Welcome to the International AVS Center YOU MUST DOWNLOAD AND READ THE AVS_LICENSE FILE BEFORE MAKING USE OF THIS ANONYMOUS FTP SITE OR ANY OF THE INTERNATIONAL AVS CENTER EMAIL FACILITIES! THIS MAY BE OBTAINED VIA ANONYMOUS FTP FROM: avs.ncsc.org(128.109.178.23):AVS_LICENSE **************************************************************************** TABLE OF CONTENTS ----------------- International AVS Center Contact Info International AVS Center Entered Its 4th Year At NCSC October 1, 1994 Questions and Answers Internet News Group AVS Magazine International AVS Users Group International AVS Users Group Conference Module Submission Contest Getting Modules Anonymous ftp Email Facilities How to submit modules Standard ftp Submission Email Submission Batch Tape Submission A Copy of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) File **************************************************************************** INTERNATIONAL AVS CENTER CONTACT INFO: ------------------------------------- Chuck Mosher, IAC Program Director Suresh Balu Michael King International AVS Center North Carolina Supercomputing Center 3021 Cornwallis Road Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 Please send articles and slides for future issues of AVS Network News, our quarterly magazine featuring articles from AVS users worldwide. avs95@ncsc.org email here for info on the AVS '95 conference to be held in Boston, Mass., on April 19-21, 1995. avsemail@ncsc.org email anything here to receive an automated reply including the latest module catalog, AVS User Group registration information, and the latest version of this file avs@ncsc.org email questions to IAC staff here. Messages will be routed to all of us and answered by at least one of us. avsorder@ncsc.org use this email address to order AVS module source code if you do not have ftp access. These messages are sent through an automated script - please see the section "EMAIL FACILITIES" below for further info on this. avs.ncsc.org ftp address of the IAC's anonymous ftp site (this is IP number 128.109.178.23) 919-248-1100 Our phone number - though frequently its easier to track us down via email to avs@ncsc.org 919-248-1101 Our FAX number WHAT_IS_WAIS Check these files for information on two useful WHAT_IS_GOPHER tools for perusing our anonymous ftp site. These can be obtained via anonymous ftp (of course!) from the directory avs.ncsc.org:avs_readme info@avs.com email here if you are interested in purchasing AVS. This will go to AVS Inc. in Waltham, Massachusetts. The IAC does NOT sell AVS, we give away modules. **************************************************************************** INTERNATIONAL AVS CENTER ENTERED ITS 4TH YEAR AT NCSC OCTOBER 1, 1994 On October 1, 1991 the AVS Consortium announced the opening of the International AVS Center (IAC) at North Carolina Supercomputing Center, a division of MCNC, in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The AVS Consortium is made up of AVS vendors who fund and provide direction for the International AVS Center. The vendors are Advanced Visual Systems Inc., Digital Equipment Corporation, IBM, Hewlett Packard Company, Kubota Graphics Technology, Sun Microsystems Inc., and Fujitsu. The IAC became fully functional on January 1, 1992. One of the IAC's goals was to provide ftp and email access to public domain modules. There are over 600 hundred modules currently available and more will be added daily. Another goal was to construct a porting facility, which was recently completed. Each Consortium platform has the modules ported to it, and made available free via anonymous ftp. Modules are available for IBM, HP, Sun, and Kubota, platforms. **************************************************************************** QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS If you ever have any questions, please forward them to avs@ncsc.org. The staff of the International AVS Center is here to support the AVS user community as best we can. **************************************************************************** INTERNET NEWS GROUP AVS users should also be aware of the Internet news group comp.graphics.avs . This news group provides a forum for general collaboration on all AVS topics between the entire AVS user community. **************************************************************************** AVS MAGAZINE The International AVS Center is publishing a quarterly magazine titled "AVS Network News." This magazine discusses AVS related issues, has user articles, general information, etc. These can be ordered by joining the User Group - see below. Please submit articles and accompanying slides for future publication to this address: The International AVS Center PO Box 12889 3021 Cornwallis Road RTP, NC 27709 **************************************************************************** INTERNATIONAL AVS USERS GROUP You can join the International AVS Users Group for a yearly fee of $100.00 which includes subscription to the AVS magazine, the yearly AVS catalog of modules ( user donated and commercial), a $50.00 reduction on attending the yearly International AVS Users Group conference and have special rates for additional services as they become available. To join, send check or money order for $100.00 ( add $10.00 if out of continental USA) to: The International AVS Center PO Box 12889 3021 Cornwallis Road RTP, NC 27709 **************************************************************************** INTERNATIONAL AVS USERS GROUP CONFERENCE Email to avs95@ncsc.org for info on the AVS '95 conference, which is to be held in Boston, Mass. on April 19-21, 1995. Over 70 lectures, 12 tutorials, 6 workshops, and many exhibits are being planned. The 1st Annual International AVS Users Group Conference was held February 11-13,1992 at the site of the International AVS Center : the North Carolina Supercomputing Center, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The conference was titled : AVS '92 and was sponsored by the AVS Consortium : Advanced Visual Systems Inc., CONVEX Computer Corporation, Digital Equipment Corporation, IBM, Hewlett Packard Company, Kubota Pacific, and Sun Microsystems. Conference Overview : First International Users Group Conference February 11 - 13, 1992 Summary of events: Keynote address: Attentive and Preattentive Processing in Visualization Richard Mark Friedhoff, Author of "Visualization: The Second Computer Revolution" Lectures: #1 - Fundamentals of Scientific Visualization by Jim Thomas, SIGGRAPH Chair, Battelle Pacific Labs #2 - Directions AVS Might Take: A User Perspective by Richard Feldmann, NIH, Division of Computer Research and Technology. #3 - Tips and Tricks with AVS and Areas that are not documented by Larry Gelberg, AVS Inc. #4 - The AVS Module Generator by Larry Gelberg, AVS Inc. #5 - Future Plans for AVS and the International AVS Center by Ray Idaszek, NCSC and Dave Kamins, AVS Inc. #6 - Wide Area Information Servers: A Supercomputer on Every Desk by Brewster Kahle, Thinking Machines. #7 - The AVS Data Viewer by Larry Gelberg, AVS, Inc. #8 - The GenTools Distributed Computational-Genetics Program Suite by Jesse Driver, University of Texas, CHPC, Balcones Research Center. #9 - Full Motion Video over ETHERNET in an AVS Environment by Dan Winkelstein, MCNC Communications Division. #10 - The AVS Animation Application in AVS 3.5 by Ham Lord, AVS Inc. #11 - Distributed Visualization by Rick Franklin and Wade Smith, CONVEX Computer Corporation. #12 - Video Production in AVS by John Sheehan, AVS Inc. #13 - Overview of Implementing AVS on a Massively Parallel Machine by Edward Zyszkowski, Wavetracer Inc. #14 - The AVS Geometry Viewer Using AVS 3.5 by Jeff Vroom, AVS Inc. #15 - VBASE: Vector Database in AVS by Dennis Colomb. #16 - Chaotic System Tools in AVS by Mike Neacsu, NCSC. #17 - The Visualization Revolution by Wes Bethal, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. #18 - Network Synamation: An Integrated Environment for Distributed Computing by Meng H. Lean, Xerox Corporation, Webster Research Center. Tutorials: #1 - Getting Started with AVS and Creating Networks #2 - Getting Started with the Geometry Viewer (AVS3.5) #3 - The Data Viewer #4 - The AVS Animation Application #5 - How to Write a Module in C using the Module Generator Workshops: #1 - Chemistry using AVS by Richard Hedges, Polygen/MSI and Dave Kamins, AVS Inc. #2 - Visualizing Crystals with AVS by Don R. Jones, Erin N. Thornton, and Anthony Ness, Battelle Pacific Labs. #3 - Animation in AVS by Brian Kaplan, Indiana University and Ham Lord, AVS Inc. #4 - Imaging and GIS in AVS, Dennis Colomb. #5 - Crystal Viewer with AVS by Steve Bong, Crystal Imaging. #6 - Maple V Supporting AVS by Benton Leong, Waterloo Maple. Panels: #1 - AVS as an Educational and Instructional Tool by Stephen Franklin, University of California, Irvine. #2 - AVS Developers and Porters Panel, led by David Bennett, International AVS Center and NCSC. #3 - Applications Panel led by Dennis Colomb. #4 - Virtual Reality by John Sheehan, AVS Inc. #5 - Distributed Computing Group led by Ray Idaszak, NCSC. Videotapes: Videotapes of many of the presentations at AVS `92 are available from the International AVS Center for a small fee. Please send your name, address, phone, and FAX to avs@ncsc.org, with your request for an order form. **************************************************************************** MODULE SUBMISSION CONTEST The International AVS Center's module repository has been very successful in its first year. There are now over 600 public domain AVS modules available for your scientific visualizatition use! Thanks to all who have so generously shared their work! To encourage continued submissions, and as a reward for the modules already contributed, the IAC is implementing a quarterly contest. The author of the "best" module contributed in a quarter will receive his/her choice of $250 cash (U.S. funds), or $250 credit towards attendance at AVS '93 ( to be held May 24-26 in Orlando, Florida ). Some of the criteria considered in a module's evaluation include the module's: 1) Utility 2) Uniqueness 3) Popularity These are not necessarily all inclusive or in any particular order. The final decision as to who wins the award will be made by the IAC. The contest will be for three quarters, October 1, 1992 until December 31, 1992, January 1, 1993 until March 31, 1993 and lastly, April 1, 1993 until the AVS '93 conference on May 24, 1993. Submissions for each quarter must be received before midnight on the final day (EST). We have selected a lucky winner for the time preceeding Oct 1, 1992. For his many module contributions and their usefulness to the AVS community according to our download statistics, we have selected Wes Bethel from Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories. We did not want the donations for the first year to go unrewarded. Thanks from the IAC and all the AVS User community for your more than many module contributions, including the following and more: animate_floa animate_inte animated_str plot_xyz plot_xyz_col read_irregul read_uniform add_coords_2 add_coords_3 add_cps byte_image_t float_image collage xform_field irreg_2_reg new_crop persp_field vec_mag_2d_v new_arbitrar bivar field_to_con scat_2d scat_3d dump_sunras dump_icc dump_ps image_2_icc output_color output_8bit write_irreg write_reg hsv_to_rgb rgb_to_hsv bin_field psfilter trivar LBL_bezier_v new_ortho_sl write_compressed read_compressed 3D_axis IAC and MCNC staff and their families are not eligible for the contest. Employees and their families from Advanced Visual Systems, Inc are also not eligible for the contest. All other entries will be equally considered. We are a non-profit organization. Have fun coding, and thanks again for an extremely successful first year! **************************************************************************** GETTING MODULES There are currently two ways to obtain modules: 1. Using standard ftp protocol. 2. Using the AVSemail request system **************************************************************************** ANONYMOUS FTP The International AVS Center anonymous ftp site is located on the Internet at 128.109.178.23 . If a name server is running, the server can be located as avs.ncsc.org . When connected to the avs server, login as anonymous and provide your email address as the password. WHAT YOU WILL FIND WHEN YOU LOG IN TO THE AVS SITE: When you login, this is what you see ---------------------------------------------------------------------- AVS_LICENSE avs_modules/ avs_top10_mods/ dev/ pub/ SUBMIT/ avs_net_news/ avs_user_group/ etc/ sample_data/ avs_archives/ avs_readme/ bin/ newsgroups/ usr/ If you ever wish to submit a module or data, this is where you go ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SUBMIT: 000-README README README_AVS_STARTUP All files related to avs modules will now be here ---------------------------------------------------------------------- avs_modules: catalogs/ data_output/ khoros/ data_input/ filters/ mappers/ All files related to cataloging avs modules will now be here ---------------------------------------------------------------------- avs_modules/catalogs: catalog.dvi catalog.ps catalog.txt module.database The 10 most popular AVS modules are archived here; in both source and binary executable format ---------------------------------------------------------------------- avs_top10_mods/*: 000-README HP10.exe.tar.Z* README Convex10.exe.tar.Z* IBM10.exe.tar.Z* Sun10.exe.tar.Z* DEC10.exe.tar.Z* Kubota10.exe.tar.Z* Top10.src.tar.Z* the data input modules... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- avs_modules/data_input: 000-README* generate_gri/ read_netcdf/ 3D_axis/ geometry_sphere/ read_p_2/ BP_Coroutine/ graduate32/ read_pbm_image/ Dials_Contro/ harwell_colo/ read_pcx_image/ Dials_Control/ if_2/ read_pgm_image/ Edit_String/ lathe/ read_pic_image/ Extrusion/ lines_to_geom/ read_pict_image/ FITS_read/ load_md/ read_pix_image/ Generate_label/ mandelbrot/ read_pnm_image/ Image_Sequen/ mask_generator/ read_points/ Label_Axis/ menu_example/ read_ras_image/ Life/ microscope/ read_rectilinear/ Life_WT/ noise_source/ read_rgb_image/ QUAL_field/ phoenics_int/ read_rla_image/ RADM_Credits/ plate/ read_rle_image/ READ_ANY_IMAGE/ plato_super/ read_rpbm_image/ RdUcdAnim/ plot_xyz/ read_rpgm_image/ Read_DXF/ plot_xyz_col/ read_rpnm_image/ Read_Hologram/ readFLOW3D/ read_rppm_image/ Tick_Marks/ read_16_bit/ read_semper/ Vernier_Dial/ read_Dore_im/ read_shak/ animate_file/ read_FLOW3D/ read_sunras/ animate_floa/ read_HDF_SDS/ read_synu_image/ animate_inte/ read_abekas/ read_tiff/ animated_boolean/ read_blokjes/ read_tiff_image/ animated_str/ read_compressed/ read_ucd_points/ animated_track/ read_dyna3d/ read_uniform/ awais/ read_eps_image/ read_xbm_image/ color_cube/ read_gif/ read_xwd_image/ curdle/ read_gif2/ shaker/ cylinders/ read_gif_image/ sphere_to_geom/ endif/ read_hdf_image/ string_list/ fast_animate/ read_icon_image/ strip_chart/ file_to_field/ read_iff_image/ teapot/ fractal_3d_f/ read_irregul/ track_cursor/ fractal_field/ read_jpeg/ tree/ gaussian_field/ read_mpnt_image/ waves_demo/ the data output modules... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- avs_modules/data_output: 000-README* print_xgeom/ write_pcx_image/ HdB1/ psfilter/ write_pgm_image/ Record_Anima/ read_compres/ write_pic_image/ WRITE_ANY_IMAGE/ statistics/ write_pict_image/ WrUcdAnim/ volume_stati/ write_pix_image/ continuous_s/ write_A60_yu/ write_pnm_image/ display_tracker/ write_Dore_i/ write_ps_image/ dump_icc/ write_KSWAD/ write_ras_image/ dump_ps/ write_abekas/ write_rectilinea/ dump_sunras/ write_compressed/ write_reg/ field_info/ write_eps_image/ write_rgb_image/ fix_points/ write_g_2/ write_rla_image/ image_2_icc/ write_gif_image/ write_rle_image/ object_opera/ write_hdf_image/ write_rpbm_image/ output_8bit/ write_icon_image/ write_rpgm_image/ output_a60/ write_iff_image/ write_rpnm_image/ output_color/ write_irreg/ write_rppm_image/ point_sample/ write_jpeg/ write_synu_image/ print_iv_pick/ write_mpnt_image/ write_tiff_image/ print_verts/ write_p_2/ write_xbm_image/ print_xfrm/ write_pbm_image/ write_xwd_image/ the filter modules... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- avs_modules/filters: 000-README* contour/ matte_3x3/ 4D_to_3D_Sli/ contour_perc/ matte_sample/ Color_Legend/ delay/ min_max_fiel/ Cylinder/ dilate/ my_mirror/ Extract_label/ draw_pixel/ new_crop/ Geom_Duplicate/ erode/ opening/ Geos_Image/ excavate/ panel_pan/ IMAGE_WINDOW/ fft2d/ pencil_sketc/ Int_to_string/ field_2D_to_3D/ persp_field/ Iterate/ field_conver/ remap_field/ Nvect_to_2d/ field_scatte/ rgb_to_cmyk/ Quantize_Image/ field_to_irr/ rgb_to_hsv/ SIDE_BY_SIDE/ field_to_rec/ scatter_to_spars/ Shadow/ field_to_uni/ set_alpha/ Sobel_operat/ fill/ set_extents/ Sphere/ float_image/ stick/ Stepper/ glow_white/ strip_cfd/ X_ray/ gradual_mix/ super_sample/ add_coords_2/ grey_scales/ transform_po/ add_coords_3/ grid_scale/ transpose_coords/ add_cps/ hit_lumin_mi/ ucd_minmax/ adjust_rgb/ hsv_to_rgb/ ucd_particle/ alpha_mix/ ifft2d/ un_jag/ arithmetic_2/ image_flip/ uniform_to_i/ byte_image_t/ image_rotate/ vec2_to_vec3/ closing/ image_tile/ vec_mag_2d_v/ collage/ interp_cmap/ vector_field/ combine/ irreg_2_reg/ xform_field/ compute_shade/ log_field/ y_join/ cone/ lumin_mix/ the avs-khoros modules... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- avs_modules/khoros: arith_binary/ filter_1Dfreq/ info/ no_format/ subregion/ arith_logical/ filter_1Dtime/ input_create1D/ output_dither/ surface/ arith_unary/ filter_2Dfreq/ input_create2D/ output_print/ transform1D/ classify/ filter_2Dspatl/ lib/ remote_gis/ transform2D/ convert_color/ filter_morph/ linearop1D/ segment/ vector/ convert_data/ geomanip/ matrix_algebra/ spectest1D/ warp/ feature/ histogram/ modify_seq1D/ standard/ the khoros libraries required to compile the avs-khoros modules... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- avs_modules/khoros/lib: Convex/ HP/ Kubota/ Wavetracer/ DEC/ IBM/ Sun/ the mapper modules... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- avs_modules/mappers: 000-README* field_o_matic/ scatter_arrows/ 3D_axis/ field_to_con/ scatter_bounds/ Colored_bounds/ grid_mesh/ scatter_cubes/ Field_grid/ interpolating_sl/ show_flow/ Keyframe_Ani/ line_1D/ sphere/ LBL_bezier_v/ line_contour/ surface_mesh/ Title/ loop_objects/ surface_web/ UCD_grid/ mesh_axis/ symmetrize/ VIEW_SHARE/ mesh_slicer/ texture_mesh/ add_polar_2D/ mesh_with_base/ trivar/ area/ new_abuffer/ ucd_cell_arrows/ bin_field/ new_arbitrar/ ucd_cell_cones/ bivar/ new_bubbleviz/ ucd_cell_geometr/ city_scape/ new_ortho_sl/ ucd_to_prim/ color_legend/ ov_slicer/ volume_bound/ color_ov_slicer/ probe_path/ waffle/ color_tile/ scat_2d/ wire_bender/ contour_field/ scat_3d/ contour_to_g/ scat_bub/ the comp.graphics.avs archive ---------------------------------------------------------------------- newsgroups/comp.graphics.avs: 000-README Jul_92 May_92 Aug_92 Jun_92 Sep_92 various readme files related to iac activities ---------------------------------------------------------------------- avs_readme: AVS FAQ WHAT_IS_AVS WHAT_IS_WAIS AVS_README IAC_SURVEY WHAT_IS_GOPHER Please fill out a copy of the IAC_SURVEY and email it to us at avs@ncsc.org, so we can better serve the Scientific Visualization community. the avs user group registration form ---------------------------------------------------------------------- avs_user_group: AVS_USER_REG sample data sets ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sample_data: VolVis92/ avs_data/ sample data for the 1992 Boston Workshop on Volume Visualization ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sample_data/VolVis92: 000-README basin/ shuttle/ README.VOLVIS92 c60/ troposphere/ SUMMARY_9_13_92 canine-bioelectic/ accretion_disk/ radm/ sample data submitted in correlation with avs modules ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sample_data/avs_data: Chaney/ Lobster/ TIFF/ Venus/ map_data/ Elevation/ Piston/ US_EPA_RADM/ Vortex/ world/ THE INTERNATIONAL AVS CENTER GIVES NO WARRANTY, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, FOR ANY SOFTWARE AND/OR DOCUMENTATION PROVIDED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. avs_arhives contains compressed tar archives of the entire ftp site. It was approximately 20MB in size when initially created (8/11/92), and will continue to grow. If you want to grab all of the modules from the ftp site at one time, download these files using binary ftp. Then use uncompress and tar to unpack all the files. Keep in mind that after uncompressing, you will be using about 3.5 times the disk space as when the file was compressed. AVS is an Archie place holder. The AVS_CATALOG provides a complete listing of current module holdings at the International AVS Center. Its general format is as follows: Name : animate_file Version : 1.000 Mod Number : 1135 Author : Terry Myerson, International AVS Center (NCSC) Submitted : 02/24/92 Last Updated : 02/24/92 Language : C Ported to : DEC Kubota IBM Sun Convex Description : anim_fname is used to output a series of filenames for input into a reader module. The module inputs an integer and a filename base, and output a filename in the form "$base.%3d". This module is very useful for a series of files containing a time series of data. AVS_CATALOG, AVS_CATALOG.dvi, and AVS_CATALOG.ps are three versions of the module catalog maintained at this site. All three files are continuously updated as new modules are added to the ftp site. The ASCII version of the module catalog (AVS_CATALOG) can be retrieved at any time by mailing any message to an automatic response script at avsemail@ncsc.org The AVS_CATALOG.ps and AVS_CATALOG files should be printable on any standard postscript printing device. The AVS_CATALOG.dvi file requires a dvi2ps utility to be of any use, but provides a much more portable compact format for the postscript catalog for those who have this utility available. NOTE: The AWAIS module, available in the DATA directory on the ftp site, provides interactive browsing of the module catalog. AVS_FLATLINE provides the same information in a format suitable for some database programs. The general format for the AVS_FLATLINE file is as follows: animate_file:data_input:anim_fname is used to output a series of filenames for input into a reader module. The module inputs an integer and a filename base, and output a filename in the form "$base.%3d". This module is very useful for a series of files containing a time series of data.:Terry Myerson:International AVS Center (NCSC):16:C:02/24/92: Kubota Convex DEC IBM Sun:02/24/92:1:1135 The AVS_LICENSE is a file that provides the conditions under which modules may be obtained and your agreements to share code with others. You must agree to the terms in order to use the International AVS Center repository and all that it contains. Its purpose is to ensure the sharing of everything that has been donated and prohibit misuse of code that has been so generously donated by others. If you need a "special" arrangement, you must have a release in writing from the International AVS Center. We will contact the donors and obtain their approval for special cases. You are reading the AVS_README file. AVS_USER_REG is a form that can be filled in and sent electronically to the International AVS Center for registration to various mailing lists, including AVS User Groups, AVS Special Interest Groups, and a list that automatically sends you all postings to the comp.graphics.avs newsgroup. AVS_USER_REG contains detailed instructions on the lists available and where to send it. If you know of anyone, whom does not have news access, they can download the files in the COMP.GRAPHICS.AVS directory. These files are in the standard mailbox format so that anybody can peruse these files using any mail utility with the -f command. For example : Mail -f May_92 If a "message" in this mailbox is replied to, then a message is sent back to the poster of the article - but it is not replied to the newsgroup. The files will be stored in a separate mailbox for each month : May_92 June_92 The SAMPLE_DATA directory is for data that has no associated modules. Many individuals have requested new or interesting sample data and are also donating it. It does not fit with the standard module directories and so has its own directory. The FAQ, or Frequently Asked Questions file answers common questions about the International AVS Center and AVS in general. There are four main directories of modules: DATA, FILTERS, MAPPERS and RENDERERS. These directories correspond to the four columns of modules within AVS. The SUBMIT directory is for module submissions. This directory has write permission and will be explained below in the submission section. WHAT_IS_AVS is a several page overview of the AVS system. WHAT_IS_GOPHER is an overview of the gopher system, and how you might want to use it to peruse through our ftp site. WHAT_IS_WAIS is a several page overview of the Wide Area Information Server system, and how you might want to use it to peruse through our anonymous ftp site. Your first step, after reading this AVS_README file is to download the AVS_LICENSE file and read it. If you have any problem abiding by the AVS Licensing Agreement, please send email to avs@ncsc.org or US mail to the International AVS Center, po Box 12889, 3021 Cornwallis road, RTP, NC 27709. We will try to deal with special circumstances as they arise on a one on one basis. USING STANDARD FTP PROTOCOL: There are only a few basic commands you will need to move around in the AVS directories and download or submit files. Additional information is available in your local man pages on ftp. The first step is to "cd" to the directory you are interested in such as "cd DATA". You will receive a message on how to proceed. You should then "cd" to the module directory you want such as "cd abekas". You should change your settings as follows: type "bin" at the prompt to change to binary mode; type "hash" at the prompt, this gives a # sign on your home device that shows you that things are working; type "prompt" to get multiple files at one time. There are only a few other commands that are general. You should know get and mget. Typing "get filename" at the prompt will download any one file. Typing "mget filenames" (or with wildcards *,?,etc) will get you several files at one time. If you did not type the prompt command you will be asked yes/no for each file. If you did type prompt you will not be prompted, ftp will just continue to download all files requested. The reverse procedure is true when you want to submit modules using the put and mput commands ( more on submission later). In this directory, you will find all of the files for a module. These include the source code, scripts, networks, helpfiles, and makefiles. The Makefiles are named make.platform ( i.e. make.Convex, make.DEC ) There is another ftp option available for getting a module that you may find easier. Suppose you want the module read_tiff, which is located in the subdirectory DATA/read_tiff. If you do the following sequence of steps, you will wind up with a tar file containing all of read_tiff's files in it: ftp avs.ncsc.org use anonymous for the userid use your userid for the password cd DATA binary get read_tiff.tar bye Then on your local machine, use "tar -xvf read_tiff.tar" to restore the files from the archive. This method may take a while due to the potentially large size of the tar file. If you use "get read_tiff.tar.Z" instead, you will get a compressed version of the tar file, which should come over significantly faster due to the smaller size. Then on your local machine, use "uncompress read_tiff.tar.Z", followed by "tar -xvf read_tiff.tar" to restore the files. **************************************************************************** EMAIL FACILITIES It was determined that there were many users who did not have ftp protocol on their system. For those individuals an email procedure has been set up. There are three email addresses associated with the International AVS Center. These are avs@ncsc.org for questions/module submission, avsemail@ncsc.org for an automated information request, and avsorder@ncsc.org for automated module requests. avsorder and avsemail are both explained below. Mailing to avsemail@ncsc.org will automatically retrieve a response which includes this AVS_README file and also a current module catalog. Mailing to avsorder@ncsc.org will automatically retrieve module source code. Since some mail handlers have restrictions on the maximum size of a mail message, the modules that are requested will arrive in several messages - one message per file per module. Some modules that could be requested may also not be deliverable by email because of the size of individual files in that module. These cases will be noted in the return email you receive. Phase II will offer you option of receiving these files or any others via tape. Construction is currently underway of porting facilities and as soon as hardware is installed, we will update this notice and provide instructions on how to request modules, data, etc. via tape. Note that you will need to remove the mail header lines after saving the files from within your mail system. The title for each of a module file's mail message will be of the form /, in order to facilitate easier saving of these files. HOW TO ORDER: 1. First, review the modules available in the AVS_CATALOG 2. Decide which modules you want. Add a pound sign (#) to the beginning of each module number and make sure it is on a separate line of its own for each module ordered. 3. Submit the order form. The #module_number and name ( the # is necessary in front of each module ordered with no spaces, as #1037 ). 4. When your order is filled out send it to "avsorder@ncsc.org", it will be processed immediately. DO NOT send orders to avsemail@ncsc.org or avs@ncsc.org. SAMPLE ORDER FORM: ******************************************************************************* I would like to order the following modules: #1005 ( these lines are the module numbers) #1023 ( NOTE that each entry must be on a separate line, this is required) #1029 #1130 ..............You may order as many modules as you like as long as each is ..............on a separate line. Thanks John Doe Smurfville, USA (Full name and address is not required, just requested) ******************************************************************************* WHAT THIS ORDER FORM DID FOR YOU: The #numbers order modules 1005, 1023 1129 and 1130 from the module list. Each number told the automatic ordering service what you wanted in addition to the module source code. Everything is automatic. If you did not receive what you ordered, send email to avs@ncsc.org and we will correct the problem quickly. ******************************************************************************* BATCH TAPE REQUESTS: There is a $5.00 dollar shipping and handling fee for tapes ( $10.00 for shipping out of country and no insurance). If you send your own tape this is the only cost incurred. If you wish us to use one of our tapes we will charge you cost plus 15% for our ordering, stocking, etc costs. This is still less than retail and is designed only as a cost recovery. We are not responsible for items damaged in transit. Exact costs for tapes and handling will be determined when hardware is delivered and set up. We will post information as soon as it becomes available ******************************************************************************* HOW TO SUBMIT MODULES: Donating a module to the International AVS Center benefits the entire AVS user community by facilitating further use of AVS to visualize complex scientific phenomena. Any module that is not donated may be rewritten elsewhere - wasting someone's valuble time - hindering further development of other module capabilities for everyone's benefit. There are three ways to submit modules: 1. Standard ftp protocol 2. email ( no binaries) 3. Sending tapes to: The International AVS Center P.O. Box 12889 3021 Cornwallis Road RTP, NC 27709 Several individuals have said they would contribute, but from past experience they knew they would be bombarded with questions about the code and did not have the time to spend replying to these questions. If you are in this situation, we will put a unique control number in the code and the International AVS Center will act as the only contact between you and the world. Many of the questions will be fielded by the AVS staff, but if a question cannot be answered internally, you will only be contacted by the center and not hundreds of individuals. ******************************************************************************* STANDARD FTP SUBMISSION: If you have arrived at this point it is assumed that you know the ftp site name (avs.ncsc.org). The IPnumber will be changing shortly as we move to a larger server, so be prepared for this number to change in the near future. We will post it later. When you login you will get a banner message that will provide some basic information. You will then see the following: AVS_LICENSE avs_newsgroup/ dev/ usr/ SUBMIT/ avs_readme/ etc/ avs_archives/ avs_user_group/ pub/ avs_modules/ bin/ sample_data/ Most of the files and directories have been explained above, except the SUBMIT directory. The SUBMIT directory is the only one that has write permission. In order to provide a minimum level of security to those who donate modules, and try to make sure others do not accidentally copy over their files, and to streamline the process of adding your module to the catalog, we ask you to follow the following procedures. Please prepare your submission to conform to the following guidelines as closely as you can: 1. all C source code should have a .c suffix 2. all FORTRAN source code should have a .f suffix 3. all C header files should have a .h suffix 4. all FORTRAN header files should have a .inc suffix 5. provide one file with a .txt suffix for each AVS module, in plain text format, which provides complete documentation for the module 6. provide a sample AVS network file, with a .net suffix 7. do not include assembly language code When you "cd" to the SUBMIT" directory, a banner message will appear that will prompt you with instructions. You will be asked to create a directory using mkdir as in "mkdir myname". This directory will be invisible and entry into this directory can only be achieved by typing "cd myname". When someone else logs in, they will see nothing, unless they know the name and unique number identifier. After you "cd" to your new directory you will be able to donate modules using standard ftp protocol. Detailed information is available in the ftp man pages, but you will only need to know a few basic commands such as bin, hash, prompt, put and mput. to donate your modules. You should create additional directories for each module using "mkdir". If you are submitting multiple modules, please use "mkdir mynameN", where N would be a unique number for each module being submitted. You should type "bin" at the command line to change to binary format, then type "hash" at the command line to show a # sign on your local machine that tells you things are working. You should then type prompt if you have more than one file as this lets you download multiple files at one time using mput without waiting for the prompt yes/no command. Then type the command "put myfile" or "mput myfiles" at the command line and they will download to the new directory you have created. We prefer and recommend that all files submitted are only straight ASCII files, although if your files are in tar or tar.Z format, we will accept them. If you logout and wish to make a change, you must remember the unique name for the invisible directory you were given or else start all over again. ******************************************************************************* EMAIL SUBMISSION: We will accept email submissions to avs@ncsc.org, but ask you follow these guidelines. Do not include any binaries. If data files are large, put in uucp format or provide a smaller data file with a note that larger files are available. We will contact you to try to arrange obtaining these larger files through other methods. Please do not send data files over 200K. Separate all files by a line of at least twenty (20) asterisk marks (*) so we can search for these easily. Your first lines should describe the module, the platform it has been ported to and special notes such as large data size, followed by *'s. ******************************************************************************* BATCH TAPE SUBMISSION: To submit a module via tape, put it onto a tape using "tar -cvf tapedrive filename[s]". Label the tape with the appropriate platform the module runs on (and the platform the tape was made on, if different), and mail it to us at: The International AVS Center PO Box 12889 3021 Cornwallis Road RTP, NC 27709 ******************************************************************************* A COPY OF THE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ) FILE: ___________________________________________________________________ FAQ Frequently Asked Questions of the International AVS Center North Carolina Supercomputing Center ___________________________________________________________________ Questions answered in this file : --------------------------------- 1. What is the International AVS Center ? 2. Where is the International AVS Center ? 3. What is AVS ? 4. Where can I get more information on AVS ? 5. What are the system requirements to run AVS ? 6. How do I download modules from the International AVS Center, or submit modules, or get a list of the currently available modules ? 7. When I try to run AVS on a remote machine and display the output on an X server, I get a message saying Client unauthorized to connect to server. How do I fix this ? 8. Is there sample AVS data available ? 9. When I try to ftp to avs.ncsc.org, I get terminated before I get connected. What am I doing wrong ? 10. What is the procedure to add a question to this FAQ file ? 11. Why should I submit a module to the International AVS Center ? 12. Where can I find more information on AVS in published literature ? 13. What is WAIS and how can I use it at the International AVS Center ? 14. Are there courses being offered on AVS ? What is the International AVS Center:what_is_iac: ___________________________________________________________________ 1. What is the International AVS Center ? The International AVS Center serves as a catalyst for expanding the AVS user base and for increasing AVS functionality by fostering discipline-specific module development and new AVS uses. Located at the North Carolina Supercomputing Center, the worldwide clearinghouse collects, ports, and distributes user-contributed, public-domain modules and acts as liason between users and vendors. The International AVS Center also publishes a quarterly magazine called AVS Network News and a yearly module catalog. It also hosts the yearly International AVS User Group conference and coordinates User Group activities. The AVS Consortium is made up of seven AVS vendors who are funding and providing direction for the International AVS Center. The seven vendors are Advanced Visual Systems Inc., CONVEX Computer Corporation, Digital Equipment Corporation, IBM, Hewlett Packard Company, Sun Microsystems, and Wavetracer, Inc. Where is the International AVS Center:where_is_iac: ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Where is the International AVS Center ? The International AVS Center is located at the North Carolina Supercomputing Center. The anonymous ftp site for the center is located on the internet at avs.ncscs.org with an IP address of 128.109.178.23 . The main email alias for the center is avs@ncsc.org . What is AVS:what_is_avs: ___________________________________________________________________ 3. What is AVS ? Using anonymous ftp to avs.ncsc.org, you can then get the file What_is_AVS. Take a look at this file for a good summary of what AVS does. Where can I get more information on AVS:where_info_avsinc: ___________________________________________________________________ 4. Where can I get more information on AVS ? If this file and other files available via anonymous ftp to avs.ncsc.org do not answer your questions, you can send mail to avs@ncsc.org. The International AVS Center will do its best to help you out. You also may want to monitor and/or post articles to the Internet newsgroup comp.graphics.avs, which has an ongoing dialog between various AVS users. Or you can contact AVS Inc. directly at: FOR AVS PRICING OR OTHER SALES SITUATIONS (if you don't have AVS): Advanced Visual Systems Inc. 300 Fifth Ave. Waltham, MA 02154 USA Tel: 617-890-4300 Fax: 617-890-8287 Email: <- They'll set up a new email address, we'll update accordingly shortly ... FOR AVS SUPPORT (if you already have AVS): Advanced Visual Systems Inc. 300 Fifth Ave. Waltham, MA 02154 USA Tel: 1-800-428-7001 Tel: 617-890-4300 Fax: 617-890-8287 Email: support@avs.com What are the system requirements to run AVS:sys_req: ___________________________________________________________________ 5. What are the system requirements to run AVS ? Numerous people have requested AVS configuration information. This information changes regularly and you should contact either AVS Inc at 617-890-4300, your local vendor reps or AVS Inc reps for additional information. CONVEX - Available now - CONVEX OSV9.1 or later release, CONVEX OS Utilities 9.1 or later, CONVEX OS Internet Services V9.1 or later, IEEE floating point hardware. Requires approximately 90MB disk space, and a color display device networked to your CONVEX system supporting X window System Version 11 Release 4 color server, which supports either a PSEUDOCOLOR or TRUECOLOR visual type, or a Silicon Graphics workstation running IRIX 4.0 or a workstation or terminal with a PEX server. DEC - Available now - DEC AVS V3.0 generates PEX V4.0 protocol (when displaying to a PEX V4.0 cpable display server), and is compatible with ULTRIX V4.2 which includes a PEX V4.0 server. ULTRIX V4.2A includes a PEX V5.0 server. For compatiblitiy with that server, DEC AVS V3.0A has been released. Note that PEX V5.0 provides (two pass) transparency. Also note that the ULTRIX V4.2A distribution does include a PEX compatibility kit which is essentially a PEX V4.0 server. There is no support for runing both PEX V4.0 and PEX V5.0 servers concurrently. Only one such server can be run at any one time. Hewlett-Packard - Available now - HP 9000 series 700, CRX graphics (call for information on other graphic configurations), OS release 8.01 or later ( 'uname -r' to get OS level), Phigs runtime will be required for systems using H/W rendering, 16 MB memory minimum, 32 MB recommended, installation uses about 40 MB disk, CRX will use the S/W renderer ( others will support H/W rendering when appropriate), monochrome is not supported. IBM - Available now - RS6000 workstations, models 3xx, 5xx or 7xx, 8-bit Color Graphics Display adapter, High Performance 3D 24-bit Color Graphics Processor with Z buffer option, GTO 3D 24-bit Graphics adapter with Z buffer (a.k.a. Supergraphics Subsystem), (call for information on other graphic configurations), AIX release 3.1.5 w/2006 patch tape and APAR#: a19758 (X server), use command 'lslpp -h bos.obj' which should show release 03.01.0006.0008 as active, use command 'lsdev -C -c adapter' to see graphics configuration, 16 MB memory minimum, 32 MB recommended, installation uses about 40 MB disk, hardware rendering is only on 24-bit Z buffered systems, specify SW renderer on all systems without 24-bit Z buffering, AIX 3.1.5 X server is limited to 8-bit pseudocolor visuals, images are then dithered. SUN - Available now - Sun SPARC workstations 1, 1+, 2 supporting the sun4/sun4c applications architecture, 8-bit frame buffers (GX, CG3, etc), GS and GT graphics after OpenWindows version 3 is available from Sun ( first quarter 92), Sun OS 4.1.1 w/ 100299-01 patch or later, use command /usr/etc/showrev to get revision levels, 8-bit frame buffers require OpenWindows version 2 with X server installed, 16 MB minimum, 24 or 32 MB recommended, installation uses about 38 MB disk, strongly recommend increasing shared memory segment and swap space size per release notes, 8-bit graphics boards ( GX, CG3, etc) always uses S/W renderer, H/W rendering systems will use XGL graphics, S/W render also available Wavetracer - to provide users with logical and uniform access to Wavetracer's three-dimensional and massively parallel Data Transport Computer (DTC) and advanced software tools, AVS modules are currently being ported to make use of the DTC. The DTC is a three dimensional, massively parallel computer. It has a 3D computing architecture, high data capacity and bandwidth, high I/O bandwidth, ultra finegrained parallellism and low cost of ownership. It easily connects to a host UNIX workstation via an industry-standard SCSI interface. The processing resources of the DTC are integrated into the host's software and network environment by multiC, a powerful data-parallel extension of ANSI C. How do I download modules from the International AVS Center, or submit modules, or get a list of the currently available modules:how_download: ___________________________________________________________________ 6. How do I download modules from the International AVS Center, or submit modules, or get a list of the currently available modules ? There is an AVS_README file which should answer these and many other questions for you. To obtain a copy of this file, there are two methods currently available and a third method under development. Mail sent to avsemail@ncsc.org will automatically retrieve a response which includes the AVS_README file and also a current module catalog. Or you can ftp to avs.ncsc.org, login with anonymous as your userid and your own userid as the password, and get the AVS_README file and the AVS_CATALOG file from there. For those users without ftp capability, there is a tape ordering system being developed at the International AVS Center. When I try to run AVS on a remote machine and display the output on an X server, I get a message saying Client unauthorized to connect to server. How do I fix this:x_help: ___________________________________________________________________ 7. When I try to run AVS on a remote machine and display the output on an X server, I get a message saying Client unauthorized to connect to server. How do I fix this ? The xhost command will let your server know its OK for your remote machine to display there. In the file read in when you boot up X (for example, on a Titan .xsession, on a Sun .xinitrc), add the line: xhost ... Is there sample AVS data available:sample_data: ___________________________________________________________________ 8. Is there sample AVS data available ? Using anonymous ftp to avs.ncsc.org, you can then cd to AVS_SAMP_DATA. This directory is for sample data that has been donated without any modules. No tests have been made on this data, so use it at your own risk. This is simply to allow you to get your hands on a variety of different data types for experimentation purposes. When I try to ftp to avs.ncsc.org, I get terminated before I get connected. What am I doing wrong:ftp_help: ___________________________________________________________________ 9. When I try to ftp to avs.ncsc.org, I get terminated before I get connected. What am I doing wrong ? Possibly your host machine isn't a registered internet site. In such a case, the IP address can't be mapped by our machine into a valid hostname. Speak to the person in charge of your network about making sure it is correctly registered. What is the procedure to add a question to this FAQ file:add_faq: ___________________________________________________________________ 10. What is the procedure to add a question to this FAQ file ? Please submit your suggestion for this FAQ file via email to avs@ncsc.org. Your question and answer will quite possibly show up in this file shortly thereafter. Why should I submit a module to the International AVS Center:why_submit: ___________________________________________________________________ 11. Why should I submit a module to the International AVS Center ? Donating a module to the International AVS Center benefits the entire AVS user community by facilitating further use of AVS to visualize complex scientific phenomena. Any module that is not donated may be rewritten elsewhere - wasting someone's valuble time - hindering further development of other module capabilities for everyone's benefit. Where can I find more information on AVS in published literature:references: ___________________________________________________________________ 12. Where can I find more information on AVS in published literature ? Here is a short (no doubt incomplete!) reference list: Upson, Craig, Thomas Faulhaber, Jr., David Kamins, David Laidlaw, David Schlegel, Jeffrey Vroom, Robert Gurwitz and Andries van Dam. "The Application Visualization System: A Computational Environment for Scientific Visualization." IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications (July 1989), Vol.9, No.4, pp 30-42. Currington, I., Coutant, M., "AVS - A Flexible Interactive Distributed Environment for Scientific Visualisation Applications", Second Eurographics Workshop on Visualization in Scientific Computing, April, 1991 VandeWettering, "The Application Visualization System - AVS 2.0", PIXEL, July/August, 1990 Garrity, M., "Raytracing Irregular Volume Data", San Diego Workshop on Volume Visualization, Dec, 1990 Gelberg, L., Kamins, D., Vroom, J., "VEX: A Volume Exploratorium", Chapel Hill Workshop on Volume Visualization, May 1989 Gelberg, L., et al, "Visualization Techniques for Structured and Unstructured Scientific Data", Course Notes, SIGGRAPH '90 Course "State of the Art in Data Visualization" Mathias, C., "Visualization Techniques Augment Research into Structure of Adenovirus", Scientific Computing & Automation, April, 1991 Parker, D., Lin, Y., "The Application Visualization System for Finite Element Analysis", Banff Conference on FEA, May, 1990 Upson, C., "Scientific Visualization Environments for the Computational Sciences", Proceedings of the 34th IEEE Computer Society International Conference - Spring, 1989 Craig Upson, "Tools for Creating Visions," UNIX REVIEW, Vol.8, No.8, pp. 39-47. Calvert, Brian "Interactive Analysis of Multidimensional Data", Masters Thesis University of Illinois Department of Computer Science, 1991. What is WAIS and how can I use it at the International AVS Center:what_is_wais ___________________________________________________________________ 13. What is WAIS and how can I use it at the International AVS Center ? There is now a WAIS (Wide Area Information Servers) server running at the International AVS Center. WAIS allows a user to ask a question to a server, which provides a ranked list of documents that may help answer that question. The user can then peruse through the documents that seem useful. All of the .txt files for AVS modules freely available on the International AVS Center's anonymous ftp site have been indexed, as well as informational files such as AVS_README and FAQ. WAIS should prove more and more useful as the AVS module repository becomes larger. It provides a convienient interface to large amounts of data. For a more thorough discussion of WAIS and how you can use it to peruse the files at the International AVS Center, please check the file WHAT_IS_WAIS on avs.ncsc.org. ******************************************************************************* 14. Are there courses being offered on AVS ? Courses on AVS are currently offered by several organizations: Advanced Visual Systems, Inc. (617) 890-4300 Developers Only Clarity Learning (800) 231-0081 North Carolina Supercomputing Center (919) 248-1100 Scientific Visualization Associates (508) 371-2923 These courses may be offered either onsite at your facility or theirs, depending on the arrangement that is set up. Please contact these companies for further information.