SWIG/Examples/GIFPlot/README

GIFPlot
=======

To illustrate various SWIG features, the following examples involve
building an interface to a small, but somewhat useful graphics library
for creating 2D and 3D images in the form of GIF files.  The Perl,
Python, Tcl, Java and Ruby directories contain various examples specific to
those languages.

This library was originally developed as part of the SPaSM molecular
dynamics project at Los Alamos National Laboratory.  However, due to
patent enforcement issues related to LZW encoding and a general lack
of time on the part of the author, the library was never officially
released.  On the plus side, a number of people have found it to be a
useful easter egg within the SWIG distribution :-).

<LEGAL>
DUE TO PATENT RESTRICTIONS ON THE LZW COMPRESSION ALGORITHM, THIS
LIBRARY ONLY PRODUCES UNCOMPRESSED GIF FILES.  SO THERE.
</LEGAL>

Building the Library
====================

In order to run the examples, it is first necessary to build the GIFPlot
C library.  To do this, simply follow these instructions:

	./configure
	make

On Windows, you can probably just do this:

        cd Lib
        nmake /f Makefile.msc

Running the Examples
====================

Once the library has been built, go the Perl, Python, Tcl, Java or Ruby directory
to see various SWIG examples.   Each example should have a README file with a
description.

The examples are compiled using the makefile located in the top level "Examples"
directory of the distribution.   If they don't compile, you will need to
adjust the settings in this file.

Documentation
=============

Read the source Luke.   The examples should be pretty much self-explanatory.
The header file Include/gifplot.h contains the full API.

The original documentation for the library can be found online at:

          http://islab.cs.uchicago.edu/gifplot


Let me know what you think!
===========================
If you found this example to be useful, confusing, or otherwise, I would like to know
about it.   Suggestions for improvement are welcome.

-- Dave (beazley@cs.uchicago.edu)