CoVis 3

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2002 in the subject Computer Science - Applied, grade: 1,0, Nationale Technische Universität Donezk (Mathematics and Computer Studies), language: English, abstract: Inhaltsangabe:Abstract:§The visualisation of information is a broad area of study not uniquely associated with computing. Its origins can be traced back to the earliest attempts at cartography. It is, however, with the development of computing technology that the discipline has flourished. It is not simply that the technology has allowed for more detailed visual representations to be produced, it is equally the case that the wealth of data available and the understanding of its importance have accelerated the demand for its analysis. The range of modern visualisation is huge, including medical imaging, engineering simulations and geographical and meteorological analysis.§Information can come in many forms the two most common to visualisation are numerical data and functional representation. This thesis investigates visualisation methods for both mathematical functions of two variables and three-dimensional data. In particular I examined techniques as contour plots and surface plots.§Within the bounds of this project OpenGL turned out to be the most powerful tool regarding visualisation of information. Due to the procedural architecture of OpenGL and an ambition to learn the core architecture of Microsoft Windows®, I decided to exclusively implement this project in Win32®, for which I pay particular attention in this dissertation.§Inhaltsverzeichnis:Table of Contents:§1.Introduction5§1.1Visualisation5§1.2History8§1.3Literature Review9§1.4Summery of Dissertation10§2.The Application12§2.1Overall12§2.2Components15§2.2.1Toolbar16§2.2.2Information Window16§2.2.3Manipulation Modes16§2.2.4Contour Map18§2.2.5Acquiring data files19§2.2.6Creating datasets of mathematical formulas21§2.2.7Colour Shading23§2.3User Profile24§2.4Alternatives to CoVis325§3.Technical Foundations28§3.1Win32API28§3.1.1Why I chose the Win32API28§3.1.2Creating a window29§3.1.3Event Handling31§3.1.4Keyboard Handling32§3.1.5Mouse Handling34§3.1.6Resources36§3.1.7Buttons36§3.1.8Edit Controls36§3.1.9List Boxes37§3.1.10Trackbars38§3.1.11Menus40§3.2OpenGL42§3.2.1The OpenGL architecture42§3.2.2Creating an OpenGL window43§3.2.3Adapting the OpenGL scene45§3.2.4Objects46§3.2.5Colours47§3.2.6Fonts in OpenGL48§4.Data Representation50§4.1Equally spaced data points51§4.1.1Meshes51§4.1.2Isometric surfaces54§4.1.3Contour Plots57§4.1.4File format61§4.2Unequally spaced data points63§4.2.1Delaunay Triangulation63§4.2.2Contour Plots72§4.2.3File format73§4.3Colours74§5.Learning Outcomes77§6.Conclusion & Future Work78§Appendix A: Bibliography79§Appendix B: Program Structure81§Appendix C: Source Code90