Display.Shape now implemented (was Re: custom shape.)

• To: visad-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
• Subject: Display.Shape now implemented (was Re: custom shape.)
• From: "William L. Hibbard" <WHIBBARD@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
• Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 10:45 CST

Hi Eugene,
 
Display.Shape is now implemented.  See cases 46 and 47 of
examples/DisplayTest.java for simple examples of how to
use it.  Note that case 47 includes a box, as in your
original request, that has different colors, locations
and sizes according to values of RealTypes mapped to
color DisplayRealTypes, spatial DisplayRealTypes, and
Display.ShapeScale.  Here are some words from Section 4.7
of the Developers Guide about Shape.
 
The DisplayRealType Display.Shape can be a very powerful tool
for building complex displays.  When RealTypes are mapped to
Display.Shape, their values are quantized according to the Set
argument to ShapeControl.setShapeSet and the resulting indices
are used to look up VisADGeometryArray shapes.  These are
located according to any RealTypes mapped to spatial
DisplayRealTypes, scaled according to any RealType mapped to
Display.ShapeScale, and for those VisADGeometryArrays that do
not include colors values, colored according to any RealTypes
mapped to color DisplayRealTypes.  Multiple RealTypes may be
mapped to Display.Shape, allowing the creation of composite
shapes with different sub-shapes determined by values of
different RealTypes.
 
The PlotText.render_label method, documented in Section 4.7.2
of the Developers Guide, is useful for generating shapes from
text Strings.  The ShapeControl.setShapeSet method can be used
to define a quantization of real values, and shapes can be
generated from numerical strings of quantization values.  The
start argument to PlotText.render_label method can be used to
generate different offsets for text plots of values of
different RealTypes.  This could be used to generate
traditional station plots from meteorological data.
 
If the Set argument to setShapeSet has length = 1 (i.e., just
one member) then all RealType values map to the
VisADGeometryArray shape at index = 0.
 
Let us know if you have any problems with this.
 
Cheers,
Bill
 
----------------------------------------------------------
Bill Hibbard, SSEC, 1225 W. Dayton St., Madison, WI  53706
whibbard@xxxxxxxxxxxxx  608-263-4427  fax: 608-263-6738
http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/~billh/vis.html
 
"kill cross-platform Java by growing the polluted Java market"
   - from an internal Microsoft planning document
 

• Follow-Ups:
  • Some details with Display.shapes.
    • From: Eugene Teh