>   Why is it OK to use POV-Ray's internal functions and patterns, and
perhaps
> even standard include files, but it's not OK to use third-party include
> files? What's the difference?

I don't think that this is the point.  Sometimes people (myself included)
try to do things just to see if it can be achieved even though they could
easily be faked or done with some type of include or 3rd party software,
etc.  Usually when I do it, it's not necessarily for any practical scene
purposes, but rather academic, to test my POV procedure and coding abilities
and to push the limits of the system.  I have done the lens flare effect in
question using a real lens system with a visible light source and
reflection.  The results are very slow and would never be practical in a
real scene situation, but I do have the satisfaction that I was able to do
it, and more importantly, that POV was able to do it.

-tgq

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