Eitan Tal <eit### [at] netvisionnetil> wrote:
: Povray Ver 3.0 doesn't support #macro, but 3.1 does
: I need to know what it does so I can understand and use some examples
: I cannot run.

  You can declare a kind of function with the #macro feature. The uses of
this feature are so extensive that it would require an entire tutorial to
list them in detail.
  Let me tell one of its uses:
  Create your own mathematical functions. For example:

#macro F(X, Y)
  -exp(-X*X-Y*Y)*sin(sqrt(X*X+Y*Y))
#end

  Now you can use F() as if it was a normal mathematical function.
For example:

  #declare P1 = <F(i1, i2), F(i2, i3), F(i3, i1)>;
  #declare P2 = <F(i2, i3), F(i3, i4), F(i4, i2)>;

(supposing, of course, that here i1, i2, i3 and i4 are some declared
variables, for example, loop indices)

  Other uses are parametric object creation, etc.

  However, #macros are not the only good things about 3.1. There is also
the file-IO, arrays, etc. File-IO is sometimes extremely useful. For example,
see the povray compressed mesh macro by Chris Colefax at:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lakes/1434/pcm.html

  See also all the other macros at:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lakes/1434/

  For example the PCM macro would have been completely impossible to do with
povray 3.0.

  There is also another advantage of povray 3.1: Surfaces of revolution and
lathes are rendered a LOT faster than in 3.0.

: I don't like any newer versions of povray, they try to sell me all of
: their cdroms, and I hate it.

  Oh, I haven't noticed this. Where exactly does this happen? I use the
windows and the unix versions.

-- 
main(i,_){for(_?--i,main(i+2,"FhhQHFIJD|FQTITFN]zRFHhhTBFHhhTBFysdB"[i]
):5;i&&_>1;printf("%s",_-70?_&1?"[]":" ":(_=0,"\n")),_/=2);} /*- Warp -*/

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