> If I understand other discussions around similar subjects, there
> has recently been a proposal to create an external API style
> language that is preprocessed into standard POV code. Perhaps an
> XML style version of this proposal would work better than actually
> changing the base SDL of POV-Ray. A scene code in XML style
> code would then have all the advantages you indicate without any
> of the encumbrance of backward compatibility concerns.

If I understand your post correctly - we're talking about the
same thing in different ways.  This is the way I imagine it
unfolding:

	1.  A clearly defined programmatic API is defined
	    between POV and the POV-script parser.  Something
	    similar perhaps to the OpenGL API - A basic set
	    of function calls that can be used to build scenes.
	    (For the moment, let's ignore political issues
	     such as the POVteam position of "no API")

	2.  Definition of an XML based encoding of POV scenes
	    (perhaps not including loops and macros, to
	     start with) that can be parsed by an XML parser
	    and can be glued to the "POV API" without too
	    much fuss.

	3.  Support co-existance so that POV-script can 
	    include XML based data and vice versa.

	4.  Perhaps implement special tags for backwards
	    compatibility, or supporting any version of
	    pov script.  For example:

	<povscript version="3.1">
	// Insert your POV script here
	</povscript>

	or

	<povscript version="3.1.megapatch">
	// Insert funkier POV script here
	</povscript>

I keep having to say the following:

	We should keep POV script for it strengths,
	ease of hand editing, and general funkyness.
	This proposal is not "anti POV script", or
	anything like that.

	We should look at XML as being a standardised
	and extensible scheme that users are not forced
	to adapt to.  I think that XML can be used
	to improve backwards compatibility, rather 
	than this general reaction of "having to 
	change/relearn everything".

	It may also be interesting to see what the
	authors of 3rd party tools think about the 
	idea.  My general concept is that you get the
	data in and out in a painless manner, giving
	any programmer the facility to manipulate POV
	data. 

--
Nigel Stewart (nig### [at] nigelscom)
Research Student, Software Developer
Y2K is the new millenium for the mathematically challenged.

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