Re: [Update REQ 5862]: ConvxOS platform

[munzner at weevil.Stanford.EDU]

> > Now, OOGL.m  invokes math2oogl as well.  However, since math2oogl
> > comes as a binary file (unlike OOGL.m which is a text file), it is
> > machine specific.  I tried to put OOGL.m and math2oogl in my path
> > while in Convex.  However, the Mathematica output complains about
> > math2oogl.  Is this a hopeless case?  Or is there a source code
> > for math2oogl?  Thanks again.


Actually, you don't have to get math2oogl running on the Convex.
There's a built-in back door for precisely this case. You can save out
to an intermediate format, transfer that file to the Geomview machine,
and *then* run math2oogl on it. Here's the relevant section of the
Geomview manual:

--------------------

Transporting Mathematica Files to Geomview by Hand

The auxilliary function WriteChunk is for those who can only use
Mathematica on a non-Unix machine (Mac, PC) or a Unix machine that is
not on a network with an SGI or NeXT. WriteChunk[file, graphics]
generates a file named file which contains the graphics object
graphics in the format accepted by `math2oogl'.

You can transfer that file to a computer that has Geomview installed
on it and then use the programs `math2oogl', `oogl2rib', and
`geomview' directly from the shell. These programs are distributed in
the `bin/sgi' (on SGIs) or `bin/next' (on NeXTs) subdirectory of the
Geomview directory, and may have been installed so that they are on
your path.

In[1]:= <<OOGL.m

In[2]:= Plot3D[ Sin[x + Sin[y]], {x,-2,2}, {y,-2,2} ]

Out[2]= -SurfaceGraphics-

In[3]:= WriteChunk["mychunk",%2]

This writes the file `mychunk' which contains a description of the
graphics object. You can then transfer this file to an SGI or NeXT and
type

math2oogl < mychunk > mma.oogl

to convert it to the OOGL file `mma.oogl' which you can then view
using Geomview. This is the equivalent of the WriteOOGL command.

For a result equivalent to the Geomview or Show commands, type 

math2oogl -togeomview Mathematica geomview < mychunk

The WriteRIB command can be emulated from the shell as 

math2oogl < mychunk | oogl2rib -n mma.tiff

--------------------

You can, of course, also compile math2oogl for the Convex as Stuart
suggested, but the "chunk" approach is probably easier.

Hope this helps,
Tamara Munzner