trunk/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, Ruby etc. 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 run make:

	make

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

Once the library has been built, go to your chosen language directory,
that is, Perl, Python, Tcl, Java, Ruby etc. Each example should have a
README file with a description.

Each example can be compiled using the makefile in each example directory. This
makefile uses the top level makefile in the "Examples" directory of the distribution.
If the example doesn'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://www.dabeaz.com/gifplot/index.html


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 (dave@dabeaz.com)