Cousin Ricky <ric### [at] yahoocom> wrote:
> On 2025-12-25 05:58 (-4), jr wrote:
> >
> > unsure if it is "in the spirit", but a "dedicated" font (preferred TTF) default,
> > for "post installation" ?
>
> I don't know what you mean by "dedicated."  In current text{} syntax, a
> font is always specified, so there is no default font.

I were to interpret this,  I would say that after installing POV-Ray, we might
all agree to use Lucid_sans_unicode.ttf as our default font, and then the
default.inc file would run a check to see if that font existed, and if not, then
default to one of the inbuilt fonts.  Then default_font could be used as an
identifier in EVERY text {} object as the default, rather than specifying a
specific font filename.
Then if the default were changed, it could be done in that one place in the
default.inc file.


> I was thinking of this sort of construction in the scene description file:
>
> ---%<-----%<-----%<-----%<---[BEGIN CODE]---%<-----%<-----%<-----%<---
> #declare Default_Ambient = rgb 0.05;
> #declare Default_Diffuse = 0.8;
> #declare Default_Gamma = 1.8; // I wouldn't, but some might ;)
>
> #default
> { finish
>   { ambient Defaults_Ambient // Default_Ambient (no s)
>     diffuse Defaults_Diffuse // Default_Diffuse (no s)
>   }
> }
> global_settings { assumed_gamma Defaults_Gamma } // Default_Gamma (no s)
>
> #include "textures.inc"
> #include "metals.inc"
> #include "golds.inc"
> #include "androidrobot.inc"
> --->%----->%----->%----->%----[END CODE]---->%----->%----->%----->%---
>
> This would work with or without an "always load"; the other include
> files could just test for the identifiers in default.inc, and if they're
> not defined, the include file could just assume the POV-Ray defaults.
>
> But I had the thought that those #default and assumed_gamma statements
> look kinda redundant.  It would be cleaner if those statements were
> incorporated into defaults.inc; but with that scheme, an "always load"
> wouldn't work, because the scene file would not have the chance to
> #declare the default identifiers in advance.


The always-load would just declare those identifiers.
Any declarations in the scene would overwrite them.
What about Default_Ambient () as a macro, saving the typing of #declare, and it
could even call Default_Finish () to redeclare the default.
you could do the same with diffuse and gamma

> As for '#version version;', the fundamental problem I have with this
> construct is that it leaves no indication which version of POV-Ray the
> scene file or include file is intended for.

Well, there are comments,
but also, you could write a Version () macro that took two arguments, the
current version, and the intended version, and then you'd have a wide latitude
for what happens after that.

In fact, I'm thinking that a lot of the directives could be recast as
(capitalized) macros that do a lot of sanity checking and special handling.  As
a macro, we could internally document the use of the directive and guard against
any recurrent newbie (ab)uses.

It would be a great way to embed all of our accumulated knowledge into a
parallel system of commands that would be didactic/pedagogical,
self-documenting, and only a bit slower for most small, static scenes.

- BE

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