An Advanced, Three-Dimensional Plotting Library for Astronomy

astro-ph/0608245

From: Christopher Fluke [view email]
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 15:21:08 GMT (336kb)

An Advanced, Three-Dimensional Plotting Library for Astronomy
Authors: D. G. Barnes, C. J. Fluke, P. D. Bourke, O. T. Parry
Comments: 12 pages, 10 eps figures (higher resolution versions available
from this http URL). The S2PLOT library is available for download from
this http URL
Journal-ref: PASA, 23 (2006) 82-93

    We present a new, three-dimensional (3D) plotting library with
advanced features, and support for standard and enhanced display
devices. The library - S2PLOT - is written in C and can be used by C,
C++ and FORTRAN programs on GNU/Linux and Apple/OSX systems. S2PLOT
draws objects in a 3D (x,y,z) Cartesian space and the user interactively
controls how this space is rendered at run time. With a PGPLOT inspired
interface, S2PLOT provides astronomers with elegant techniques for
displaying and exploring 3D data sets directly from their program code,
and the potential to use stereoscopic and dome display devices. The
S2PLOT architecture supports dynamic geometry and can be used to plot
time-evolving data sets, such as might be produced by simulation codes.
In this paper, we introduce S2PLOT to the astronomical community,
describe its potential applications, and present some example uses of
the library.

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Michael S. Vogeley

Current address (until September 2006):
Department of Astrophysical Sciences
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544-1001
Phone: (609)258-6301 Fax: (609)258-1020
Email: vogeley@princeton.edu

Permanent address:
Department of Physics, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone: (215)895-2710 FAX: (215)895-5934
Email: vogeley@drexel.edu Web: www.physics.drexel.edu
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Received on Mon Aug 14 09:58:10 2006