From: gordonc@epcc.ed.ac.uk (Gordon Cameron)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics.explorer
Subject: Axis Update + making modules
Date: 17 Oct 92 01:59:09 GMT
Organization: Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre

Hi folks,

Just a quick note to say that Robert DeMillo has updated his Axis module
, and details follow at the foot of this message, together with a description
of the module. As usual, ftp-able from ftp.epcc.ed.ac.uk, and (soon) 
swedishchef.lerc.nasa.gov

Also, if you grab source for modules from the ftp sites, you should create a
Makefile by executing /usr/explore/bin/cxmkmodmf, then just type make
(some folks were having trouble, but this is the solution )

Bye for now - those of you visiting Vis 92, have a good time #:-)
	-Gordon.

PATCH INFO....

Corrections:
	- Titles are now centered. Subtitling works.
	- Tic labels correctly position themselves when
	  the XZ plane is chosen for the "back wall"
	- The axis labeling now does "correct things" when
	  the x,y,z minimums are all below 0.0.
	- Axis now *always* assumes a default of 10 major
	  and 2 minor tics along all three axis. (Before, it
	  would try and place a major tic mark at every
	  major integer interval...which obviously would
	  overcrowd the screen on a run from 0 to 10,000 and
	  would undercrowd the screen on a run from 0 to 0.1


Thanks for the help.

- Rob

   NAME
        Axis

   DESCRIPTION
       	"Axis" will annotate a geometric, rendered image that was constructed
       	from an Explorer 3D Uniform Lattice. The user has control over the
       	axes that are displayed, as well as textual information such
       	as axis labels, tic labels and an image title. This module is meant
       	to be used in conjunction with the "Render" module, since all of its
       	output is in the geometric data set.
        
       	"Axis" was written so that the user can "know where he/she is looking"
       	in a render window. Although explorer is an excellent visualization
       	tool, the lack of any common reference can be quite confusing after
       	you've stretched, rotated and zoomed behind your image a multitude of
       	times. "Axis" provides you with a common reference point, and allows
       	for a bit of useful annotations. 
       
       	Although images rendered in conjunction with "Axis" can be used
       	for presentations or reports, the extreme two-dimensionality of the
       	fonts in a three-dimensional world can look a bit...strange. In a 
       	future release, we will offer better control of font placement, 
       	font type, and (hopefully) three-dimensional block fonts. Until that
       	time, feel free to use "Axis" as a starting point and perhaps fill
       	in the "nicities" of image label using "Showcase" or a similar
       	presentation tool.
        
       	When the "Axis" module is connected to a 3D Lattice input stream,
       	it take certain reasonable defaults for the axis attributes. The
       	number of Major tics will attempt to correspond to the number of
       	incremental divisions in the user's X, Y, and Z matrix. If the user
       	is not satisfied with the tic spacing, then he/she can set any spacing
       	desired, or turn them off altogether.
       
       	Axis labels, tic labels and tic marks are placed in the plane that the
       	axis in question shares with the X Axis. Y Labels, for instance, are
       	written in the XY plane. For now, numeric tic labels are limited to
       	1 decimal position for output. We realize this is troublesome, and it
       	will be remedied in subsequent releases.
       
       	Image titles and subtitles are placed in either the XY plane above 
       	the maximum Y value, or in the XZ plane above the maximum Z value. 
       	An attempt is made to center the text string,
       	but there are no guarantees since we cannot get world coordinate
       	information *back* from the Render module easily. 
       
       	Image titles can be up to 1,024 characters in length. Subtitles are
       	separated from the main title with a "||" separator. (Two pipes
       	together.) There is no limit as to how many subtitles
       	there can be in any one image. The main title is moved upwards forever
       	to make room for the subtitles.
       
       
   INPUTS

      InputLattice -- Lattice
         (3-D, float..double, uniform).
         	Input port from other Explorer modules.

   WIDGETS

      X Axis Visible? -- Radio Box
         	Turns the X Axis (with labels) on and off.

      X Major -- Slider
         	Number of major tics on the X Axis.

      Y Major -- Slider
         	Number of major tics on the Y Axis.

      Z Major -- Slider
         	Number of major tics on the Z Axis.

      X Minor -- Slider
         	Number of minor tics on the X Axis.

      Y Minor -- Slider
         	Number of minor tics on the Y Axis.

      Z Minor -- Slider
         	Number of minor tics on the Z Axis.

      Numeric Tic Labels? -- Radio Box
         	Turns the numeric labeling on and off.

      Image Title -- Text
         	Enter a title for the image.

      X Axis Label -- Text
         	Enter a label for the X Axis.

      Y Axis Label -- Text
         	Enter a label for the Y Axis.

      Z Axis Label -- Text
         	Enter a label for the Z Axis.

      Y Axis Visible? -- Radio Box
         	Turns the Y Axis (with labels) on and off.

      Z Axis Visible? -- Radio Box
         	Turns the Z Axis (with labels) on and off.

      Title Location -- Option Menu
         	Place title on either the XY plane or the XZ plane.

   OUTPUTS

      OutputGeom -- Geometry
         	Outputs the axis and labels in a geometric form to 
         	another Explorer module. (99% of the time this will be Render.)

   KNOWN PROBLEMS
      
      	The severe restriction of allowing for only 16 input ports in any
      	given module meant that a lot of functionality was left out of 
      	the "Axis" module. Color, for instance, is outside of the user's
      	control. "Axis" will draw its information using whatever color is in	
      	colortable position 1 in render. Likewise, the user has no control over
      	placement of the labels, origin of the axes, etc. Hopefully, these 
      	omissions will be addressed in a future release.
      
      	"Axis" has a little bit of a hard time centering it's titles. Hopefully,
      	this will be addresses in a future release.
      
      	"Axis" only understands 3D Uniform Lattices, because that was our
      	immediate need. It would be worthwhile to consider the labeling
      	of other Lattices and 2D Lattices in future releases.
      
      

   SEE ALSO
      	
      	Render, RenderRemote
      








-- 
e|p Gordon Cameron                      |     Phone:+44 31 650 5024(Rm. 2259)
c|c Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre |     Email: gordonc@epcc.ed.ac.uk
    oOo The University of Edinburgh oOo |    'So far so good, so now so what'
Newsgroups: comp.graphics.explorer