vertices in the correct order before contacting us. The usual symptom
of this is that the face with incorrect vertices is not plotted in the 3D
window.  Please supply copies of the files on floppy disc which you were
using when the error occurred.