Hello,

I have been using povray for years to render scientific data from
a numerical model. I am using povray version 3.1g with R. Suzuki's
isosurface patch. Since the isosurface code has been merged into 3.5, I
would like to use the latest version of povray to make my isosurfaces.

The problem is this: With R. Suzuki's POV3ISO patch, a shared library
could be loaded which contained the code for reading data into povray.
A function could then be called which put this data into the proper
array. The library keyword, which facilitated this, does not work with
the latest versions of povray. Here is an excerpt from a .pov file that
currently works with the old patchd version of povray that I am using:

isosurface {
library
"/data/orf/povray31nc/source/unix/ncommas-stretch.so","ctrl",
<2664,QI,x0,xf,y0,yf,z0,zf,dx,dy>
function "hist_field", <0.0001,stretch>  // isosurface value, vertical
stretching factor
box <0, 0, 0,> <boxx, boxy, boxz>
bounded_by { box { <0, 0, 0>, <boxx, boxy, boxz> } }
clipped_by { box { <0, 0, 0>, <boxx, boxy, boxz> } }
accuracy 0.20
sign -1
pigment { rgb <.65, .65, .65> }
finish {ambient 0.6 diffuse 0.6 specular 0.15 roughness .4}
no_shadow
}

So, my question is this: Can the latest povray code do what I used to
do? It seems that the function keyword must be a mathematical function
with the latest code. I would like to be able to somehow load my data,
which is stored in large floating point history files on disk, and
basically use this three-dimensional data as my isosurface values.

For some pictures and animations of what I am doing with povray, see
http://orf.cx/ncommas

Leigh Orf
Assistant Professor of Meteorology
Central Michigan University

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