The New POV-Ray Editor

Since the late 80s or early 90s of the previous millennium I am enjoying
deeply using POV-Ray. I also like the comfort the existing POV-Ray
editor is giving to me. But still, my decades of working with POV-Ray
give me some demands I have on the editor that I want to share with you.
I am even a programmer, but i use Delphi (Pascal), and not C, and so I
cannot add my own work to the editor. Alas. I really would like.

1
The editor should be able to remember the settings, like to show a
margin on the left side with decimal line numbers. At the moment, the
editor cannot remember that setting.

2
Each tab needs to have a small CLOSE button (that famous "X") beside its
file name, that is something I really really need. Each operating system
has its own advantages and disadvantages, let's use the advantages
please. The permanent right or middle clicking and then selection menues
shouldn't be the only solution to close a file. I want to close a file
(or tab) easily.

3
Please make it possible that we users can re-arrange the order of the
tabs to our wishes and needs.

4
The file names inside the tabs could be slightly bolder if the
associated file is a .pov file (scene main file). This could help to
distinguish a little bit faster between main files and included files
when searching for a specific file tab.

5
Please give, instead of the so limiting 16 basic colors, a true-color
selection for the editor's preference colors. Thanks.

6
An embedded keyword corrector alerts in real-time or on button-click on
wrongly-spelled keywords (like "difference", "union", "object", and so
on). I am seeing a need for that, because having POV-Ray during the
rendering aborting on such errors, takes a lot of useless time if the
scene is very complex. The highlighted wrongly-spelled keywords would
then manually be corrected by the user, jumping from keyword to keyword.
While I wrote this text, I am working on a large, complex scene, where
the parsing alone takes almost ten minutes. I have errors, and lose so
much time for successless parsing. If the editor can offer a first
clean-up of the scene files, it would save so much time.

7
Here it comes: when opening a file (.pov or .inc), the editor should
recognize the included files within the POV-Ray scene code and offer
only then decently and silently an additional button, maybe inside the
tab, to open a list window of all related files. Clicking a listed file
name opens that file, too. This dialog can be closed with a CLOSE
button. This list window also offers another button that opens all
listed files. The need for such a decent listing is, that I am writing
large scenes, and often use many include files to make the main file
smaller. I need to open all related files that I created, but not often
I need to open the include files POV-Ray came with.

8
And another useful tool would be a feature, that checks each texture or
declared object or variable, if it is being used somewhere inside the
scene file or files (main .pov and included .inc file). Such a feature
could help to make large scene files (.pov or.inc) leaner. It highlights
the block of what is nowhere needed, and the user can delete it, or the
editor offers the automatic deletion of all of them. I self would prefer
the user's manual deleting, that is safer. Alternatively, the user could
highlight a part of the scene source code and have the editor checking
just within that highlighted area for unused items this area contains.

9
Not a function of the editor, but a REQUIRED function of POV-Ray: a
special switch should allow POV-Ray, instead of rendering, to create an
.stl file output of any given POV-Ray scene. In times of 3D printing,
this is just a must. POV-Ray gives us such an immense control over the
scene, but what is this all good for, what are the decades of developing
POV-Ray good for, if we cannot bring our POV-Ray scenes into the real
world..?

Post a reply to this message

On 9-12-2015 6:21, Sven Littkowski wrote:
> The New POV-Ray Editor
>
> Since the late 80s or early 90s of the previous millennium I am enjoying
> deeply using POV-Ray. I also like the comfort the existing POV-Ray
> editor is giving to me. But still, my decades of working with POV-Ray
> give me some demands I have on the editor that I want to share with you.
> I am even a programmer, but i use Delphi (Pascal), and not C, and so I
> cannot add my own work to the editor. Alas. I really would like.
>
> 1
> The editor should be able to remember the settings, like to show a
> margin on the left side with decimal line numbers. At the moment, the
> editor cannot remember that setting.

You can have a left margin with line numbers even now. Go to Editor 
Preferences [ALT + ENTER] and go to the Misc tab. Check Show left margin 
and adapt Line numbering to your needs.

>
> 2
> Each tab needs to have a small CLOSE button (that famous "X") beside its
> file name, that is something I really really need. Each operating system
> has its own advantages and disadvantages, let's use the advantages
> please. The permanent right or middle clicking and then selection menues
> shouldn't be the only solution to close a file. I want to close a file
> (or tab) easily.

I second that.

>
> 3
> Please make it possible that we users can re-arrange the order of the
> tabs to our wishes and needs.

I second that.

>
> 4
> The file names inside the tabs could be slightly bolder if the
> associated file is a .pov file (scene main file). This could help to
> distinguish a little bit faster between main files and included files
> when searching for a specific file tab.

I second that.

>
> 5
> Please give, instead of the so limiting 16 basic colors, a true-color
> selection for the editor's preference colors. Thanks.

Not sure. May become confusing.

>
> 6
> An embedded keyword corrector alerts in real-time or on button-click on
> wrongly-spelled keywords (like "difference", "union", "object", and so
> on). I am seeing a need for that, because having POV-Ray during the
> rendering aborting on such errors, takes a lot of useless time if the
> scene is very complex. The highlighted wrongly-spelled keywords would
> then manually be corrected by the user, jumping from keyword to keyword.
> While I wrote this text, I am working on a large, complex scene, where
> the parsing alone takes almost ten minutes. I have errors, and lose so
> much time for successless parsing. If the editor can offer a first
> clean-up of the scene files, it would save so much time.

I second that.

>
> 7
> Here it comes: when opening a file (.pov or .inc), the editor should
> recognize the included files within the POV-Ray scene code and offer
> only then decently and silently an additional button, maybe inside the
> tab, to open a list window of all related files. Clicking a listed file
> name opens that file, too. This dialog can be closed with a CLOSE
> button. This list window also offers another button that opens all
> listed files. The need for such a decent listing is, that I am writing
> large scenes, and often use many include files to make the main file
> smaller. I need to open all related files that I created, but not often
> I need to open the include files POV-Ray came with.

I would like that indeed.

>
> 8
> And another useful tool would be a feature, that checks each texture or
> declared object or variable, if it is being used somewhere inside the
> scene file or files (main .pov and included .inc file). Such a feature
> could help to make large scene files (.pov or.inc) leaner. It highlights
> the block of what is nowhere needed, and the user can delete it, or the
> editor offers the automatic deletion of all of them. I self would prefer
> the user's manual deleting, that is safer. Alternatively, the user could
> highlight a part of the scene source code and have the editor checking
> just within that highlighted area for unused items this area contains.

I second that.

>
> 9
> Not a function of the editor, but a REQUIRED function of POV-Ray: a
> special switch should allow POV-Ray, instead of rendering, to create an
> .stl file output of any given POV-Ray scene. In times of 3D printing,
> this is just a must. POV-Ray gives us such an immense control over the
> scene, but what is this all good for, what are the decades of developing
> POV-Ray good for, if we cannot bring our POV-Ray scenes into the real
> world..?

That would be nice indeed.


-- 
Thomas

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Hash: SHA256

Le 09/12/2015 08:54, Thomas de Groot a écrit :
> 
>> 
>> 9 Not a function of the editor, but a REQUIRED function of
>> POV-Ray: a special switch should allow POV-Ray, instead of
>> rendering, to create an .stl file output of any given POV-Ray
>> scene. In times of 3D printing, this is just a must. POV-Ray
>> gives us such an immense control over the scene, but what is this
>> all good for, what are the decades of developing POV-Ray good
>> for, if we cannot bring our POV-Ray scenes into the real 
>> world..?
> 
> That would be nice indeed.

Not for a scene, but for an object, it has been done.
(now, what is the difference between a scene and an object ? hmmm)
The path is to make a mesh from an object, then save that mesh as a stl.

It is not perfect: the unit of stl is rather implicit, and the
adaptation from povray unit is rather scarce.

And no color so far. I will blame the dual specification for color in st
l.

Of course it is yet another branch of unofficial povray :-)

You can both render the scene and get one or many stl files from it.

Here an illustration about how the linked page's object was made:
> http://www.shapeways.com/product/JHQ6C74NL/boxarts



#version 3.7;
global_settings{ assumed_gamma 1.0 }

#declare RadiusValue = 40;
#declare ScaleFactor= RadiusValue*cos(radians(36));
camera { orthographic
location <0,0.5,-40>*ScaleFactor
up y
right image_width/image_height*x
direction z
look_at <0,0.5,0>*ScaleFactor
 angle 4.2
}

#declare IntSize = 25;
#declare Width = 1.25;
#declare ExtSize = IntSize+2*Width;
#declare MidSize = IntSize+Width;

light_source  { <-4,7,-10>*ScaleFactor, 0.5 }
light_source  { <4,7,-10>*ScaleFactor, 0.4 }
light_source  { <4,-7,-10>*ScaleFactor, 0.4 }
light_source  { <-4,-7,-10>*ScaleFactor, 0.4 }
light_source  { <-4,7,10>*ScaleFactor, 0.5 }
light_source  { <4,7,10>*ScaleFactor, 0.4 }
light_source  { <4,-7,10>*ScaleFactor, 0.4 }
light_source  { <-4,-7,10>*ScaleFactor, 0.4 }
background { color rgb <0.35,0.5,0.35> }

#declare Te= texture { pigment { color rgb <1,1,1> } };
#default{ texture { Te } }
#declare Name="BoxArts";

#declare Face=
union{
torus { IntSize/2, Width/2 }
cylinder { <MidSize/2,0,MidSize/2>, -<MidSize/2,0,MidSize/2>, Width/2 }
cylinder { <-MidSize/2,0,MidSize/2>, -<-MidSize/2,0,MidSize/2>, Width/2
}
#for(j,0,359,90)
#if (j = 990)
cylinder { <MidSize/2,0,MidSize/2>, <MidSize/2,0,-MidSize/2>, Width/2
rotate j*y }
#end
sphere {  <MidSize/2,0,MidSize/2>, Width/2 rotate j*y }
#end
}
;
#declare Ori=
difference{
union{
object { Face rotate 90*x translate z*(MidSize/2) }
object { Face rotate 90*x translate -z*(MidSize/2) }
object { Face translate -y*(MidSize/2) }
object { Face rotate 90*x rotate 90*y translate x*(MidSize/2) }
object { Face rotate 90*x rotate 90*y translate -x*(MidSize/2) }
}
box{ -ExtSize/2,ExtSize/2 inverse }
box{ -IntSize/2,IntSize/2 }
}
;
//object{Ori rotate <1,2,3> }
#declare Out=
bourke { original Ori accuracy <150,150,150>  offset 0.05 precision 20
 texture { pigment { color rgb <1,1,1> }
 }
 }
;
#declare FiName=concat(Name,".stl");
#debug FiName
#debug "\n"
stl_save{ FiName, Out }
#debug "Save Done\n"
object { Out }

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