"Ken" <tyl### [at] pacbellnet> wrote in message
news:3BB08FE8.91083387@pacbell.net...
>
>
> Nekar Xenos wrote:
>
> > I can imagine blobs and iso-surfaces could be difficult, but I don't really
see
> > a problem with primitives?
>
> The converter would need an extremely complex scene file parser with
> about the same capabilities of POV-Ray itself to accomplish that.
> Would you like to wirte a POV-Ray scene file parser from scratch
> just to make a conversion program? I sure wouldn't.
>
Oh, ok.

- Nekar

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Ken wrote:
> 
> Nekar Xenos wrote:
> 
> > I can imagine blobs and iso-surfaces could be difficult, but I don't really see
> > a problem with primitives?
> 
> The converter would need an extremely complex scene file parser with
> about the same capabilities of POV-Ray itself to accomplish that.
> Would you like to wirte a POV-Ray scene file parser from scratch
> just to make a conversion program? I sure wouldn't.

Hopefully, POV-Ray 4 will be more tolerant to source re-use,
so external developers will be able to use the parser in their
own utilities. Until then, pov2foobar will be almost impossible
to do.

-- 
Adrien Beau - adr### [at] freefr - http://adrien.beau.free.fr
 Mes propos n'engagent que moi et en aucun cas mes employeurs

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"Adrien Beau" <adr### [at] sycomorefr> wrote in message
news:3BB09356.46052564@sycomore.fr...
> Ken wrote:
> >
> > Nekar Xenos wrote:
> >
> > > I can imagine blobs and iso-surfaces could be difficult, but I don't
really see
> > > a problem with primitives?
> >
> > The converter would need an extremely complex scene file parser with
> > about the same capabilities of POV-Ray itself to accomplish that.
> > Would you like to wirte a POV-Ray scene file parser from scratch
> > just to make a conversion program? I sure wouldn't.
>
> Hopefully, POV-Ray 4 will be more tolerant to source re-use,
> so external developers will be able to use the parser in their
> own utilities. Until then, pov2foobar will be almost impossible
> to do.
>
Hey, where can I get Foobar?  ;->

j/k

- Nekar

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Nekar Xenos wrote:
> 
> "Ken" <tyl### [at] pacbellnet> wrote in message
> news:3BB08672.2BC28F27@pacbell.net...
> >
> >
> > Nekar Xenos wrote:
> > >
> > > Pov primitives, blobs and iso-surfaces...
> >
> > Won't happen.
> >
> 
> I can imagine blobs and iso-surfaces could be difficult, but I don't really see
> a problem with primitives?
> 
> - Nekar

Some possible troubles from primitives:

 - All infinite solid primitives are nearly impossible to simulate 
    always correctly with triangles/polygones
   (plane is the first used, but quartic/quadric/poly/cubic are available too)

 - CSG !!! (excepted for union, which is really a do-nothing(*) )

 - You will have real fun with "text" object

 - All the really smooth finite solid primitives (e.g. superellipsoid, 
   sor, lathe, prism,...)
 
 - the julia_fractal is finite, but nearly impossible to tesselate correctly
   (unless you have really a lot of memory for the mesh...)



*: Excepted it permits to share some material & transform.

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A lovely idea!
I'd love to see Moray native (MDL) import and export for one (No
converter I've seen - free or otherwise, seems to do this) And while
we're at it, perhaps Autocad DWG and Max  too :)

Regards,
Anoop

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If I were you, I would focus on OBJ, 3DS, VRML and DXF:

OBJ & 3DS & VRML because of support for materials, texture mapping, lights &
geometry
DXF because it can be a "last resort" for some people, but it doesn't
support materials.

MAX -> don't even hope for it!  The commercial tools need a full version of
MAX and then also all the used plugins that are used to make this file.

Add a sort of plug-in to allow users to add file formats (and some simple
examples to get them started). E.g. a tutorial to make an import-plugin and
one for an export-plugin.

Good luck!!!! Maybe you should take a look at the book from Keith Rule "3D
Graphics Formats" (the base for Wcvt2pov & the CrossRoads Library)

 --- stefkeB ---

"Jon A. Cruz" <jon### [at] geocitiescom> wrote in message
news:3BAD8952.BFBCDB67@geocities.com...
> Especially Macintosh?
>
> Need something that will output Mesh 2 with UV support?
>
> Things are settling down for me finally, so I can get back to
> recreational programming. Seeing the complaints of some Mac users about
> there being no tools to create Mesh2 objects for 3.5, I figured it was
> time for me to put my money where my mouth is and go ahead and code some
> Java utility.
>
> I can program. The docs describe the output. Now all I need is to know
> what kind of model files need to go in to get converted. What do you
> guys want support for?
>
> My current plan is to do a command-line converter in Java that also has
> an optional UI component. It would work under Windows 95, 98, ME, XP,
> NT, 2K, Mac OS 9, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris, Irix, HP-UX, OS/2 and others
> with one single unified 'binary'.
>
> Oooh. Sound good? Anyone interested?
>
>
> --
> Jon A. Cruz
> http://www.geocities.com/joncruz/action.html
>
>
>
>

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in news:3BAD8952.BFBCDB67@geocities.com Jon A. Cruz wrote:

> I can program. The docs describe the output. Now all I need is to
> know what kind of model files need to go in to get converted. What
> do you guys want support for?

mesh to mesh2
mesh2 to mesh2 (just an optimiser)

Ingo

-- 
Photography: http://members.home.nl/ingoogni/
Pov-Ray    : http://members.home.nl/seed7/

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"Adrien Beau" <adr### [at] sycomorefr> wrote in message
news:3BB09356.46052564@sycomore.fr...
> Hopefully, POV-Ray 4 will be more tolerant to source re-use,
> so external developers will be able to use the parser in their
> own utilities. Until then, pov2foobar will be almost impossible
> to do.

Hope I don't open up pandora's box here, but wouldn't this be a good (albeit
the only) use for intermediate binaries?  Ie, POV parses a scene file, and
outputs a binary scene file.  They'd be much easier for conversion utilities
to read.  OTOH, such a step is useless for POV itself.

...Chambers

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