Unix Graphics Files!

[Alex Martelli]

> My question is, if someone wants to view these graphical files, what format
> under Unix do they have to be in.  And what special hardware is needed to
> view these graphics files on line.
This will depend in good part on the nature of the graphics - my area of
expertise is graphics coming from CAD systems.  A very simple overview
was in a recent article in Personal Workstation, from M&T Publishing,
April 1990 issue.  For simple *visualization* of data from CAD work,
with no further rework, I would go with IGES: any CAD package can build
SOME variant of it, and good visualization packages (such as desktop
publishing programs such as Framemaker) can import most of these 
directly.  

If there are no shaded surfaces and such, but simply line graphics
(segments, curves, splines, etc), a much simpler alternative is a
graphics or page description language - mostly any package for CAD or
for any kind of drawing can output HP-GL (what HP plotters used to take
before their recent "2nd generation" announcements), and many modern
ones support the PostScript PDL from Adobe.

The hardware requirements are really simple, ANY kind of
graphics-capable video - even an humble PC clone with CGA running freely
available terminal emulators can accept Tektronix 4014 graphics output -
AS LONG as you have, or are willing to write, the software to drive it
appropriately.  SUN or Next workstations with Postscript built in, for
example, might be a nice way to go - or, if you want many visualization
seats, you might want to look into X-Terminals (specially bought, or
obtained via software emulators from existing PCs), with a tailored
version of the Ghostscript freeware postscript-clone with X support
(X-terminals look like a good bet to replace purely character-oriented
terminals over the next few years, anyway).

I don't know what kind of support UTS, or other mainframe-oriented
Unix'es, offer for X-windows and other approaches, but I suspect that
you might be able to find rather easily some reasonable solution.  Good
luck!

-- 
Alex Martelli - CAD.LAB s.p.a., v. Stalingrado 45, Bologna, Italia
Email: (work:) staff at cadlab.sublink.org, (home:) alex at am.sublink.org
Phone: (work:) ++39 (51) 371099, (home:) ++39 (51) 250434; 
Fax: ++39 (51) 366964 (work only; any time of day or night).