Newsgroups: comp.graphics
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!think.com!ames!sky.arc.nasa.gov!mckie
From: mckie@sky.arc.nasa.gov (Bill McKie)
Subject: CGM HLHSR in SunPHIGS
Message-ID: <1991May25.230056.26508@news.arc.nasa.gov>
Originator: mckie@sky.arc.nasa.gov
Sender: usenet@news.arc.nasa.gov (USENET Administration)
Organization: NASA Ames Atmospheric Science Group
Distribution: usa
Date: Sat, 25 May 91 23:00:56 GMT


We have recently installed SunPHIGS 1.3.   Apparently, there is still
no support for hidden line / hidden surface removal in the cgm output
workstation type (phigswstcgmout).  E.g., as in SunPHIGS 1.1, we get
the following message when trying to do a SET HLHSR MODE on the cgm
output workstation.

  SunPHIGS error 111 in SET HLHSR MODE  Ignoring function,
  the specified HLHSR mode is not available on the specified
  workstation.

HLHSR mode continues to work ok on the phigswsttool workstation type
in SunPHIGS 1.3 (although somewhat slowly on our cg6 hardware).

We use cgm files as our basic image exchange media, including moving
images to other machines, making video tape movies out of frame
sequences, and for making hardcopy of the images.  It seems strange
that we can't generate cgm images which are HLHSR-compatible with those
that we can generate on console screens with SunPHIGS.  Am I missing
something and is there a way to generate cgm files from SunPHIGS with
the expected hidden lines/surfaces properly handled?

[We don't want to do screen dumps because the resolution is not as
good as that for cgm, expecially for generating hardcopy.]

Also, does anyone know if Sun will be supporting direct color PostScript
output from SunPHIGS soon?  We have color PostScript printers, and are
currently forced to first create a cgm file from SunPHIGS, then translate
cgm to PostScript, then print the PostScript.  It would be useful to
directly generate color PostScript from SunPHIGS.

Thanks,
-Bill McKie
NASA Ames Research Center
mckie@sky.arc.nasa.gov
