yesbird wrote:

> Many thanks for this info, I will get back to splines after converter
> polishing.

Of course.
It's always nice to have a sort of head-start, with some keywords and even code
to get things moving quickly.

> Btw, would you suggest the best way to inform the community
> about its existence ?

What I would greatly suggest is that you not just leave it as a converter, but
add some small embellishments to make it a valuable learning tool.

It ought to be easy enough to make a small mesh and show how the normals are
calculated, how vector cross products allow the order of the vertices to
determine the direction of the normal, etc.
[X] Create an explanatory diagram as an .inc file

Then you can not only advertise it here on the forum, and elsewhere, but also
slip references to it in discussions on stackexchnge, stackoverflow, Wolfram,
and other places.  Make sure you have a didactic, academic graphic that will
attract computer science / graphics / gaming students to visit your app if they
come across it in a web search.  That way it has a lasting value completely
aside from JustAnotherFileConverter.
Make sure you put some prominent references to POV-Ray and the newsgroups in
your graphic. (I'd also suggest putting some standard POV-Ray header info in the
inc file, along with a reference to you & your web converter URL)

That way, if people find your project to be a useful learning tool in addition
to it being just a converter, they may be encouraged to try POV-Ray, and get
involved with many of the projects - including the ones you are working on, or
don't have time to work on.  And I have no problem with using 3js as the basis
for a new version of POV-Ray, so any CG tools developed in 3js are valuable as
well. (You know I draw my knowledge and inspirations from a wide range of
platforms and sources)

So - that's always where my mind is going when we talk about any project.  "How
do we attract people and bring them together to (re)build a thriving computer
graphics community"

- BW

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