Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!olivea!mintaka!spdcc!ima!cfisun!stardent!jch
From: jch@Stardent.COM (Jan Hardenbergh @stardent)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics
Subject: Re: Info requested on PEX, PHIGS ( also SPHIGS )
Message-ID: <1990Sep25.150737.6484@Stardent.COM>
Date: 25 Sep 90 15:07:37 GMT
Organization: Stardent Computer, Newton MA
Lines: 79


> From: frants@Neon.Stanford.EDU (Leonid Frants)
> 
> Could someone please tell me where I can get PHIGS and PEX and whether
> they are commercial products or public domain.
> 
> Any references would be appreciated.

PHIGS is available from all workstation vendors. Call your sales rep.

PEX was demonstrated in 6 booths at SIGGRAPH this year: DEC, Sun, Alliant,
Tektronix, E&S and IBM. Only DEC and E&S claimed it was a product; the
rest were "technology demos". PEX is the PHIGS Extension to X11 and will
be available from MIT next summer - summer 1991, I believe it will be
available in the same time frame as the R5 distribution.

As for references, there are not too many good ones yet. There is the
source of both PEX & PHIGS - the defining specifications.

PEX: I think all of the X distributions have had the contemporary PEX
protocol specifications with them. In R4 you can find it in
..x11r4/mit/doc/extensions/PEX/*.ms


And PHIGS88: Computer Graphics-Programmer's Hierarchical Interactive
Graphics System (PHIGS) Functional Description...  ANSI Standard
X3.144-1988. (Language bindings are X3.144.x, where x=1 (FORTRAN), 2
(PASCAL), 3 (ADA), 4 (C).)

Call ANSI in New York for ordering (212)354-3300

And PHIGS-PLUS since it is not a standard you can get the latest
public review copy from Global Engineering (800)854-7179

At SIGGRAPH I asked all of the publishers there if they had and books
on PHIGS. Only Addison Wesley and Prentice Hall knew what I was talking
about. They both have books in the works, both due out early next year,
at least, accoding to people in thier booths at SIGGRAPH. I also heard
Template is going to update thier book "Understanding PHIGS".

Also, here are some tidbits about PHIGS ( or SPHIGS ) in the
new Foley, van Dam, Feiner & Hughes.

>>>
Subject: PHIGS in Foley, van Dam, Feiner and Hughes.
Message-ID: <1990Jul18.192939.2473@Stardent.COM>
Date: Wed, 18 Jul 90 19:29:39 GMT

Foley, van Dam, Feiner & Hughes have a chapter on SPHIGS ( Simple PHIGS
(where PHIGS = PHIGS88 + PHIGS-PLUS + ?? )) which is loosely based on
the standard. For example, it has no bundles and no UQUM or Use Quick
Update Methods or Yookum. It does have things like posting to views and
programmatic picking. Lighting and shading are there.

While this may not be much of a practical introduction to standard
PHIGS, it does give the concepts pretty well. And at 60 pages, it is
probably the quickest way to start shooting buzzwords like a "real PHIGS
expert".

The most interesting thing about SPHIGS is that you can order source
code for it. The introduction states that source code for SPHIGS, SRGP
and other algorithms running on the IBM-PC, the Mac or UNIX/X11 may be
purchased from the publisher, Addison-Wesley.

Computer Graphics:   ISBN 0-201-12110-7
SPHIGS, etc for PC   ISBN 0-201-54700-7
SPHIGS, etc for Mac  ISBN 0-201-54701-5

>>>
Subject: Foley/vanDam/Feiner/Hughes software --- clarification
Message-ID: <48139@brunix.UUCP>
Date: 24 Aug 90 15:10:04 GMT

The UNIX/X11r4 version is available via FTP.  
Send email to graphtext@cs.brown.edu and place "Software-Distribution"
in the subject line.
-- 
-Jan "YON" Hardenbergh - jch@stardent.com                uunet!stardent!jch
Stardent Computer, Inc.,  95 Wells Ave., Newton, MA 02159 (617)964-6228x261