Array Computation + Graphics Package Sought

Peter S. Shenkin shenkin at cunixf.cc.columbia.edu
Sat Nov 10 10:13:42 AEST 1990


I'm not sure what newsgroup this belongs in, but perhaps some of you out
there have some insight.

I'm looking for a package that combines a high-level, array-based, translated
language with good graphics -- 2-D, as well as 3-D.  By 3-D I mean the
ability to do things like contour maps and perspective views of surfaces.
The ability to do fancier things (eg rotate or animate lighted, colored models,
or do volume rendering) would be interesting, but is not my main need at the
moment.

I plan to use this as a front end for molecular mechanics calculations.  The
platform is an SGI Personal Iris.  I don't primarily need to use this to
visualize molecules;  I have other software for that.  Primarily, I want to
be able to try new ideas quickly and plot results (xy plots, etc.).  If I
can visualize a molecule in a simple way (eg, a wire diagram) without going
to another program, that would be a plus, but it's not a necessity.

Things I am looking at or considering are as follows, together with notes on
each:

S:  Available for the Iris pretty inexpensively;  uses GL hardware.  Seems
   to have a well-developed array language.  Started out as a statistics
   package, but is not limited to this.
pv-wave:  Expensive, seems to do more than S in color rendering;  does not
   use GL hardware, as far as I know.  I haven't figured out how the language
   compares to S.
APL or J:  I used to use APL, and loved it.  J is a recent successor.  I'm
   not sure of its availability for SGI, and am not sure whether it's 
   available in a package with graphics.  How do the S and pv-wave languages
   compare with APL in generality?
Mathematica:  I have it;  but this might be too general a tool for what I
   need for this project.  I've not completely looked into interfacing a 
   back end, either.  So far, I'm not impressed with the user interface,
   but I'm still a novice.  I have been disappointed with glitches in the
   symbolic functionalities (wrong answers for integrals, limits, etc.), but
   these are not the parts I would be exercising in this project.
Gauss:  This sounds like a good package for a good price, and seems to be 
   along the lines of what I'm looking for, but unfortunately, it's for the 
   PC only (written in assembler).

Any comments, comparisons or New Ideas out there?

	Thanks,
	-P.
************************f*u*cn*rd*ths*u*cn*gt*a*gd*jb**************************
Peter S. Shenkin, Department of Chemistry, Barnard College, New York, NY  10027
(212)854-1418  shenkin at cunixc.cc.columbia.edu(Internet)  shenkin at cunixc(Bitnet)
***"In scenic New York... where the third world is only a subway ride away."***



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