[Gzz-commits] gzz/Documentation FAQ

[Tuomas J. Lukka]

CVSROOT:        /cvsroot/gzz
Module name:    gzz
Changes by:     Tuomas J. Lukka <address@hidden>        03/01/24 18:24:37

Modified files:
        Documentation  : FAQ 

Log message:
        Major update to FAQ.

CVSWeb URLs:
http://savannah.gnu.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs/gzz/gzz/Documentation/FAQ.diff?tr1=1.7&tr2=1.8&r1=text&r2=text

Patches:
Index: gzz/Documentation/FAQ
diff -u gzz/Documentation/FAQ:1.7 gzz/Documentation/FAQ:1.8
--- gzz/Documentation/FAQ:1.7   Fri Feb  9 00:59:36 2001
+++ gzz/Documentation/FAQ       Fri Jan 24 18:24:37 2003
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-Frequently Asked Questions about GZigZag, with answers.
-$Id: FAQ,v 1.7 2001/02/09 05:59:36 ajk Exp $
+Frequently Asked Questions about Gzz, with answers.
+$Id: FAQ,v 1.8 2003/01/24 23:24:37 tjl Exp $
 
 All trademarks are the trademarks of their respective owners.
 
@@ -12,16 +12,16 @@
 1. Where to get the latest version of this FAQ?
 
 The source code for all versions of this FAQ is kept as a part of the
-GZigZag CVS repository. See the GZigZag sourceforge page at 
+Gzz CVS repository. See the Gzz sourceforge page at 
        
-       http://gzigzag.sourceforge.net
+       http://Gzz.info
 
 for accessing the source. The FAQ is in the directory Documentation/
 
 -----
-2. What is ZigZag?
+2. What is ZigZag(tm)?
 
-ZigZag, an invention of Ted Nelson, is a new type of data structure.
+ZigZag(tm), an invention of Ted Nelson, is a new type of data structure.
 
 For mathematicians, the key words would be
 
@@ -62,25 +62,25 @@
 case of graphs.
 
 -----
-3. What is GZigZag?
+3. What is Gzz?
 
-GZigZag is an implementation of ZigZag developed by a research group led
+Gzz is an implementation of ZigZag developed by a research group led
 by Tuomas Lukka at the university of Jyvaskyla.
 
 It is licensed under the LGPL (and XPL, the Xanadu Public License which
 is still under works).
 
 -----
-4. Who is the maintainer of GZigZag?
+4. Who is the maintainer of Gzz?
 
-Tuomas Lukka, <address@hidden>. He has written most of the code in GZigZag (and
+Tuomas Lukka, <address@hidden>. He has written most of the code in Gzz (and
 most of it while traveling on trains).
 
 This maintainership is by proxy from Ted Nelson, who has the official
 maintainership but who does not program.
 
 -----
-5. How complete/stable is GZigZag?
+5. How complete/stable is Gzz?
 
 It's pre-alpha. It is already usable for many things but it is nowhere
 near feature complete yet. 
@@ -93,9 +93,9 @@
 See Java/TODO in the distribution.
 
 -----
-7. Are there any mailing lists associated with ZigZag/GZigZag?
+7. Are there any mailing lists associated with ZigZag/Gzz?
 
-See http://www.xanadu.com/zigzag
+See http://www.xanadu.com/zigzag and http://gzz.info
 
 -----
 8. How can I help?
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@
 
 
 =============================================================
-Section II: Using (G)ZigZag
+Section II: Using Gzz
 
 1. How can I learn to create my own structures so that they work well?
 
@@ -120,30 +120,25 @@
 
 1. Why Java?
 
-Portability, garbage collection, SPEED (with JIT: for linux, IBM's
-JDK-1.1.8 is GREAT), portable graphics, easy C interface, available APIs
+Portability, garbage collection, SPEED (with JIT: for linux, Sun's
+JDK-1.4.1_01 is GREAT), portable graphics, easy C interface, available APIs
 (e.g. JMF), etc.
 
 You will note that I did not mention the language itself above:
 I don't like the language itself that much: I'd prefer to work in
-Perl. Unfortunately it does not provide all of these other features and
+Python. Unfortunately it does not provide all of these other features and
 the ones it does it does not provide as easily and conveniently as Java.
 
------
-1.1 Where do I get Java sources for GZigZag?
+We *are* using Jython for a number of the less speed-intensive tasks, though.
 
-If you know CVS, you can checkout module GZigZag in
-:pserver:address@hidden:/cvsroot/gzigzag .
-Otherwise, you can use our nightly-generated source snapshots
-available at ftp://gzigzag.sourceforge.net/pub/gzigzag/snapshots/ .
-They are packaged in GNU-Zipped tar archives and in ZIP archives,
-choose whichever is best for you.
+-----
+1.1 Where do I get Java sources for Gzz?
 
-The Java sources are located in the Java/ subdirectory of the full
-source tree.
+See the CVS instructions at http://gzz.info, or download
+a tarball from there.
 
 -----
-1.2 Where do I get precompiled class files for GZigZag?
+1.2 Where do I get precompiled class files for Gzz?
 
 We have a build daemon that builds the current CVS version nighly and
 puts two JAR archives of it in
@@ -154,16 +149,16 @@
 -----
 1.5. It's WAY too slow! Are you out of your mind?
 
-No. For me, it's quite comfortable on my 233MHz Pentium 80Mb laptop.
+No. For me, it's quite comfortable on my 1.2GHz Pentium 256MB laptop.
 There are several possible reasons for this: 
 
 * You are using a Java interpreter without a JIT (Just-In-Time)
   compiler. As mentioned in the answer to the previous question, for
-  Linux, I recommend IBM's JDK 1.1.8. Do NOT ask me about proprietary
-  operating systems - GZigZag works there but over there you're on
+  Linux, I recommend Sun's JDK 1.4. Do NOT ask me about proprietary
+  operating systems - Gzz works there but over there you're on
   your own for platform-specific questions.  Another quite fast JVM is
   Kaffe, but unfortunately at least some versions of Kaffe have a
-  nasty bug that makes using GigZag on it quite unpleasant.
+  nasty bug that makes using Gzz on it quite unpleasant.
 
 * Your Java interpreter is not using enough memory. By default, some Java
   interpreters only use 16Megs at maximum. Try starting with
@@ -177,40 +172,19 @@
 -----
 1.5.1. I can't use IBM's JDK: it doesn't have the Swing classes
 
-You are using an old version of GZigZag.  Current CVS versions and
+You are using an old version of Gzz.  Current CVS versions and
 snapshots do not require Swing.
 
 -----
 1.9. I want to report a bug; how do I do that?
 
-There are instructions about this in http://www.gzigzag.org/bugs.html .
+There are instructions about this in http://gzz.info/bugs.html .
 
 -----
 2. How is the Java code structured?
 
-ZZCell and ZZSpace are the center of it all. Start from there and
-also ZZDimension, ZZDimSpace, ZZLocalDimension, ZZPersistentDimension,
-ZZPersistentDimSpace ...
-These latter ones are still a bit new and finding their places.
-
------
-3. Why is the ZZEventQueue not called / what is ZZObs / ... ?
-
-Legacy. It's currently supplanted by the ZZUpdateManager for view updates
-but may be revived later.
-
------
-4. What is the saved file format?
-
-See the Java/storage/ and Java/media subdirectories of the source
-tree, especially storage/Recs.java, storage/ZZPersistentDimSpace.java
-and media/StringScroll.java.
-
------
-5. Will my files be upwards compatible?
-
-No: the format will change soon. However, you can dump the space into XML
-(will be explained later) and restore it to the new file type.
+See the architectural documentation in doc/, also generated
+at himalia.
 
 -----
 6. Are there any coding standards?
@@ -222,7 +196,7 @@
 
 Yes, we do, but it helps if you consult with us first to make sure your
 intended change is in a reasonable direction. Much functionality should go
-into the Modules/ as well.
+into gzz.modules as well, instead of the main gzz packages..
 
 diff -u (unified diff) is preferred.
 
@@ -231,32 +205,113 @@
 8. What are the advantages of the new Java version over the old Perl version?
 
 - Graphics. You just need to see the vanishing view to see why it's important.
-And that's just the beginning.
+And that's just the beginning. The newer OpenGL views will blow your mind.
 
 - Active development.
 
------
-9. What are the disadvantages of the new Java version over the old Perl 
version?
 
-- Ted's own keystrokes do not yet work (to be fixed soon)
-
-
-
-=============================================================
-Section III: Questions specific to the Perl version
-
-1. Wasn't there a Perl version or something?
+-----
+9. Wasn't there a Perl version or something?
 
 Yes, written by Andrew Pam and others.
 
 -----
-2. Are the files from the Perl version compatible with the new Java version?
+10. Are the files from the Perl version compatible with the new Java version?
 
 No.
 
 -----
-3. Is it possible to import files from the Perl version to the new Java 
version?
+11. Is it possible to import files from the Perl version to the new Java 
version?
 
-Not yet, but soon. Only needs a short Perl script to read the DB_File from
+Not yet, but hopefully soon. Only needs a short Perl script to read the 
DB_File from
 the Perl version and write the corresponding XML code and then you can import
 it.
+
+
+=============================================================
+Section IV: Questions specific to using OpenGL with the Java version
+
+-----
+1. What video card should I get?
+
+Currently, the recommended cards (on Linux) are as follows
+(note, this is just personal opinions; not all the cards below have been 
+tested and, as usual, we guarantee *nothing*)
+
+ATI:
+    - R300: Radeon 9500, 9500PRO, 9700, 9700PRO: RECOMMENDED
+      ATI turned the tables in fall 2002 by releasing a texture
+      shading linux driver.
+
+      These boards excellent with the fragment program
+      support. Gzz still has some problems but these will 
+      likely be resolved soon since active work is being done
+      in the area.
+      
+      Also, the drivers still slightly unstable but we're working around that.
+
+    - R100, R200: Radeon 7500, 8500, 9000, 9100: AVOID
+
+       - ATI did not have proper Linux drivers with texture shading support out
+         during the reign of these cards. Therefore, we did not buy
+         any and have not developed support for the ATI_fragment_shader
+         extension, and you will get very suboptimal results with these.
+
+         If you are into programming and own one of these cards, it should
+         not be too difficult to rectify the situation; contact us
+         for help.
+
+    - R350, RV350, R400: UNKNOWN, LIKELY GOOD
+
+NVIDIA:
+    - NV20: GeForce4 Ti, GeForce3, GeForce3 Ti, GeForce4 Go 4200: GOOD
+
+       - NVIDIA drivers are good and we put their register combiners 
extensions to active
+         use in Gzz. Libpaper uses texture shading on NV20, and we are working
+         on vertex programs.
+
+    - NV10: GeForce2 Ti, GeForce2 MX, GeForce4 MX, GeForce4 Go 460: PASSABLE
+      
+      is STRONGLY preferred to GeForce4 MX (the MX is just a GF2 in disguise)
+
+    - NV30: GeForce FX: UNKNOWN, LIKELY GOOD
+
+       - At the time of writing, this card is not yet out. If it delivers its 
promises,
+         it will likely become the card of choice here.
+
+Brand X:
+    - support for OpenGL 1.1 is required, possibly more. 1.4 recommended.
+      The support for early OpenGL versions doesn't, for obvious reasons, get 
tested too much.
+
+    - support for the ARB_vertex_program extension is now mandatory,
+      since it can be emulated in the driver and free code is available in 
mesa.
+
+    - support for the ARB_fragment_program extension makes the quality of
+      the graphics MUCH better, but is not absolutely required..
+    
+---
+2. I'm a video card / input device / ... manufacturer. How can I get my 
hardware better supported?
+
+Well, as usual, no guarantees, but if you donate us cool hardware with 
functional linux
+drivers, it is quite likely that things will happen. 
+
+N.B. this is more likely to work for high-end than low-end hardware: if ATI 
were
+to give us 10 Radeon 7500s right now, they might just sit on a shelf as spares.
+However, if they were to give us 1 R350 (Radeon 9900?), it would probably be 
fully 
+supported in days.
+
+---
+3. Why are fragment programs (texture shading) so important for Gzz?
+
+They allow detailed control of the output, pixel by pixel, at amazing speeds.
+For instance, rendering unique backgrounds using libpaper stops being about 
+trying to coax the hardware to do something it doesn't want and starts being
+about really sampling the distribution.
+
+Also, there are lots of tricks we can use to improve text quality using
+fragment programs.
+
+Quite simply, this is where a lot of our visual experimentation will be 
happening
+in the near future. Be there or be square ;)
+
+