OK, so I admit I'm not anywhere near advanced status, but out of interest
why isn't "difference" a primitive CSG operation (simple answer please!!!)

Is there a Beginner/Intermediate Povrayer Test?

Reuben
doo### [at] breathemailnet

"Warp" <war### [at] tagpovrayorg> wrote in message
news:3c5977ae@news.povray.org...
>   Some years ago I made a "Hardcore Povrayer Test" just for fun. Here it
is
> again, with small updates.
>
>   For each statement which you feel is true in your case (be sincere),
take
> one point. The number of points you get is your score. The maximum number
> of points is 65.
>   (My personal score is "only" 37, so it *is* a tough test.)
>
>
> * You have participated in the IRTC and got to the top 20 best images.
> * You have won a price in the IRTC.
> * You have made bicubic patches by hand (and they worked as you expected).
> * You have made a pov-script that creates a smooth surface with bicubic
patches
>   using some algorithm.
> * You have made triangle meshes by hand.
> * You have made a pov-script which generates triangle meshes using some
>   algorithm.
> * You have used the quadric, cubic, quartic or poly primitives.
> * You have used poly objects bigger than 4th degree.
> * You have calculated the polynomial for that poly object by yourself
>   (instead of looking at the formula somwhere or just trying random
values).
> * You know the format of a PCM file.
> * You have made one by hand.
> * You have made a program which outputs a df3 file and used it in a scene.
> * You know what a df3 file is and what's its format.
> * You have made a patch for povray.
> * Your patch is included in MegaPov or at least it's popular.
> * Your patch was included in POV-Ray 3.5.
> * You have made a popular tool for povray.
> * You have used every object type, every camera type, every light source
>   type, every media type, etc. and know how to use them.
> * You could write a torus-shaped isosurface by memory, without needing
>   to look anywhere for the function.
> * Even if you don't remember the torus function, you could deduce it by
>   yourself, without looking it anywhere.
> * You know what is the "sturmian root solver" thing which is used with the
>   'sturm' keyword in some objects (ie. you know the algorithm it uses).
> * The intensity multiplier curves and light fading functions in the light
>   source section of the povray manual are very clear and you understand
>   them perfectly (and you might use them to choose your light source
>   types).
> * You understand how photon mapping works (at algorithm level).
> * You have found the 'average normal bug' by yourself in a povray version
>   previous than 3.1e.
> * You know exactly what was causing it.
> * You never include the povray include libraries (like colors.inc) because
>   they slow parsing, but always define your colors, textures, etc by
>   yourself.
> * You only use the png format when working with povray.
> * You always use it with alpha channel.
> * It's very easy to you to make slope maps and actually you often use
>   them to make your textures.
> * You know what the 'use_index' keyword is used for without looking at
>   the manual.
> * You understand the matrix transformation and you can write them by hand.
> * You know how to calculate the matrix from any number of consecutive
>   transformations (translate, scale, rotate).
> * For any given identifier name you can tell by heart if it's a reserved
>   keyword (ie. an illegal identifier name) or not (of course without
having
>   syntax highlighting to help you).
> * You could make any of the Chris Colefax's includes or macros by yourself
>   if you wanted.
> * You use frequency, phase, octaves, omega and lambda without problems
>   when creating your own textures.
> * You can tell what does each one of them do (without looking at the
>   documentation).
> * You understand the scattering function pictures in the media section of
>   the documentation.
> * You remember all the keywords that can be put in a global_settings block
and
>   you know what do they mean and how to use them.
> * Making good-looking radiosity images is not a problem to you.
> * You remember all the built-in float and vector identifiers.
> * You use all the vector and string functions without problem.
> * You know if some special feature is already implemented in the POV-Ray
3.5
>   standard include files (and thus you know you don't have to implement it
>   yourself).
> * Functions, macros, arrays, loops and file-IO directives are a piece of
cake.
> * You never get the "camera is inside non-hollow object" warning. If you
>   ever get it, it's absolutely intentional.
> * You have made a modeller for povray.
> * You often debug your povray code using the text message streams.
> * You can easily calculate the camera parameters when you want to put a
>   box right in front of the camera so that it completely and exactly fills
>   the viewing area.
> * You know which .c and .h files you must change to add a keyword to the
>   parser.
> * You can add a keyword and get it right the first time.
> * You know which .c file contains the functionality for each aspect of
>   the renderer.
> * You can find a bug in the renderer source code given just a description
>   of the symptoms and without using a debugger.
> * You know BOTH reasons why a mesh can't be used in CSG.
> * You know why refraction and media do work with meshes, even though CSG
>   doesn't.
> * You know that 'merge' doesn't have to be a primitive CSG operation
>   and can recite the equivalent sequence of intersections, unions, and
>   inverses.
> * You know that 'difference' isn't a primitive CSG operation and you
>   know how POV represents one internally.
> * You understand how 'bounded_by' _really_ works.
> * You know that a height_field has an inside and how it is defined.
> * You've written your own include file and distributed it on the net. It
has
>   got some popularity.
> * You understand all the options to 'media' without having to look in
>   the manual.
> * You know, without looking at the docs, how antialiasing methods 1 and 2
work
>   and what's their difference.
> * You have made yourself an obfuscated signature in POV-Ray SDL in 4 lines
>   or less, and you use it by default when posting to the POV-Ray news
server.
> * You didn't know the answer to one of the above questions so you tried
>   to find it in the manual.
> * You didn't know the answer to one of the above questions so you tried
>   to find it in the source code.
> * You didn't know that 'merge' wasn't a primitive but now that you do
>   you have worked it out for yourself.
> * You are a member of the POV-Team.
>
>
>
> --
> #macro N(D)#if(D>99)cylinder{M()#local D=div(D,104);M().5,2pigment{rgb
M()}}
> N(D)#end#end#macro M()<mod(D,13)-6mod(div(D,13)8)-3,10>#end blob{
> N(11117333955)N(4254934330)N(3900569407)N(7382340)N(3358)N(970)}//  -
Warp -

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