EuroCD 3/EuroCD 3.iso/Graphics_Utils/SManPPC/ReadMe.First

Text File | 1998-06-24 | 7.4 KB | 147 lines

This is the first release of the PowerPC version of SMan.  Consider it beta.
It works on my system (A3000, CyberStorm PPC (604e, 200 MHz), CyberVision64,
V2 of CyberGraphics [not V3, I haven't been able to get it to install
properly],146Meg of ram,etc.)

The SMan.guide file included was for the last version I released on Aminet.

I'm not rewriting the guide file, until it's in a more finished form.

This version was compiled using Steve Krueger's scppc beta 10.  If you're
an Amiga developer, visit his Sas Compiler support web page at
http://www.warped.com/~stevek/.  My thanks to Steve for getting this working
so quickly.  Even though the compiler is beta, it worked quite well for me.
My biggest problem was that I'd gotten lazy using the 'Scoptions' and
'Build' icons.

Note that SMan has some features (no typing input, just key combinations,
menus, and the mouse) that Phase 5's Benoit doesn't have, but is
slower than Benoit.  I'm guessing that Benoit is about twice as fast as
SMan.  I don't know yet whether Benoit uses more efficient algorithms, or
is written in assembler.  I still don't know the differences between 680x0
assembler and the PowerPC assembler language.

Again, consider SManPPC very beta.  I would appeciate any bug reports at
the following email addresses:

[e-mail]
[e-mail]
DIMMCK on Bix.

Don't try this program unless you have a PowerPC board in your Amiga,
as SMan only checks to see the version of ppc.library.  It must have at
least version 45.x.  If you have the library, but not the board, you'll
at the least get a lockup on SMan,but probably a crash.  A later version
of SMan will probably do the necessary checking and run on a 68020+ as
well as on the PowerPC.  This check only protects the user who just tries
it without having tried to fool the software into thinking there's a
PPC present.

The files included in this archive (SManPPCb1.lha, i.e. beta 1) are all
needed, and listed below:

    ReadMe.First    This files
    SMan.guide        Outdated version.  Read this ReadMe.First.
    runelf            Comes with Steve Krueger's compiler
    SManPPC            This is a short text file needed to start SMan.
    SManPPC.info    This is required, since it uses IconX as the tool
                    You need IconX in the path.
    SMan            (this is the actual program that handles most of
                    the AmigaOS side of things, opening windows, etc)
    SMan.elf        (this does all of the number crunching, and the only
                    IO type stuff is to check if the close window gadget
                    has been clicked, and to do timing.)
    ViewBMP            680x0 version of a bmp viewer.  Can be used to view
                    files saved in bmp format by SMan.
    CybViewBMP.guide    Documentation for same.

Be certain that all these files are in the same directory.  Although
if you wish to use 'runelf' for other programs, it may be placed in
your c: directory, or another directory for which the path has been
added.  Although this always approach works for running SMan (with simply
the entry of 'SMan', if you wish to use the icon with the title SManPPC,
runelf must be in the c: directory, or in the same directory as SMan.
It may also be placed in a different directory (e.g. OD:), as long as
the command Assign c: c: OD: is made in the User-Startup.

These are the differences from the previous version of SMan (i.e. the
one included in the archive SMan303.lha on AmiNet.  They are not in any
particular order of importance.  Keep in mind that I'm probably going
to forget to include some of the differences.

1)  The image will not be displayed until completely calculated.  This is
more practical with the dual processor system, as drawing pixels from
the elf part of the program would drastically slow down the process.
For this reason, there is no user interaction while the calculations
are being done, with the following exception.

2)  A close window gadget has been added to the window titled 'Exploring
the Julia Sets'.
    a.  If calculations are not going on, and an image has been already
    displayed.  The gadget gives an additional way of terminating the
    program.  Of course, the other ways are by selection of 'Quit' from
    the project menu, or by using Right-Amiga Q.

    b.  If a region that has been selected that takes a long time for the
    calculation to finish.  For example using a fractional fractal, with
    a large number of possible iterations (very large maximum count), it
    will provide a means of aborting the calculation and just showing what
    has been already calculated.  Then you can reduce the MaxCnt, or in
    some other way change the parameters used in the calculation.

3)  The menu headed previously as 'Fractional Power' is now called
'Fractured Fractals', since that's what happens to them, when a fractional
power is selected.

4)  Integer powers used in the algorithm z^n + z ->z, are now permitted
to go up to n = 16.  After that, the algorithm is changed to R*exp(i*Theta).
This is the same algorithm used for the fractional powers.  Keep in mind
that it is much slower than the integer form.

5)  Certain selections now require selection 'Redraw' or Right-Amiga P
from the 'Project' menu to become apparent.  In fact all items under
the 'Maximum Count' menu, all but 'Zoom' and 'Restore' under the
'Changes' menu, and of course any items under the 'Fractured Fractals'
menu require that you do a Redraw to see the changes.  This has been
done so that you don't have to wait for each drawing to complete as
you go through a series of changes.  Of course, it is assumed that you
want a redraw to occur when you select either 'Zoom' or 'Restore'.

6)  Timing of the calculations and determining the average number of
iterations per pixel have been included.  This provides information that
is provided by Benoit.  The timing is only for the time of calculations,
and display time is not included.  After completion (just before the image
is displayed), the time is displayed in the `Information about this Fractal'
window, just to the left of the copyright notice.  The average iterations
per pixel is displayed to the right of the copyright notice.  Note that
during the calculations, the message `Working on Generation' is displayed
in the position where the elapsed time is shown at the end.

7)  As noted in 2b, if a long time elapses without completion of the full
image (about 4 million iterations for normal, and about one-quarter million
for the algorithm using the exponential function, since it's much slower),
the current line number is displayed, and the status of the close window
gadget is checked.  Of course, if it takes 30s for the 4 million iterations
to occur, it'll take up to that long for the process to abort.  Don't click
the close window gadget more than once, unless you also want the program
to terminate.

8)  You now start the default image by selecting 'Start' from the project
menu, or by using Right-Amiga S.  Until this is done, the only menu
options available are under the project menu.  They include the inital
'About', which is changed to a more complete information window once the
program really starts, 'Quit', unless you change your mind, or get an error
message, and 'Start', which has already been mentioned.  Previously, the
program was started with the click of the left mouse button.

To Do.  Rewrite the image saving algorithm to take advantage of the PPC
speed.  Do the same for ViewBMP.  Many other things.  Perhaps including
learning ppc assembler.

That's all I can think of right now.  Let me know of any discrepancies in
the documentation, or failures of the program.  Please send me bug reports
in either case.

David McKinstry