An Advanced, 3-dimensional Plotting Library for Astronomy

D.G. Barnes, C.J. Fluke, P.D. Bourke, O.T. Parry
PASA (Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia), Volume 23, Issue 2, 2006, pp 82-93.
Doi: 10.1071/AS06009


Abstract

We present a new, 3-dimensional (3d) plotting library with advanced features, and support for standard and enhanced display devices. The library - S2PLOT - is written in C and can be used by C, C++ and FORTRAN programs on GNU/Linux and Apple/OSX systems. With a PGPLOT- inspired interface, S2PLOT provides astronomers with elegant techniques for displaying and exploring 3d data sets directly from their program code, and the potential to use stereoscopic and dome display devices. The S2PLOT architecture supports dynamic geometry and can be used to plot time-evolving data sets, such as might be produced by simulation codes. In this paper, we introduce S2PLOT to the astronomical community, describe its potential applications, and present some example uses of the library.

Keywords

methods: data analysis -- techniques: miscellaneous -- surveys -- catalogs

PDF

pasa2006.pdf