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Re: Re: Color names and the 10 elementary colors?

  • To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
  • Subject: [mg69431] Re: [mg67575] Re: [mg67528] Color names and the 10 elementary colors?
  • From: Murray Eisenberg <murray at math.umass.edu>
  • Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 06:53:01 -0400 (EDT)
  • Organization: Mathematics & Statistics, Univ. of Mass./Amherst
  • References: <200607010912.FAA20399@smc.vnet.net>
  • Reply-to: murray at math.umass.edu

In Mathematica 5.2, how does one find all the names of BUILT-IN colors 
-- as opposed to those given names only in Graphics`Colors`?

Bob Hanlon wrote:
> Needs["Graphics`"];
> 
> All Colors and GrayLevels:
> 
> mc = DeleteCases[Select[Names[],
>         (Head[ToExpression[#]] == RGBColor ||
>               Head[ToExpression[#]] == GrayLevel) &],
>       _?(# == "System`Convert`MathMLDump`$defaultColor" ||
>               # == "se" &)];
> 
> Colors and GrayLevels not in AllColors:
> 
> Complement[mc,AllColors]
> 
> {AquamarineMedium,Black,Blue,BlueLight,BlueMedium,Brown,Cadet,CadmiumRedDeep,\
> CadmiumRedLight,CadmiumYellowLight,CobaltVioletDeep,CoralLight,Cyan,\
> GoldenrodDark,GoldenrodLight,GoldenrodPale,Gray,Green,GreenDark,GreenPale,\
> KhakiDark,MadderLakeDeep,Magenta,NaplesYellowDeep,OliveGreenDark,Orange,\
> OrchidDark,OrchidMedium,Pink,PinkLight,Purple,PurpleMedium,Red,SeaGreenDark,\
> SeaGreenLight,SeaGreenMedium,SkyBlueDeep,SkyBlueLight,SlateBlueDark,\
> SlateBlueLight,SlateBlueMedium,SlateGrayDark,SlateGrayLight,SpringGreenMedium,\
> SteelBlueLight,TurquoiseDark,TurquoiseMedium,TurquoisePale,VioletDark,\
> VioletRedMedium,VioletRedPale,ViridianLight,White,Yellow,YellowLight}
> 
> Names["*Green*"]
> 
> {ChromeOxideGreen,CinnabarGreen,CobaltGreen,DarkGreen,DarkOliveGreen,\
> DarkSeaGreen,EmeraldGreen,ForestGreen,Green,GreenDark,GreenishUmber,GreenPale,\
> GreenYellow,LawnGreen,LightSeaGreen,LimeGreen,MediumSeaGreen,\
> MediumSpringGreen,OliveGreenDark,PaleGreen,PermanentGreen,SapGreen,SeaGreen,\
> SeaGreenDark,SeaGreenLight,SeaGreenMedium,SpringGreen,SpringGreenMedium,\
> YellowGreen}
> 
> If you convert this to InputForm the string quotes will be visible.
> 
> 
> Bob Hanlon
> 
> ---- AES <siegman at stanford.edu> wrote: 
>> When I recently inquired about using the names of Mathematica colors 
>> ("CinnabarGreen", etc.) as label strings in a series of test plots, 
>> several responses proposed that I needed to manually input the names in 
>> quotes.  Brian Higgins suggested, however, a terse but somewhat arcane 
>> way to get color names as strings together with the corresponding RGB 
>> values with the Input line
>>
>>    allColorNames =
>>        ({#1, ToColor[ ToExpression[#1], RGBColor]}&) /@ AllColors;
>>
>> so that the Input
>>
>>    allColorNames[[4]]
>>
>> produces the Output
>>
>>    { Apricot, RGBColor[1., 0.340007, 0.129994] }
>>
>> (although his Output showed quotes around "Apricot" and mine doesn't.)
>>
>> Since my objective was to test all varieties of Green, I added to this a 
>> more crudely programmed statement to generate a list of all the green 
>> color names and color values, viz.
>>
>>    allGreens={ };
>>    Do[
>>     If[ StringMatchQ[ allColorNames[[k,1]], "*Green*" ],
>>       AppendTo[ allGreens, allColorNames[[k]] ] ], 
>>        {k, 1, Length[ allColorNames ]} ];
>>
>> This works fine -- until you notice that just plain "Green" itself is 
>> not in the resulting list.  In fact, Green (along with Red, Blue, Brown, 
>> Orange, and 4 or 5 other "elementary colors") is not in AllColors.
>>
>> I believe in earlier versions of Mathematica one had to use Graphics`Colors` to 
>> access even these elementary colors, and so they were presumably once 
>> included in AllColors (?); and I think I've learned somewhere that 10 or 
>> so of these elementary colors are now included within "plain 
>> Mathematica" and no long require calling the Graphics`Colors` package.  
>> But:
>>
>> 1)  I'd sure like to understand the logic of not continuing to use these 
>> colors in AllColors nonetheless.  Removing them seems a confusing and 
>> less than helpful choice to me at any rate.  And,
>>
>> 2)  Where -- or more important, how -- can the nonexpert user get at the 
>> list of these elementary colors?  
>>
>> As a challenge, try invoking online Help on "Color" or "Colors" or any 
>> one of the elementary color names, and see if, using no more than 5 
>> subsequent mouse clicks within the Help screen, no typing,  and no 
>> pre-existing expert knowledge, just "common sense", you can find your 
>> way to the list of those colors.
>>
> 
> 

-- 
Murray Eisenberg                     murray at math.umass.edu
Mathematics & Statistics Dept.
Lederle Graduate Research Tower      phone 413 549-1020 (H)
University of Massachusetts                413 545-2859 (W)
710 North Pleasant Street            fax   413 545-1801
Amherst, MA 01003-9305


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