I have been trying out SP and cannot get it to recognise any of the built-in
function names - Sphere, rounded_box, Torus, Superellipsoid, helix1, helix2.

Have I got the syntax wrong?

eg.

isosurface {  function { Sphere 1 }  pigment { Red}}

This seems to be correct according to the docs, but SP is looking for a float
factor after function and says Sphere is an undeclared identifier.
I have tried many other syntactical combinations without success.

David
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On Thu, 15 Jul 1999 20:13:22 GMT, David Wilkinson wrote:
>I have been trying out SP and cannot get it to recognise any of the built-in
>function names - Sphere, rounded_box, Torus, Superellipsoid, helix1, helix2.
>
>Have I got the syntax wrong?
>
>eg.
>
>isosurface {  function { Sphere 1 }  pigment { Red}}
>
>This seems to be correct according to the docs, but SP is looking for a float
>factor after function and says Sphere is an undeclared identifier.
>I have tried many other syntactical combinations without success.

The quotes in the docs are significant:

isosurface {  function { "Sphere" 1 }  pigment { Red}}

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On 15 Jul 1999 16:21:25 -0400, par### [at] fwicom (Ron Parker) wrote:

>
>The quotes in the docs are significant:
>
>isosurface {  function { "Sphere" 1 }  pigment { Red}}

Thanks for the prompt response Ron, but this doesn't work either, the diagnostic
is "missing right brace in function".
I tried;
isosurface {  function  { "Sphere, 1" }  pigment { Red}}
which gave the diagnostic "cannot load function"

Incidently I can't find any reference to quotes in the docs.
David
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On Thu, 15 Jul 1999 22:36:18 GMT, David Wilkinson wrote:
>On 15 Jul 1999 16:21:25 -0400, par### [at] fwicom (Ron Parker) wrote:
>
>>
>>The quotes in the docs are significant:
>>
>>isosurface {  function { "Sphere" 1 }  pigment { Red}}
>
>Thanks for the prompt response Ron, but this doesn't work either, the diagnostic
>is "missing right brace in function".
>I tried;
>isosurface {  function  { "Sphere, 1" }  pigment { Red}}
>which gave the diagnostic "cannot load function"
>
>Incidently I can't find any reference to quotes in the docs.

Hm, you're right.  They must have somehow gotten lost in the 
translation.  Here's the syntax that works for me:

isosurface {  function { "Sphere" <1> }  pigment { color red 1}}

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On 16 Jul 1999 09:05:49 -0400, par### [at] fwicom (Ron Parker) wrote:

>On Thu, 15 Jul 1999 22:36:18 GMT, David Wilkinson wrote:
>>On 15 Jul 1999 16:21:25 -0400, par### [at] fwicom (Ron Parker) wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>The quotes in the docs are significant:
>>>
>>>isosurface {  function { "Sphere" 1 }  pigment { Red}}
>>
>>Thanks for the prompt response Ron, but this doesn't work either, the diagnostic
>>is "missing right brace in function".
>>I tried;
>>isosurface {  function  { "Sphere, 1" }  pigment { Red}}
>>which gave the diagnostic "cannot load function"
>>
>>Incidently I can't find any reference to quotes in the docs.
>
>Hm, you're right.  They must have somehow gotten lost in the 
>translation.  Here's the syntax that works for me:
>
>isosurface {  function { "Sphere" <1> }  pigment { color red 1}}

Thanks Ron, thats it!  It's the angle brackets wot done it.  I've got too used
to the easy going syntax of POV-Ray :-)
David
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David Wilkinson <dav### [at] cwcomnet> wrote:
:>isosurface {  function { "Sphere" <1> }  pigment { color red 1}}

: Thanks Ron, thats it!  It's the angle brackets wot done it.  I've got too used
: to the easy going syntax of POV-Ray :-)

  Why there have to be angle brackets? It breaks the ideology of povray that
you can specify a vector with just a float value.

-- 
main(i,_){for(_?--i,main(i+2,"FhhQHFIJD|FQTITFN]zRFHhhTBFHhhTBFysdB"[i]
):5;i&&_>1;printf("%s",_-70?_&1?"[]":" ":(_=0,"\n")),_/=2);} /*- Warp -*/

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Nieminen Mika wrote:
> 
> David Wilkinson <dav### [at] cwcomnet> wrote:
> :>isosurface {  function { "Sphere" <1> }  pigment { color red 1}}
> 
> : Thanks Ron, thats it!  It's the angle brackets wot done it.  I've got too used
> : to the easy going syntax of POV-Ray :-)
> 
>   Why there have to be angle brackets? It breaks the ideology of povray that
> you can specify a vector with just a float value.
> 
Which ideology ?
It rather breaks the lazyness...
A vector should within bracket... always. 
Of course, you're allowed things like "3*x" but then x is a shortcut for
<1,0,0>.

the only examples I'm not satisfied with the <vector> approach
is for "scale" and "rotate" where it is rather an array of float than a
true vector.
but they were there before the array, so that's an historical reason.
(and scale <0,0,0> is not so terrible, whereas rotate sometime gives me
headache).

Now, I do not understand a nut out of isosurface/function syntax.

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"scale <0,0,0>" eh? Okay, I know you meant that as a example vector for
this discussion but still... :)
'rotate <0,0,0>' would not be the headache-causing item in that case.


"J. Grimbert" wrote:
> 
> A vector should within bracket... always.
> Of course, you're allowed things like "3*x" but then x is a shortcut for
> <1,0,0>.
> 
> the only examples I'm not satisfied with the <vector> approach
> is for "scale" and "rotate" where it is rather an array of float than a
> true vector.
> but they were there before the array, so that's an historical reason.
> (and scale <0,0,0> is not so terrible, whereas rotate sometime gives me
> headache).

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On 19 Jul 1999 05:42:22 -0400, Nieminen Mika wrote:
>David Wilkinson <dav### [at] cwcomnet> wrote:
>:>isosurface {  function { "Sphere" <1> }  pigment { color red 1}}
>
>: Thanks Ron, thats it!  It's the angle brackets wot done it.  I've got too used
>: to the easy going syntax of POV-Ray :-)
>
>  Why there have to be angle brackets? It breaks the ideology of povray that
>you can specify a vector with just a float value.

Not my syntax, so I'm not 100% sure of why, but I suspect it's because that
argument isn't the same kind of vector we're used to.  For one thing, it's 
a vector of functions, not of floats.  For another, I don't think it's 
limited to five or fewer components.  So it doesn't get parsed by the 
same code that parses normal vector arguments.  I expect one could still 
make the angle-brackets optional, but that apparently just wasn't done.

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