Slashdot Mirror


Source for Pov-Ray modeller now available!

Twyst writes "Well, it's not for Linux yet... but Denis Olivier, the author of Povlab has released the source code to his modeller. PovLab is a DOS based modeller for the Persistance of Vision Raytracer. Does anyone wants to have a go at porting it to Linux?"

40 comments

  1. Linux 2.2.0pre7 is available! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    download it! test it! for the love of God!

  2. source code for Linux now available! :-) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    whoops, I meant the NVidia X server... my mistake! sorry 'bout that!

  3. man, that hurts. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    JUST USE SAME PASSWORD FOR EVERY PLACE
    THAT WAY YOU DONT HAVE TO REMEMBER MORE THAN ONE
    IS EVEN EASIER IF USE A PASSWORD LIKE "PASSWORD
    THIS IDEA WORK GREAT FOR ME

  4. Wrong title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And all these days I've thought POV-Ray was a ray tracer.. there is a significant difference in the way a renderer and a ray tracer generates the images.

  5. no way! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If I use the same password everywhere, that's a security risk... dig?

  6. Yup. povray source is useless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    I examined the povray license in detail sometime around October, more for looking at the win32 code than the ray-tracing part. The license restrictions render the source pretty much useless
    (I wanted to rip the back end out and put my own back end into the povray front end to produce graphics post processing to numerical modeling).

    The upshot was that I didn't even fell comfortable looking at the code.

    The end result of the povray license is that at some point a GPL code will totally and permanently displace it. And the povray team won't have to worry about anyone ripping off their code.

  7. OSS Maya by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wonder what it would take to write an Open Source Maya killer for Linux.

  8. Yup. povray source is useless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    CONTROL. The povray team has total control of the code. Its nothing more than quarter-ass GPL. They are trying to get the lbor of open source without complying with GPL. Our labor using and fixing the code is better spent elsewhere.

  9. Wrong title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Povray can render with radiosity, not only raytracing.

  10. Yup. povray source is useless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You can't GPL POV just like that. People have contributed their code under the POV license. Sometimes it seems that GPL advocates can't tolerate any other licenses. (Hmm. that reminds me of...)

    And yes you can see POV 3.1 source.

  11. I don't want to use povray. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0



    There is "nothing wrong" with me (original poster).

    I wanted to learn how to construct a user interface similar to povray's using the win32 api. Did I not make that clear in my post?

    As I said, out of respect for the intentions of the authors of povray, I decided that even looking at povray source would be a compromise of their license. Thus, the povray source was useless to me. What is not clear about this?

    So, what I am doing is "ripping off" code from other sources who freely allow their code to be "ripped off". In fact, they encourage this activity.


    All you morons that flame the GPL, get off the net now. I mean it. Get off. Go away. Leave. The entire internet is brought to you courtesy of free software, either GPL or BSD licensed. Hanging around the internet on sites like /. is pure hypocrisy. Go pay AOL or Compuserve and hang out on their "forums" and (ugh) "chat" rooms and complain about what a bunch of losers free software advocates are. But don't do it here. Hypocrites.

  12. Not really news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Source has been available as long as I've been aware of POV-Ray, about three years. Not that it's not always a good idea to raise awareness of great free tools.

  13. Start from scratch... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My first reaction when looking at the code is to just start from scratch, using the code as reference...

    Can anybody speaks french here?

    hasdi at bigfoot dot com

  14. I'd like to ask... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    how on earth you know what the intentions are of persons you've never even met? How do you know they wrote their license the way they did because they are jerks? Do you know *anything* about the history of POV-Ray? Besides, you have no right to get upset about someone writing their own license for their own software...they can do whatever the hell they want as it is their software.

  15. I'd like to agree.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Very well said. There are those who like to hack and share, and those who are merely looking for something to be fanatical about, in order to give their empty lives a semblance of meaning. It's odd that so few of those who actually write the code share the fanatacism (Linus being the prime example). An unfortunate side effect of the extremist, MS-ish, "You must do it our way or die" mob mentality that's overtaking the online community, is the fact that it drives a wedge between the users and the developers. If the developers start feeling like their audience is slowly mutating into a bunch of soulless nutjobs, then they'll start to drift away to other things. Then who'll be left to write the code? Certainly not the advokids on /. ...

  16. Talk about ugly licenses by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm sure the People at Povlab would a appreciate
    an education on a more logical way of contributing
    to a port.
    Just go ahead a start, they would be fools to knock back good code. ;)
    BTW
    I've used POVLAB for DOS, its just as good if not better than MORAY in some parts.

    Just my 2 cents..checks in the mail

  17. Start from scratch... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    nah..should be easy..just search replace =]

  18. Hmmm.... by gavinhall · · Score: 1

    Posted by Mephie:

    Anyone use this? I have a few questions:
    If I want to add a evil loop or if statement, do I have to save to .pov and then open an editor? or can I do it from PovLab?
    Can I open an existing .POV?
    What is the highest supported resolution? (I'm spoiled, I like 1280x1024).
    I couldnt find any of this info on the Features page and I'm at work now so I can't grab it. Would like to know if it's worth it.
    Oh, and currently, I dont use a modeller, I've tried a few, but their bad points severly outweigh their good.
    --Mephie

  19. POV-Ray is not free software by gavinhall · · Score: 1

    Posted by Federico Mena-Quintero:

    Unfortunately, POV-Ray is not free software. If you look carefully at the license, you will see that it has many limitations that prevent it from being considered as free.

    You cannot use portions of the source code in other programs; if you do use the source code, it must be for a "custom version", which "is defined as a fully functional version of POV-Ray with all existing features intact" (this really sucks). You cannot re-archive the contents of the POV-Ray package. You cannot charge more than a specific amount for distribution on CD-ROMs and the like. Also, if you intend to bundle it with commercial software, you must first ask permission to the POV-Ray team.

    There are other limitations in the license; you can look at them in http://www.povray.org/copyright.html.

    For a free raytracer with plenty of nifty features, you can use SART (Scheme Aided Ray Tracer). It is available at http://petra.zesoi.fer.hr/%7Esilovic/sart/

  20. Hmmm.... by gavinhall · · Score: 1

    Posted by Mephie:

    Hand coding is the reason I use POV, I just dont like modellers in general, way too hard to model some of the things that I can do in a loop.
    --Mephie

  21. I don't want to use povray. by Andy+Dodd · · Score: 1

    The Win32 version has a GUI, which is what I think he was talking about...

    --
    retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
  22. Wrong title by Chouser · · Score: 1

    The title, I'm sure, should read 'Pov-Lab', since PovRay's source has been open for quite a while, I believe

    --

    --Chouser
    "To stay young requires unceasing cultivation of the ability to unlearn old falsehoods." -LL
  23. Now, if only moray.. by Thomas+Charron · · Score: 1

    Now, if only Moray could be ported over..

    --
    -- I'm the root of all that's evil, but you can call me cookie..
  24. No, It's not.. by Thomas+Charron · · Score: 1

    You're looking at PovRay, NOT PovLab.. There are NO good modellers for linux..

    --
    -- I'm the root of all that's evil, but you can call me cookie..
  25. Password security by Robin+Hood · · Score: 1

    Nah, it doesn't have to be a security risk. I have a few passwords that I consider "insecure" since anyone who knows me could probably guess them. Those are the ones I use on all the web-based login thingies. After all, it's being transmitted in cleartext over the 'Net -- I'm not gonna use my *real* password, for cryin' out loud! At any one time, I might have the same password on three or four different web-based login thingies. I mean, if someone sniffs my password with a packet-sniffer somewhere, what are they gonna do? Pose as me on Slashdot? I'm not important enough for anyone to bother, and it would only be a minor nuisance... So having the same password in multiple places doesn't *have* to be a security risk.
    -----

    --
    The real meaning of the GNU GPL:
    "The Source will be with you... Always."
  26. man, that hurts. by Mark+Pitman · · Score: 1

    If it works so great, why aren't you logged in???

  27. It's on Linux! Did I miss something? by sengan-home · · Score: 1

    Where is it? Site's very slow from here. URL???

  28. Talk about ugly licenses by fizbin · · Score: 1

    Well, I see no reason to port this monstrosity to Linux. I mean, why on earth would I pour my effort into this when there are so many really free software projects out there that need coders? Take a good, long look at the license. If I'm going to put effort into porting this, I'm going to want the freedom to port only a part at a time, and release my early attempts - this is the only way I can see a collaborative porting effort working.

    Ok, granted it is nicer than, say, some license that prevented any local modifications at all. And having the source is certainly much nicer than not having it at all. If it existed on Linux, I suppose I'd use it when I wanted the functionality, and for some reason couldn't get it from Moonlight Creator. Still, I see no incentive to spend time porting this.

  29. Qool! by WWWWolf · · Score: 1

    At last a decent modeller for PoV-Ray... hope it gets ported soon.

  30. Off topic... by Dawn+Keyhotie · · Score: 1
    Excuse me for interrupting, but I believe you have your rodents mixed up. Gophers do not consume trees at all.


    I'm sure you really want your signature to say: "Save a tree. Eat a beaver."


    Cheers.

    --
    "The only good windmill is a tilted windmill."
  31. Now, if only moray.. by jjoyce · · Score: 1

    Amen to that. I would even *buy* a Linux version.

  32. Registration? by drix · · Score: 1

    How does this affect the registered versions? PovLab was originally shareware. Is he releasing the crippled code (shareware version) or the fully functional code?

    --

    I think there is a world market for maybe five personal web logs.
  33. Now, if only moray.. by FleaPlus · · Score: 1

    How's this work under WINE? Enjoyed it before I deleted win95, but haven't had a chance yet to try it out myself under Linux.

  34. Yup. povray source is useless by szo · · Score: 1

    Then GPL it, for gods sake!
    And can you tell why can't we see the PovRay 3.1 source?

    Szo

    --
    Red Leader Standing By!
  35. It's on Linux! Did I miss something? by Metro · · Score: 1

    Apparently, there is a Linux version ready for downloading at the website. Did I miss something or did you, Sengan? :)

  36. Linux port by Elendil · · Score: 1

    Well, a linux port of PovLab would be really nice.
    I just had a short look at the code: it's written
    for Watcom C/C++ 10.6, so at least it's 32-bit!
    Now we'll have to see how their graphic library
    can be mapped onto svgalib or X11. I think I read
    that the Watcom graphics were supposed to be M$ C
    compatible; can anyone comment on that?

  37. Linux 2.2.0pre7 is available! by Artemis · · Score: 1

    What do you know, for once one of these posts is correct.


    Force Recon Half-Life TC: Check it out
  38. If no one ports it...check this out by NaTaS777 · · Score: 1

    Go to http://kfa.cx there working on MFPOV (Modelor for POV) So far it seems to be real awesome! Email Deimos on that page and show him that your real interested (that way he'll start coding more on it)
    NaTaS

    --
    Natas of
    -=Pedophagia=-
    http://www.mp3.com/pedophagia
    Also Admin of
    http://loki.linuxgames.com
  39. PovLAB is *****NOT***** PovRay by Twyst · · Score: 1

    This NEEDS to be said, due to the number of posts that seem to be referring to Pov-Ray.


    Pov-Ray is a renderer. It's been available for many platforms( including Linux) for quite some time.

    PovLab is a modeller. It's a DOS-only program, and the source was just released today.

    --
    -- Karma is for people who think they matter.
  40. POV-Ray source is useful (when it exists) by Mark+Gordon · · Score: 1
    I have an almost entirely functional port of POV-Ray 3.1 to Linux on my web page, and I should have the rest of the functionality up within a few hours. Feel free to look at the source code; it required very little modification.

    FWIW, I would just as soon see POV-Ray GPL'ed, though I'm not going to rant and rave about it. As I see it, there are two reasons that POV-Ray 3.1, which was officially released for a variety of other platforms several months ago, still doesn't have an official Unix version:

    1. The POV-Ray team has historically hung out on CompuServe. When the previous Unix guru bowed out, it was difficult to find qualified Unix hackers hanging out on CompuServe.
    2. POV-Ray has been following a rather closed development model, in which there are public beta tests for which the source is not publically available. The rationale is to reduce the burden of supporting users with outdated, buggy versions (the beta executables are timed to expire). In practice, it meant that the Unix users weren't able to start porting the POV-Ray 3.1 code to Unix until POV-Ray 3.1 was officially released for other platforms. This meant that Unix users didn't get to participate in the beta testing. It also meant that users were unable to find bugs in the source until after it was already released and the developers were on vacation. Based on my experience, this is a flawed model. Users have found bugs in my version, users have found fixes for bugs in my version, and the amount of work I have had to do is minimal as a result. Still, following the POV-Ray development model, POV-Ray 3.1 for Unix still isn't out, and I have no idea when it will be. I can only hope that the POV-Ray team takes a look at the code on my web site.
    Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to upload my latest bug fixes. In case anyone is interested, I'm told that it works fine on SunOS with only minor (and obvious) modifications to the makefile.

    -Mark Gordon