Re: Color RP Systems

From: brindley@ece.orst.edu
Date: Wed Dec 06 1995 - 06:59:35 EET


Peter Gien wrote:
>
> But coming back to the old STL format, how are we going to shoe-horn color
> information into it? As for textures, perhaps Mr. Brock Rooney might wish to
> enlighten us on how many triangles would be needed to represent realistic
> surfaces, such as grass and hair?
>

If we cram color information into an STL file, it will no longer be
an STL file! Of course, if the STL file format had been tagged, it
would be quite easy to add additional information (of any type) to
the file/model. And any application which does not know about or
care about some of the data could easily skip it.

For RP purposes, we do not want different colors for different triangles;
we want different colors/materials for different VOLUMES. The triangles
are just a way of defining the desired volume. Therefore, it seems
that you would want to associate different colors/materials with different
tessaleted volumes. It would be best to keep both the model and
any auxillary information (including color/material) together (i.e.,
in the same file). It would also be desireable to keep the various
pieces together (in the same file). Of course, a tagged data format
would handle all of this in its sleep, so to speak.

I hereby publically request that anyone, anywhere, making a data file
format which is intended to be used beyond one isolated computer for
a limitted time, use a tagged data format. As a minimum, the beginning
of the data file should identify the data which is to follow. File
names are readily and easily changed and so are not adequate for
identifying the contents of a file.

Ok, I'll get down off my soapbox now. Thanks for your patience.

  --> Mike Brindley brindley@ece.orst.edu Corvallis, Oregon, USA, Terra
"I take unanimity on any difficult topic as a danger sign."
  - P. J. Plaugher



This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : Wed Jun 20 2001 - 12:57:30 EEST