Fa3ien wrote:

>>
>> I should also point out that POV-Ray should be split into three layers.
>>
>>     1) The low-level rendering engine with an API
>>     2) The SDL which reads the scenes and calls the renderer through 
>> the API
>>     3) A Moray-like modeler which (likely) produces SDL
>>
>> #3 could also talk directly to the rendering API but I think you'd 
>> lose some power and flexibility that way.
>  >
>> The strange thing about my proposal is that the SDL can actually 
>> extend the low-level engine.  If you want a sphere, call the low-level 
>> API to create one.  If you want a NURB (Non-Uniform Rational 
>> B-Spline), code it in the SDL layer, provide methods that do 
>> ray-surface intersection, normal calculation, etc, and use it. The low 
>> level renderer would treat it just like a primitive shape but call 
>> into the SDL layer to do the calculations.  The same applies to new 
>> kinds of pigments, finishes, etc.
> 
> SDL capable of extending the engine is more or less what Warp suggests.
> If doable, and if it doesn't require as much programming skills as
> modifying the core itself, it would greatly enhance the number of
> people able to help getting POV 4 to a usable state.
> 
> In your model, is #2 conceived to be human-writeable-and-readable ?

#2 is effectively the same SDL as POV-Ray currently has.  There may need 
to be small changes but it should look extremely familiar to POV artists.

David Buck

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