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From: Timothy R  Cook
Subject: Handedness
Date: 4 Dec 2001 07:08:27
Message: <3C0CBC37.B78DA0F4@scifi-fantasy.com>
I still don't quite get why math (and hence POV) 3D coords use
left-hand rule; apart from most people being right-handed, CAD
programs use right-hand, being based on architectural design which
draws a floorplan along the XY plane with Z being the elevation,
which is what you get when you draw a floorplan on a standard
cartesian grid with 0,0 being the origin in the lower-left.

-- 
Tim Cook
http://empyrean.scifi-fantasy.com

-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.12
GFA dpu- s: a?-- C++(++++) U P? L E--- W++(+++)>$
N++ o? K- w(+) O? M-(--) V? PS+(+++) PE(--) Y(--)
PGP-(--) t* 5++>+++++ X+ R* tv+ b++(+++) DI
D++(---) G(++) e*>++ h+ !r--- !y--
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------


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From: Jérôme Grimbert
Subject: Re: Handedness
Date: 4 Dec 2001 07:21:15
Message: <3C0CBFC9.761DAEB6@atosorigin.com>
"Timothy R. Cook" wrote:
> 
> I still don't quite get why math (and hence POV) 3D coords use
> left-hand rule;

Because when you have the pencil in the right hand, only
the left hand is available for fancy manipulation !

Moreover, on computer, you need the right hand for the numeric pad.
(especially when typing pov-vector in script)

And last: Pov is not left-handed. It is half-ambidextrous* :
 default to left hand, but can work without problem with right hand.
 
* half-ambidextrous: just similar to half-duplex, can be both but not
at the same time.


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From: Christoph Hormann
Subject: Re: Handedness
Date: 4 Dec 2001 07:38:51
Message: <3C0CC3FF.7417E63B@gmx.de>
"Timothy R. Cook" wrote:
> 
> I still don't quite get why math (and hence POV) 3D coords use
> left-hand rule; apart from most people being right-handed, CAD
> programs use right-hand, being based on architectural design which
> draws a floorplan along the XY plane with Z being the elevation,
> which is what you get when you draw a floorplan on a standard
> cartesian grid with 0,0 being the origin in the lower-left.
> 

It's no problem at all to do right-handed geometry in POV, just have a
look at what Moray generates for example.

Christoph

-- 
Christoph Hormann <chr### [at] gmxde>
IsoWood include, radiosity tutorial, TransSkin and other 
things on: http://www.schunter.etc.tu-bs.de/~chris/


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From: Greg M  Johnson
Subject: Re: Handedness
Date: 4 Dec 2001 08:16:01
Message: <3C0CCC35.8374430B@aol.com>
Christoph Hormann wrote:

> It's no problem at all to do right-handed geometry in POV,

One may represent the three axes as they appear in povray with one's right
hand, but your coworkers and family members would complain about you
flipping them the bird.


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From: Ron Parker
Subject: Re: Handedness
Date: 4 Dec 2001 08:30:21
Message: <slrna0pjvi.bkd.ron.parker@fwi.com>
On Tue, 04 Dec 2001 07:06:15 -0500, Timothy R. Cook wrote:
> I still don't quite get why math (and hence POV) 3D coords use
> left-hand rule; apart from most people being right-handed, CAD

Math uses the right-hand rule too.  POV uses the left-hand rule by
default because that's how it was created.  Call it a historical 
accident.  To change it now would just be wrong.

--
#macro R(L P)sphere{L __}cylinder{L P __}#end#macro P(_1)union{R(z+_ z)R(-z _-z)
R(_-z*3_+z)torus{1__ clipped_by{plane{_ 0}}}translate z+_1}#end#macro S(_)9-(_1-
_)*(_1-_)#end#macro Z(_1 _ __)union{P(_)P(-_)R(y-z-1_)translate.1*_1-y*8pigment{
rgb<S(7)S(5)S(3)>}}#if(_1)Z(_1-__,_,__)#end#end Z(10x*-2,.2)camera{rotate x*90}


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From: Timothy R  Cook
Subject: Re: Handedness
Date: 4 Dec 2001 08:39:26
Message: <3C0CD18A.968961E9@scifi-fantasy.com>
"Greg M. Johnson" wrote:
> One may represent the three axes as they appear in povray with
> one's right hand, but your coworkers and family members would
> complain about you flipping them the bird.

...actually I never understood why people even needed to
represent the axes with their hand except for demonstrating
to people who didn't know about them; I have no trouble
picturing the axes in my head.

-- 
Tim Cook
http://empyrean.scifi-fantasy.com

-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.12
GFA dpu- s: a?-- C++(++++) U P? L E--- W++(+++)>$
N++ o? K- w(+) O? M-(--) V? PS+(+++) PE(--) Y(--)
PGP-(--) t* 5++>+++++ X+ R* tv+ b++(+++) DI
D++(---) G(++) e*>++ h+ !r--- !y--
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------


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From: Bill DeWitt
Subject: Re: Handedness
Date: 4 Dec 2001 08:43:28
Message: <3c0cd300$1@news.povray.org>
"Timothy R. Cook" <tim### [at] scifi-fantasycom> wrote :
>
> ...actually I never understood why people even needed to
> represent the axes with their hand

    It's a learning tool... there was a time when you needed to learn it
too, whether you remember it or not.


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From: Ron Parker
Subject: Re: Handedness
Date: 4 Dec 2001 08:43:52
Message: <slrna0pkot.bkd.ron.parker@fwi.com>
On Tue, 04 Dec 2001 08:37:14 -0500, Timothy R. Cook wrote:
> "Greg M. Johnson" wrote:
>> One may represent the three axes as they appear in povray with
>> one's right hand, but your coworkers and family members would
>> complain about you flipping them the bird.
> 
> ...actually I never understood why people even needed to
> represent the axes with their hand except for demonstrating
> to people who didn't know about them; I have no trouble
> picturing the axes in my head.

The "right hand rule" is most useful for visualizing which way a 
cross product (or, by extension, a rotation) goes.  If you can do that 
in your head, great, but many otherwise talented people can't.

-- 
plane{-z,-3normal{crackle scale.2#local a=5;#while(a)warp{repeat x flip x}rotate
z*60#local a=a-1;#end translate-9*x}pigment{rgb 1}}light_source{-9red 1rotate 60
*z}light_source{-9rgb y rotate-z*60}light_source{9-z*18rgb z}text{ttf"arial.ttf"
"RP".01,0translate-<.6,.4,.02>pigment{bozo}}light_source{-z*3rgb-.2}//Ron Parker


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From: Tom Melly
Subject: Re: Handedness
Date: 4 Dec 2001 09:01:12
Message: <3c0cd728$1@news.povray.org>
"Timothy R. Cook" <tim### [at] scifi-fantasycom> wrote in message
news:3C0CD18A.968961E9@scifi-fantasy.com...

>I have no trouble
> picturing the axes in my head.
>

Sounds painful, have you been arguing with Bill?


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From: Anders K 
Subject: Re: Handedness
Date: 4 Dec 2001 09:19:01
Message: <3c0cdb55@news.povray.org>
> And last: Pov is not left-handed. It is half-ambidextrous* :
>  default to left hand, but can work without problem with right hand.

This isn't quite true. Lots of the primitives have the y-axis hardcoded as
the "vertical" axis.


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