primitive Unix notebooks
- To: mathgroup at yoda.physics.unc.edu
- Subject: primitive Unix notebooks
- From: ross at macadam.mpce.mq.edu.au
- Date: Wed, 13 May 1992 17:49:27 +1000
My previous posting described how to use to the x11ps utility to view Mma
graphics saved using Display["mygraph",-graphics-] .
On systems which do not use X-Windows there should be an equivalent
utility, (other than x11ps ) for viewing the graphics files outside of
Mathematica.
This technique allows a primitive form of Notebook under X-Windows without
using any extra software.
Suppose you have a Notebook, e.g. written on a Macintosh, containing
postscript graphics as well as text cells, which you want to make available
to Unix users.
1. ftp the Notebook (as text) to the Unix file-server.
2. place it into a new directory (for convenience only)
3. extract the postscript into separate files e.g. graph1.mmaps,
graph2.mmaps, ...
4. where a graphic has been removed, place a line: !x11ps ``full
path''/graph1.mmaps
inserting the correct path name to the graphics file.
( I use a short nawk program to do steps 3 & 4 automatically.
It also removes some of the extraneous formatting information used on the
Mac,
but not necessary here. )
5. set privileges on the modified Notebook (now greatly reduced in size) to
"read-only".
Unix users can now read the Notebook as follows...
1. Open a link to a Mathematica kernel in the usual way.
2. Launch their favourite editor in a separate window.
3. Open the Notebook document in the editor.
4. To view the graphics simply copy the !x11ps .... commands to the
Mathematica window
and execute them there.
There is no need to redo the calculations used to create the graphics.
5. To redo calculations, Copy Mma commands from the notebook, paste them
into the Mma window,
then execute them.
If users wish to experiment with modifications or new parameter values,
they can copy the
Notebook to their own directories and edit this copy in the way most
convenient to themselves.
It is unnecessary to duplicate large amounts of PostScript,
for the full paths to the existing graphics have been specified in the
!x11ps commands.
( In fact Mathematica is not needed at all if users only wish to read the
Notebook and view
the existing graphics. All that is required is access to the x11ps
utility. For the path to this, check the StartUp/Display subdirectory of
Mathematica's installation directory, or ask your system administrator. )
What about animations?
Certainly the pictures can be produced in separate X-windows, layered atop
each other.
Does anyone know of an X-utility which can be used to flash through the
sequence,
thus producing an animation?
This would be a welcome addition to this primitive notebook concept.
(...and Sounds ?? )
_______________________________
Ross Moore |
Mathematics Dept |
Macquarie University |
North Ryde, Sydney |
Australia |
|
ross at macadam.mpce.mq.edu.au |
______________________________|