From: bdickens@el_padre.mitre.org (Brian Dickens)
Subject:  Colormaps in AVS
Organization: The MITRE Corporation, Bedford, MA 01730
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 13:50:56 GMT

I am displaying surface temperature satellite data in AV S, and I am rather disturbed at the lack of color
resolution.  By looking at the colormap, it seems there are only twenty or so different colors.  I would like a
smoother gradient, and I think my system (Sun SparcStation) should be able to handle more.   It seems to
have a LOT more colors when displaying images like the mandrill.

Can anyone suggest a way to get more colors?  I've used the edit function in the colormap, and I told it to range
from 0 to 255 instead of 0 to 240, and that's given me some purple (ugh), but I would really like more subtle 
shades of red-orange-yellow-green-blue.

BTW, are there any plans for a keyboard shorthand to doing all the mouse dragging?  i.e.:

   ri>di ... create a ReadImage module and connect it to a DisplayImage module
   ri:bitmap.x ... tell ReadImage what file to display.
   di:d ... tell DisplayImage to dither.

I like having the option to live like a Mac user, but part of the fun of X-Windows is having a choice, hmmm?  And
an additional suggestion: I think that there should be a MIN and a MAX button on the dials.  Sometimes you
turn it and have a TERRIBLE time getting back to where you started.  And there's all that room on the dials... you
could put a small button on the lower left and one on the lower right.

Anyway, speaking of mouse difficulties, there seems to be a problem with the connection routing in AVS.  When a lot of boxes get on the screen, AVS still manages to make the "theoretical" connections to all the appropriate
modules.  But when you actually move to the module you want to connect to, the highlighted pipe doesn't switch.
Nonetheless, when you release the mouse button, the proper connection is made.  Why doesn't the highlight
change when you move your cursor to be closer to a different module?  It just seems to pick one and stick with it.

And while I'm complaining (nobody EVER talks about the things they LIKE!!!), I just wanted to ask about the
connections themselves.  It seems they cross and cover each other rather liberally... even when they don't HAVE
to.  It goes out of it's way to do it, sometimes.  Perhaps a more intelligent algorithm could be constructed?

And I wish AVS supported more image types... like sunrasters.   But if anyone is in need of a module that
reads in uncompressed monochrome sunrasters (we needed it for masking operations), feel free to ask, since
we wrote one.  We are working on integrating a lot of other software/hardware with AVS, and trying to use
AVS for its interface more than for anything else.  This involves modules that formulate queries to database
machines based on input parameters, modules that call SAS for statistical analysis, modules that interface
with ARC/info to formulate GIS queries that create bitmap masks for your data... (i.e. "Give me all the data for
Africa")... so if anyone wants to tell/ask/talk about anything with regards to these subjects, just ask.

<<<?>>> bdickens@elara.mitre.org <<<!>>>

But overall, AVS is a good product, and some people here in the lab have had many hours of fun wrapping
monkeys around teapots, and other such nonsense.  (You should license that Geometry Viewer out to Nintendo...
give them a few sample data sets... that can keep people unproductive for HOURS! <grin>)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics.avs