It seems that POV-Ray 3.6.0 for Linux outputs everything to stderr and 
nothing to stdout.
Is this the normal behavior on all other platforms (at least Windows and 
OS-X) as well?

(There's nothing wrong with it - I'm just trying to write a 
cross-platform tool that invokes POV-Ray, and I'd need to know which 
stream(s) to listen to...)

Thanks!
-Sascha Ledinsky

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Sascha Ledinsky wrote:
> It seems that POV-Ray 3.6.0 for Linux outputs everything to stderr and 
> nothing to stdout.
> Is this the normal behavior on all other platforms (at least Windows and 
> OS-X) as well?

As the Mac as well as Windos version have GUI frontends, they don't (by 
default anyway).

	Thorsten

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Thorsten Froehlich wrote:
> As the Mac as well as Windos version have GUI frontends, they don't (by 
> default anyway).

Ok, I'd need to launch it from a Java application - seems that I have to 
check which OS it's running on first :-(

So beside the common commandline options (+H, +W, etc.) I'd use

"+I<filename>" for the linux version

and

"\RENDER <filename> \EXIT" for the vindows version.

Is this how it's designed to be?


The Mac section in the online docs says:
"You cannot control POV-Ray for Mac OS directly via command-line options."
[ http://www.povray.org/documentation/view/3.6.1/759/ ]

...now, what does that mean? Can't I start POV-Ray from an external 
application (a modeler) on the Mac?!?

-Sascha Ledinsky

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Sascha Ledinsky wrote:
> Ok, I'd need to launch it from a Java application - seems that I have to 
> check which OS it's running on first :-(
> 
> So beside the common commandline options (+H, +W, etc.) I'd use
> 
> "+I<filename>" for the linux version
> 
> and
> 
> "\RENDER <filename> \EXIT" for the vindows version.
> 
> Is this how it's designed to be?

No, the Windows version does take all the other arguments as well, but you 
need a few special options to the the Windows GUI what to do...

> The Mac section in the online docs says:
> "You cannot control POV-Ray for Mac OS directly via command-line options."
> [ http://www.povray.org/documentation/view/3.6.1/759/ ]
> 
> ...now, what does that mean? Can't I start POV-Ray from an external 
> application (a modeler) on the Mac?!?

You can start it, but on Macs there is no command-line, so you cannot use 
that to control an application. Mac applications are controlled by more 
advanced means than simple command-lines. However, on Mac OS X you can 
"cheat" and compile/use the Unix command-line version.

	Thorsten

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Thorsten Froehlich wrote:

> Mac applications are controlled by 
> more advanced means than simple command-lines.

ROFL :-)

So, what's the "advanced" procedure to lauch application "B" (plain mac 
pov) from application "A" on a macintosh?

Popup a window and tell the user that a pov-file has just been saved to 
some directory and kindly ask him to use his "advanced" single-button 
mouse to tell pov-ray to load and render it? ;-)

Now honestly - I can't test it on a Mac because I don't have one, so I 
could use some help. Would creating an ini file work?

-Sascha

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Sascha Ledinsky wrote:
> Thorsten Froehlich wrote:
> 
>> Mac applications are controlled by more advanced means than simple 
>> command-lines.
> 
> ROFL :-)

Only a clueless person laughs about things they do not know or understand ;-)

> So, what's the "advanced" procedure to lauch application "B" (plain mac 
> pov) from application "A" on a macintosh?

If a Mac user wants to control an application, since 1990 the system and 
many applications provide a very advanced "event" mechanism that - for users 
- is hidden behind what is called "AppleScript".  It allows far more than 
anything a command-line could ever do: Interactive control of an 
application, even from another system on the other side of the world (if the 
user allows it).  And that since 1990 and without having to be a computer 
expert.

You are still laughing? - No!?! - Ohhhhhhhh.....

Now, that an obsolete technology like Java comes years later and all it can 
do is command-line interaction is your problem.  You might consider 
developing a real Mac application or just stay away from Macs.  If you just 
create a PC-style Java application and hand it to Mac users, they will 
ignore it anyway, but you won't understand why due to ignorance.

Until you change that, continue cleaning all those worms from your Windows 
PCs and keep chasing for the latest patches on your Linux PCs. I don't need 
to do either and have more time to get my work done.

	Thorsten

PS: Of course on a Mac you can just use the com.apple.cocoa.foundation and 
implement 
<http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Cocoa/Reference/Foundation/Java/Classes/NSScriptCommand.html>

to communicate with other Mac applications.

Post a reply to this message

Thorsten Froehlich wrote:
> Sascha Ledinsky wrote:
> 
>> Thorsten Froehlich wrote:
>>
>>> Mac applications are controlled by more advanced means than simple 
>>> command-lines.
>>
>>
>> ROFL :-)
> 
> 
> Only a clueless person laughs about things they do not know or 
> understand ;-)
> 
>> So, what's the "advanced" procedure to lauch application "B" (plain 
>> mac pov) from application "A" on a macintosh?
> 
> 
> If a Mac user wants to control an application, since 1990 the system and 
> many applications provide a very advanced "event" mechanism that - for 
> users - is hidden behind what is called "AppleScript".  It allows far 
> more than anything a command-line could ever do: Interactive control of 
> an application, even from another system on the other side of the world 
> (if the user allows it).  And that since 1990 and without having to be a 
> computer expert.
> 
> You are still laughing? - No!?! - Ohhhhhhhh.....
> 
> Now, that an obsolete technology like Java comes years later and all it 
> can do is command-line interaction is your problem.  You might consider 
> developing a real Mac application or just stay away from Macs.  If you 
> just create a PC-style Java application and hand it to Mac users, they 
> will ignore it anyway, but you won't understand why due to ignorance.
> 
> Until you change that, continue cleaning all those worms from your 
> Windows PCs and keep chasing for the latest patches on your Linux PCs. I 
> don't need to do either and have more time to get my work done.
> 
>     Thorsten
> 
> PS: Of course on a Mac you can just use the com.apple.cocoa.foundation 
> and implement 
>
<http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Cocoa/Reference/Foundation/Java/Classes/NSScriptCommand.html>

> to communicate with other Mac applications.

Pardon my ignorance...

Is that system of controlling other processes similar to Windows' 
CreateProcess function?

-- 
~Mike

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Darren New wrote:
> if you want something 
> similar to Windows.  (With "AppleScript" being closer to "Windows 
> Scripting Host", if you really want to push analogies.)

Yes, I believe that is as close as it gets...

> Basically, it's different. :-)

...but that is much closer! ;-)

	Thorsten

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Sascha Ledinsky wrote:
> Now honestly - I can't test it on a Mac because I don't have one, so I 
> could use some help. Would creating an ini file work?

OK, a serious answer: No, as you just cannot communicate from Java with the 
Mac version efficiently.  I would suggest to find a link to a Mac 
command-line build, put that on your website (or have a special Mac 
download) and connect to that with the standard Java means.  After rendering 
is done, you probably want users to view the rendered image in your 
application anyway.

	Thorsten

PS: While it has low priority, I am well aware that there are uses for the 
"common" command-line control mechanism POV-Ray offers and if time should 
ever permit to complete the high-priority features for the Mac version, a 
small frontend that translates command-line control attempts to AppleEvents 
interacting with the GUI version is not out of the question.  But don't 
count on me ever having time to implement that ;-)

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Thorsten Froehlich wrote:
> keep chasing for the latest patches on your Linux PCs.

   Damn, I must be using something else, because I don't have to do that 
to keep my system updated. Perhaps it's a Mac and I never noticed... ;)

--
Jaime

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