warping problems

[fowler]

The problem with the polar grid is due to the data representation.  I
assume that the radial lines are formed by connecting points on the
outer circle with the center point.  The circles are polygons
connecting points around the circle.  Warp acts only on points, not on
the lines that connect them.  When the radial lines are warped, only
the center point and the points on the ends of the lines are moved.
The radial line will remain a straight line connecting the two
endpoints.  When warp acts on the other lines, the points around the
circles are such that a line running through all the lines is no
longer straight.  This leads to the unfortunate effect that the radial
lines no longer cross the other lines.  A quick fix would be to
regenerate the data file so that the radial lines are actually short
segments connecting points on the concentric circles.

The second problem probably is a user interface / documentation issue.
The Edit panel is used to change the "home" position of the widgets -
this is not the same as translating them in Geomview.  The R^3 -> R^3
map is determined by how much each widget has moved from its home
position.  If the home position changes, the widget will be in a
different location, but won't exert any stretching force on the object
since it is still in its home position.

-Celeste