#IPAS questions
13 messages in this thread
>> Hi Gus,
>> I'm developing some IPAS routines and Gary Yost referred me to you with a
>> couple of questions.
>> First, I've seen some AXPs that allow the user to place a 2D shape on top
>> of a bounding box. The particle system then is constrained by the shape
>> rather than the box. How is this done?
>> Second, Gary named some good references on polyhedra; unfortunately they
>> are no longer available. Can you name some current titles?
>> Lastly, I'm using the Watcom 9.0 compiler but several people seem to prefer
>> MetaWare. Do you have a preference?
>> Thanks,
>> David
——————————————————————————
David,
I decided to answer that here in the forum so other people could use the
information (if any).
Watcom versus Metaware: I actually use both. It depends what I want to
get done. For some stuff I prefer Watcom but mostly I use Metaware.
It's easier to debug and has a somewhat more optimized code. The big
advantage in Watcom is the royalty free dos extender. The biggest
draw back is the lack of a debuger that works. There are also some
memory management quirks but it can be easily taken care off by using
some simple assembly code (for that you will need PharLap SDK).
Polyhedrons: I have a ton of stuff but I would think it wouldn't be
that easy to find it unless you happen to live close by a big campus
and have a used book store around. The fact is that there isn't much
secret in Polyhedrons and once you find a good reference you should
be able to come up with you own stuff. I know of at least four books
that are in print that have some material on the subject. Graphics
Gems II edited by James Arvo (the Cornell University graphics
maniac). It's published by Academic Press and the ISBN is
0-12-064480-0. The other one is Computer Graphics – Principle and
Practice by James Foley, Andries van Dam, Steven Feiner, and John
Hughes. The book is published by Addison-Wesley publishing company
and the ISBN is 0-201-12110-7. Mathematical Methods in Computer
Graphics and Design by K.W. Brodlie. Published by Academic Press
(can't make the ISBN on this one but is has 123-141 in it).
Introduction to Solid Modeling by M. Mantyla. Published by Computer
Science press (no ISBN whatsoever).
Here are some other more exoteric papers:
"Winged-edge Polyhedron Representation" by B.G. Baumgart – Technical
Report STAN-CS-72-320, Computer Science Department, Stanford
University.
"Geometric Modeling for Computer Vision" this is Baumgart's Ph.D.
thesis. The report number STAN-CS-74-463.
"A Set-Operation Algorithm for Two and Three-Dimensional Geometric
Objects" by J. A. Turner. Architecture and Planing Research
Laboratory, College of Architecture, University of Michigan (1984).
You can find these papers through Internet (with some luck) or request
the respective libraries for a copy.
And Lastly, I have no idea what you're talking about. For that one I
have to do some "research" before I make any "guess".
I think what David Thompson was talking about concerning the IPAS
routines is called a bounding box. The type that the Yost Group uses
to make fireworks explode in the shape of a letter.
Yep, but that's a 3D shape not a 2D face. The idea of limiting your
extensions to within the space of a 3D volume is rather simple. I'm
not so sure I understand what he was talking about when he referred
to a 2D face.
Hi Gus –
It's my fault if he's explaining it wrong. He's just starting to get into IPAS
and 3DS. We are developing IPAS routines for resale and I briefly showed him
some Yost stuff and said "here, do this". The 2D shape came into play because
of the way I showed him how to create a boxed shape. So the real question is,
once you have place a 2D shape onto a cube and attatched them together into one
object, how do you make particles, flow A Dout constrained by the shape instead
of the cube.
David – Digimation
P.S. Even though 3DS is sort of new to David T., it's obvious that programming
isn't. I'm amazed at the particle stuff he cranked out in the first week after
receiving the IPAS developer kit.
All right… I guess the best explanation for that is found in the Particle
System documentation on page 12. If that ain't enough, try asking Darrel
Anderson.
Hi, David!
Murph'
David,
Spatial partitioning of a 3D solid basics are outlined in Computer
Graphics: Principles and Practice as referenced by Gus. This book also touches
on a huge array of other useful material and is a must. The SIGGRAPH conference
proceedings also provide several more in depth papers on different methods
being used.
Keith
Schreiber Instruments
Hey Keith, long time no … well, I guess I should say no read… <g>
Hey Keith! Good to see ya here.
– G
Gus,
DA told me that you had replied here; I kept looking for mail. Anyway, thanks
for the info. Can you name any good sources for the MetaWare compiler and the
DOS Extender?
DCT
I guess the best source is Metaware themselves. You can also find it at
Programmer's Paradise (800-445.7899). Metaware had a deal going on for a while
where they were bundling both High C/C++ 3.1 and PharLap's SDK for less than 1k
(both would cost you around $1,300 at Programmer's paradise).
I could not find Metaware's number but they are in Santa Cruz and it should be
easy to get directory assistance.
Thanks Gus
DCT
Metaware… 408/429/6382.
– G