Am 04.05.2016 um 18:14 schrieb Le_Forgeron:

> Actually I was more thinking about other possible extension(s), like "open"
> which could remove the spheres (a non-sense for ovus, per definition).
> 
> Why would I remove the spheres ? Well... with more parameters, and maybe a more
> sexy syntax, it could come as an handy "arm"/"leg"/... object or part, in something
> like a sphere_sweep. So to avoid coincident surfaces (and reduces the number of
objects ?),
> it could be something like (think "cylinder" vs "torus")

That could be considered an entirely different game: It would no longer
be an ovus, but a mere subsection of a spindle. (*)

As of the current POV-Ray 3.7.1 development releases, I would consider
it more fitting to implement such a shape as a CSG macro, based on a
self-intersecting torus with the "intersection" keyword (a new feature
in POV-Ray 3.7.1), cut to shape using an intersection or clipped_by.

Actually, if the ovus didn't already exist now, I'd say there is no need
for such a dedicated shape (anymore); but since it is around already, it
would be neat to add a bit more flexibility.

(*) On the other hand, it could still be considered an extension to the
ovus, as in "an ovus, but don't give me the spheres because I already
have them"; most notably, the parameterization, as you envision it,
would still be based on the concept of an ovus; also, it would make a
lot of sense in terms of implementation, because all you'd have to do
would be to suppress the spherical portions.

> And maybe, while we are at it, a function (for SDL) to compute the minimal radius of
the spindle

That would /definitely/ a job for an include file -- if it wasn't
pointless anyway: The minimal radius of the spindle is /always/ the
distance between the spheres plus their radii: The value at which it
degenerates to a sphere.

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