2.5 Programs and Data

Here is more term project raw material.

2.5.1 Javascript

This is an interpreted language that can be embedded in HTML pages read by Netscape. There is info on Netscape's page, and a newsgroup. You might learn it and do something in it.

marsSample Mars Imagewidth=3in

2.5.2 Mars Data

In /dept/ecse/graphics/public/mars/ there is an extract from a NASA CDROM with data of Mars, including a little documentation, 2 sample images, and a display program, see Figure 17. I ran the program thus:

cd /dept/ecse/graphics/public/mars/software
./reader.bin ../me68s045.img mars.pal

Unfortunately, the color map works badly if you're not using OpenWindows, so I had to play with the image in this handout with xv.

etopo4Sample of ETOPO5 Datawidth=3in

2.5.3 ETOPO5 World Elevation and Bathymetric Data

This is two arrays of data for the world giving elevations above or below sea level on a 5 arc-minute grid. There is some info in /dept/ecse/graphics/public/etopo5/, and a sample image in Figure 18. I don't have the files on RCS (they are 13MB compressed for the points), but can put a hemisphere online if there is interest.

champlain_smLake Champlain W DEMwidth=3in

2.5.4 Digital Elevation Models of the US

A DEM is a grid of elevations on a 3-arc-second spacing (about 90m) for a cell of the coterminous US. See /dept/ecse/graphics/public/dem/ for more info and a sample file of northeastern NYS, Figure 19.

You can FTP all the US DEMs.

2.5.5 CIA World Databank of Coastlines and Borders

See /dept/ecse/graphics/public/cia/. You're on your own here; I haven't played with this one.

2.5.6 POV Ray

POV-Ray is a neat ray-tracing program. You define objects in terms of cylinders, cubes, etc, with their colors and surface properties, such as shininess, and the light sources. POVray calculates the image.

POVray is in /dept/acm/packages/povray/2.2. There is a doc file, which is 52 pages if printed 2-up with enscript thus:

gunzip -c Docs/povray.doc.gz | enscript -2r -Pvclw

For the moment, the uncompressed file is in /dept/ecse/graphics/pov/pov.doc .

First, you create a file defining the scene, such as /dept/ecse/graphics/pov/a.pov:

Then you run POVray with options:

cp /dept/ecse/graphics/pov/a.pov .
povray +Ia.pov +Oa.qrt +V +W400 +H400 +FD +L/dept/acm/packages/povray/2.2/common/include

For previewing, I recommend doing a image; I did just to make the printed image look better, but it took 11 1/2 minutes on my Sun IPC, or 2 CPI minutes on a Sun 10/30. I got a.pov, the input file, from /dept/acm/packages/povray/2.2/Docs/demo/arealit1.pov.gz.

arealit1Sample POVray Scenewidth=3in

The output file, a.qrt, has to be converted so that xv can read it, thus:

qrttoppm a.qrt >a.ppm 
xv a.ppm

resulting in Figure f:arealit1, showing 3 balls casting shadows from 3 lights. qrttoppm is in /campus/other/netpbm/1mar94//bin/qrttoppm . There are a number of sample command files and resulting scenes, for the moment, in /dept/acm/packages/povray/2.2/distrib/scenes/. Figure f:povindex shows them. This looks a lot better in color; see /dept/ecse/graphics/pov/povindex.gif .

povindexPovray Sample Sceneswidth=6in

2.5.7 Holograms

I found an interesting blurb on hand-drawn holograms in http://www.eskimo.com/~billb/amateur/holo1.txt.

I haven't tried it, but if it works, you could also make crude computer-generated holograms as a project.

HAND-DRAWN HOLOGRAMS!
(c)1995 William J. Beaty

I've stumbled across a technique for drawing holograms directly upon a plastic plate by hand. It sounds crazy, but I've been sitting on the livingroom sofa making holographic images of floating polyhedra, words, 3D starfields, etc. No laser, no isolation table, no darkroom, no expensive film plates. This takes nothing more than a compass and some scraps of black plexiglas. Too cool, if I say so myself!.....

stereogramA Stereogramwidth=4in

2.5.8 Stereograms

There is a lot of info on the net. See /dept/ecse/graphics/public/stereogram/ for one program, and Figure 22 for an example.