[3588] in comp.os.os2.announce archive
ANNOUNCE: IPAD v0.5.2 (Intelligent vector drawing package)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Sergio Masci)
Sun Nov 23 13:48:01 1997
To: os2ann.DISCUSS@bloom-picayune.MIT.EDU
Date: 23 Nov 1997 13:03:00 -0400
From: sergio@titan.demon.co.uk (Sergio Masci)
Reply-To: sergio@titan.demon.co.uk (Sergio Masci)
Reply-to: sergio@titan.demon.co.uk (Sergio Masci)
[Followups directed to comp.os.os2.apps]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
IPAD V0.5.2 (Beta) for Solaris 2.5 (SPARC), Linux 2.0.x (Intel), OS/2 WARP,
NT 3.51, Win 95, Win 3.1 and MSDOS is now available for download. Although
IPAD is a COMMERCIAL product, the evaluation version is available for
download FREE of charge.
*********************************************************
Some very simple IPAD demos are now provided which
can be displayed on most web browsers (as animations)
without the need to install IPAD. They can also be
displayed on image viewers which are capable of
displaying GIF animations.
*********************************************************
changes since v0.5.1
====================
o Reduced loss of precision for 'group', 'ungroup' and 'group edit'
(IPAD LITE (Beta) groups now works more like those of IPAD STANDARD).
o Fixed linkage to unnecessary libraries (svgalib version no longer links
to X11 libraries and X11 version no longer links to SVGA libraries).
changes since v0.5.0
====================
o Fixed problem where editing a glue point belonging to an object connected
to other objects in a very complex recursive dependency involving other
glue points would cause some of the connected objects to appear to be
connected to non-exixtant glue points.
o Added ability to make glue points invisible
o Added ability to make text and group object outlines invisible
o Added ability to set text and group background colour
o Added ability for property dialog to be able to directly change the
background of both group and text objects.
o Changed group objects such that now the size and shape of the group
cannot be modified when the line thickness of the group outline is set to
0 or 'unknown'
o Changed the default behaviour of the group object so that other objects
no longer automatically stick to its outline. Glue points must now be
explicitly used.
o For other changes see 'changes' file
[Mod. Note portion of change log snipped for brevity.]
To recap:
IPAD is the multiplatform front end to a special tool to be completed some
time in the future. It currently provides most of the functionality of an
interactive GUI vector drawing package, together with some bit mapped image
handling. It allows easy editing across files using multiple overlapping
windows. The graphics objects drawn and edited by IPAD have built in
intelligence. They react to the mouse and each other so as to maximize user
productivity and reduce tedious repetitive setup sequences.
With most other packages an object must first be selected and placed into one
of many modes in order for the package to provide handles through which the
object must be manipulated. With IPAD however, simple rules govern the
behaviour of an object depending on what other objects it is touching and how
it is approached and grabbed.
Any object may be picked up and moved or its shape changed without it first
having to be selected, and if its edges are touching any other object, IPAD
will intelligently manipulate those objects in order to reduce the knock on
effects of the change. With most other packages a simple change can require a
lot of rework.
A very powerful feature of IPAD is the way it is able to manipulate groups of
selected objects. A group is not just a collection of objects, it has
properties of its own. A group can be edited like any other object. Objects
can be very easily picked up or dropped from a group. Groups can also be
opened and their contents edited in their own windows.
IPAD also has a category system that allows the user to define the properties
of an object and to override those properties in a derived object. Complex
objects can thus be built by grouping simpler objects and assigning them
properties. This makes it a very simple matter to create a set of component
objects which can be held in a template window, copied across into the
working drawing and the properties modified to suit the working drawing.
IPAD supports printers using PCL 5 (most HP), ESC-P2 (most Epson), PostScript
and anything else via ppm or png. It has been designed from the ground up to
be fast and responsive. The base system is a 486DX 33MHz + 8MB RAM + ISA
video card.
IPAD will (in the future) provide a mechanism to drive third party backend
software (e.g. code generators, state machine generators etc.) For now you
are restricted to just drawing with it. Since IPAD is a COMMERCIAL product,
its source code will not be made available.
IPAD currently provides the same GUI interface on SPARC Solaris 2.5, Linux
2.0.x (X11 and SVGALIB), MSDOS 6.2, OS/2 Warp, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, and
Windows NT 3.51.
The Linux version is distributed as two separate ELF executables, one being
the SVGALIB executable (which handles the screen directly) and the other
being the X11 R6.3 executable. The SVGALIB executable will only run on
machines that have an SVGA card that is supported by SVGALIB 1.2.10. Anyone
having problems with ELF, SVGALIB or X11 R6.3 that would like to take a look
at IPAD is advised to look at the MSDOS version.
IPAD is available from
primary (high availability) site
http://www.demon.co.uk/titan
secondary site
193.62.101.218 (via anonymous ftp)
ftp://193.62.101.218/pub/IPAD (via browser)
Send feedback and questions to
sergio@titan.demon.co.uk
_____________________________________________________________________
| NOTE: Please send submissions by EMAIL os2_ann_req@bix.com
| Correspondence to the COOA Moderator: lfirrantello@bix.com .
| Please see: http://www.bix.com/pub/os2ann/pindex.htm for posting guidelines
