Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!spool.mu.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!hsdndev!husc6!genrad!stardent!jch
From: jch@Stardent.COM (Jan Hardenbergh)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics
Subject: Re: Practical Intro to PHIGS (new book)
Message-ID: <1991May1.154641.1529@Stardent.COM>
Date: 1 May 91 15:46:41 GMT
Organization: Stardent Computer, Concord MA
Lines: 58


From: rick@pangea.Stanford.EDU (Rick Ottolini)
> It sounds like a lot of people want a PHIGS book, particularly with PEX
> coming down the line.  This is a good opportunity for some
> author-entrepenaur out there to write something.

I would advise anyone who is not well into such a project to think
carefully about this.  You should definitely read this book and form
your own opinion about how good it is and how long it would take to do
better than it.  There has been some difference of opinion on how good
this book is.  I think it sets a high standard.

A Practical Introduction to PHIGS and PHIGS PLUS
TLJ Howard, WT Hewitt, RJ Hubbold, KM Wyrwas
Addison-Wesley 1991
ISBN 0-201-41641-7

At SIGGRAPH there should be at least two more books.

Prentice Hall will actually be publishing a book on PHIG's very soon.
It is by Valerie Clark, (formerly?) of Sun Microsystems.

John Wiley and Sons, Inc.  is also planning to have a book available at
SIGGRAPH91. "A Primer for PHIGS" by Hopgood & Duce.

After SIGGRAPH there is rumored to be another book on PHIGS.  This is
being written by the person who wrote the old Domain/PHIGS book, which I
also used to recommend.

Also, Ron Levine says of his tutorial "But, as I stated, the possibility
of making it more widely available is under discussion within that
company."  It is evident that if such a book did come out and lived up
to Ron's expectations it would be an indepth exploration of the theory
and practice of PHIGS.

I also claimed previously that there was a rumor at the X conference the
O'Reilley was going to publish the PEX-SI Library Manual Pages.  These
are quite good man pages on the PHIGS "C" binding on a call by call
basis.  That rumor may be a little stale, but it makes so much sense,
heck, may be they will do a tutorial type thing, too.

I'm sure there are other efforts that I do not know about...

The point is this: Unless you have a decent manuscript in progress, or
some special angle - OR you wanted to write a book about how to use
PHIGS accross platforms, or you wanted to write a book about PHIGS & X
you should not start another PHIGS book until you know you can do
better.

-

As always, unless specifically stated otherwise, I am posting on my own
behalf, expressing my own opinions and facts gathered by myself, as an
individual.

-- 
-Jan "YON" Hardenbergh       jch@stardent.com         (508)-371-9810x261
Stardent Computer, 6 N.E. Tech Center, 521 Virginia Rd,Concord, MA 01742