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Software for graphics and visualization is one of the themes of this issue. We have information on GKS on PC's, NAG Graphics for PCs, and Graphics and Visualization Training. A new book on Scientific Visualization is also now available. See inside for further information! Multimedia and multimedia tools and techniques for teaching are rapidly increasing areas of interests. We invite contributions in any of these areas. What are the most effective tools for tutoring and teaching, and what graphics facilities are required? Would standardisation be desirable? Would a common user interface be useful?
I think that every time I write one of these articles I feel like saying what a busy time it is. It is clearly always busy! At the moment I am working on lots of different things from technical reports to software and hardware evaluations. I am also putting forward a case for extension of the AGOCG funding from the Information Systems Committee of the UFC which currently finishes at the end of March 93. I feel that the initiative has been particularly successful in taking an area of computing and accepting that lots of things are linked together. A software deal may result in the need for training of staff, development of training materials and also in hardware provision. These things do not occur in isolation and AGOCG has managed to tie some things together for computer graphics.
On with some nitty gritty news now.
This newsletter contains information on the GKS-X software for PCs. This is available on a CHEST deal. The software has been especially adapted for PCs as a result of the CHEST deal. Initial reports from people in the community who have carried out testing of the software is that it is an excellent implementation. It is quick and has been tailored to the PC environment to ensure this. It is a 2c implementation which means it has all the GKS facilities, and this in itself is unusual. CHEST will be circulating details of the licence agreement to sites.
The other good news in this area is that NAG Graphics will also shortly be available on PCs and details of the implementation are also described in this newsletter. One problem that we faced was the issue of which compilers to use and went for the list of compilers for which there are CHEST deals. The first one which will be available for GKS-X is Prospero and this is also in the list from NAG. Contact CHEST for details of the compiler deals.
At the Image Processing Show I came across a bureau service for scanning in 3D images and producing output in a variety of formats, such as 3D coordinates, facets, IGES, DXF formats. This looks like the sort of service that might be occasionally useful to researchers but not some-thing that is economical to provide as a local facility. For this reason AGOCG are funding the scanning of 10 objects with the company (3D Scanners). Anyone interested in having a go at using this is limited to 2 objects on this special free offer and is required to provide a report to AGOCG on what they have done and how useful they found the service. If you would like to use this service please contact me, if you would like more information about the technical details of the bureau contact 3D scanners on 071 922 8822.
At its last meeting AGOCG considered a paper on animation and briefly discussed what role might be taken centrally. Various options were considered including: setting up a centre of expertise; doing an evaluation of software suitable for teaching to lead to a CHEST deal; deals on hardware for video; finding out what is going on in the USA (for example the Renderman Education Programme). I would welcome any comments on this and suggestions for what you would find useful. One possibility is to hold a workshop to get together experts to advise AGOCG would you like to come?
Many of you will be aware that a new deal is on the way. This is an extension of the old agreement and extends the life of the deal for a further 5 years. Sites can sign up prior to the current agreement terminating (April 1993) and this enables them to obtain new modules immediately. This includes the agX software which lots of people have expressed interest in. The agreement is for software on the UNIRAS Product Availability List (PAL) which is their commercial list. As machines come and go and the list is extended or reduced so will the list of machines on which any new implementations will appear. This does not mean that support from UNIRAS will cease on machines dropped from the list. They are obliged to continue to offer that support, but not new implementations. This is the commercial reality of the situation and we do benefit by new machines being added to the list.
Some sites will have been billed currently under the old agreement. This must be paid and then sites will be issued with an additional invoice if that is necessary. The new charges for sites which signed up in the first instance will not increase from $1500 for the first machine range and second and subsequent machines will be $750 (instead of $5(0). Sites who did not take up the initial offer will be able to sign up later at slightly higher charges. CHEST are sending out these details to contacts. One of the new features is that as a general rule lead sites will not be used and that most software will be copied at the University of Manchester and shipped direct to sites.
At the time of writing CHEST are hoping to conclude a deal for the FIGARO+ software from Liant. The following information is supplied by Liant.
FIGARO+ is Liant's implementation of the PHIGS standard. PHIGS is used for applications which require dynamic and interactive modelling, viewing, modification and rendering of 2D and 3D objects. FIGARO+ is engineered to support state-of-the-art graphics workstations, including a highly customised device driver for the graphics display. FIGARO+ provides X windows integration with support for multiple X windows, PHIGS events in X windows, background pixmaps, event queue merge and shared or private colour maps.
Also included are PCI (PHIGS Command Interpreter) and PSO (Peripheral Support Option). PCI can be used for debugging, learning, prototyping and data visualization. PCI dynamically interprets functions and displays the results, and can be used standalone or as part of an application. PSO enhances your device flexibility on workstations and provides additional graphics device drivers.
The Working Party has been working on Paint/Draw/Illustrate (Corel Draw, Micrografx Designer, etc.) software for some time. I reported in the last Newsletter that our survey of the community's preferences in this area had narrowed the field to two well-known products. We have now compiled a report on these products and have made a recommendation to CHEST. It is hoped to make some parts of the report available generally.
We have also made some progress on an evaluation of Image Processing! Analysis (I P/A) software but we expect this exercise to take some time. In the meantime some potential confusion is being caused by overlap with software in other areas, notably in visualization software and the new PV - WAVE deal recently announced by CHEST. There are also software items such as SunVision to consider and, although we believe the I P/A exercise is a separate issue, it would be interesting to put all these products (including UNIRAS) into better perspective. The Working Party will be considering these issues and whether there is anything that needs to be done, at its next meeting on 7 February 1992.
GKS is the international standard for portable, device independent, 2-D computer graphics.GKS-X Edition 2 from System Simulation Ltd is a full implementation of the GKS standard designed to run efficiently on PCs under MS-DOS driving EGA and VGA displays. It provides all the output and segment facilities complete with workstation independent segment storage. GKS-X supports sample and event driven input modes as well as the basic request mode. It produces CGM metafiles for exchange of graphics data with a wide variety of other graphics system.
GKS-X Edition 2 has both Fortran and C language bindings and will offers libraries for Prospero Fortran, RM Fortran, Microsoft Fortran and Microsoft C. GKS-X itself is written in C and assembler allowing dynamic memory management techniques that optimise memory utilisation and remove arbitrary table size restrictions.
The CHEST deal incorporates all the software for the different compilers. The initial release will be the Fortran bindings for the Microsoft and Prospero compilers.
GKS-X fully implements the set of GKS graphic primitives from which all GKS graphic output is composed fully:
The appearance of a GKS output primitive is determined by various output attributes which differ from primitive to primitive. These include colour, line style and width, text characteristics, and patterns for shaded areas. Attributes relating to a primitive can be grouped as a bundle which can then be set with a single function call. Many such bundles of attributes can be defined for each primitive and selected as appropriate.
GKS provides functions for creating, manipulating and deleting groups of graphics primitives as segments. Segments can be scaled, rotated, and translated. They can be highlighted, and made visible and invisible. They can also be copied from one workstation to another. GKS-X augments the segment storage with a display list technique to give rapid erasure, redraw, highlighting and picking. The dynamic memory techniques used by GKS-X maximise the memory available for segment storage, no arbitrary limits are imposed, all available memory can be used to store segments.
Primitives are transformed from an application-dependent coordinate system to a normalised space, where picture parts from various sources can be composed, and thence through a workstation transformation to a viewport on the display. Clipping is provided in both application and workstation coordinates. GKS-X allows the display size to be specified m metric units so that pictures can be drawn accurately scaled. GKS-X implements the pipeline efficiently and attempts to hold on to the results of transformations to avoid recalculation wherever possible.
GKS supports interaction through a set of logical input classes specified in device-independent terms. GKS-X uses the PC keyboard and mouse to provide the full range of input capabilities covering both graphical and non-graphical input to support all the application interaction requirements:
An application can REQUEST input from a specific device; it can SAMPLE the input from devices; or it can await an EVENT caused by the user operating a device. GKS-X implements all these modes, with multiple input devices active simultaneously, allowing sophisticated graphical interfaces to be built.
GKS-X provides workstations for reading and writing GKS metafiles (GKSM MO and MI). The GKSM is encoded according to Annex E of the GKS standard giving the maximum chance of being able to exchange data with other GKS implementations.
GKS-X also provides a workstation for writing a CGM metafile in a form that can be read and interpreted by a wide range of other software.
GKS-X uses a dynamic linking technique that reduces the linking time and the memory requirements. The application is linked with a small API library which automatically loads the main GKS driver at run-time. It is not necessary to compile and link the device dependent workstation code each time a trial is made resulting in a faster turn-around and considerable improvements in programmer productivity. This is of particular benefit when developing software on low-specification systems. The workstation drivers are loaded as each workstation is opened, minimising the memory requirements.
GKS-X is easy to configure and manage. User-definable workstation description tables allow the defaults and table sizes to be customised for a specific application or teaching exercise. Configuration files such as font tables, workstation description tables and workstation drivers are specified in a way that allows the files to be distributed over the visible file system on a single system or a network. Users and user groups can build their own environments which can inherit from the wider setup and add or modify specific elements of the configuration.
GKS is an international standard providing a rich application building environment for graphics that has been widely adopted in industry and education. GKS-X Edition 2 from System Simulation Ltd is a second-generation GKS implementation designed to enable PCs to be used as platforms for demanding graphics applications.
Within the next two to three months we plan to release up to five implementations of the NAG Graphics Library suitable for PC/DOS. These are full implementations of the Mark 3 Library already available for workstations and mainframes, with the same high- level user-callable routines, and requiring the same manual.
Each implementation will include the compiled high-level routines, and a range of NAG Graphical Interfaces. We have omitted those interfaces for which we believe there is no appropriate underlying graphics package available for PCs, but have included all those which might be used, ie. Adobe PostScript, GINO-F, GHOST, GKS, HPGL, Lineprinter.
We also provide one extra interface - to the INTERACTER system distributed by Interactive Software Services Ltd. In fact, we only use a subset of INTERACTER, and this subset is provided by NAG on the release media, so sites DO NOT have to license any additional graphics package to use the NAG software this way. Use of INTERACTER enables access to a variety of different devices. Following this message I shall mail an extract from the supporting documentation we are preparing; this gives further information on the displays, plotters and printers supported.
The first implementation to be released will be for Microsoft Fortran. It has been tested on a range of machines with different operating system and compiler levels, eg
The other implementations planned are for:
That ordering is the one on which we are working, since that is what has been indicated by demand.
As these are just further implementations of the Graphics Library Mark 3, all sites who have joined the NAG/CHEST deal for provision of the Fortran Library, Graphics Library and On-line Supplement can obtain these by ordering from CHEST in the normal way. All servicing and support will be direct from NAG.
We believe that this is a more appropriate mechanism for supply and support of Graphics Mark 3 for PCs than via lead sites as in the earlier NAG/CHEST agreement for the Workstation Library and PC Graphics Mark 1 (which does not actually include provision for new releases of the products, as opposed to further implementations of the then existing releases).
Many users of RAL-GKS (and GKS-UK, the version of RAL-GKS formerly supported by the Computer Board) may be unaware that work on the system and its documentation has continued at RAL's Central Computing Department. RAL-GKS was certified last year by the NCC and was, at that time, probably the only certified version of GKS in the world (certification times out after a year).
For those with ancient GKS-UK implementations, it is worth noting that RAL-GKS is now to the full ISO standard (version 7.4). Handlers for Tektronix 4200 series (and hence Emu-Tek) and PostScript are part of the standard library. Work on a X-windows driver is in hand.
RAL-GKS documentation has also continued, tracking the improvements to the implementation, and a revised User Guide and appendices for each current operating system and workstation are now available.
The licensing complications that surrounded RAL-GKS and GKS-UK are now solved, allowing distribution of the RAL GKS source code to bona fide UK academic institutions. Arrangements are already in place for the distribution of RAL GKS 1.34, the validated (but not the latest) version. Please see P L Popovic's article for more information on this.
We would like to hear from all current users of RAL-GKS (and GKS-UK) and will provide them with information about the latest system and its documentation. Could you please return, by post or e-mail, a note containing at least the following information:
As mentioned in C D Osland's article, arrangements are now in place for tape distribution of RAL GKS 1.34 master source. This version is the one which was successfully validated in March 1991. Under the re-negotiated agreement with BTG, the source code licence will be granted free of charge to any bona fide UK academic institution. University of Kent will be taking-in requests and, for a small handling charge, sending tapes to sites approved by BTG.
The idea behind distributing the master source is to offer insight into graphics techniques and methods, and its primary purpose is to serve as a teaching aid. This is why it is the source code of the validated and not the latest version of RAL GKS that has been chosen for distribution. Indeed, since March 1991, RAL have continued developing RAL GKS and the latest version of the library contains more drivers and improved facilities. There will be separate arrangements for the distribution of the binaries - the exact nature of those will depend on the outcome of your replies to C D Osland's request for information.
RAL GKS 1.34 is a Fortran77 binding of a 2b implementation of OKS. The configuration on the tape will contain all those (and only those!) files necessary to create the validated version and exactly as they were presented to NCC. In particular, the following drivers will be found:
(Many people will note that the above list does not include X11. While RAL do have an X11 driver for RAL GKS, it was not submitted for the validation as it was not (and at the time of writing still is not) of sufficient quality. However, those using OpenWindows on Suns will find that the Sun view driver performs well when run in a shelltool.)
The actual libraries will not be provided, for reasons just mentioned. However, all the facilities, including detailed on-line instructions, necessary for building the libraries for the validated system (Sun 3 running OS 4.0) and Sun4s will be supplied. As for other Unix platforms, or indeed non-Unix platforms, they too should not pose a great difficulty, because RAL GKS is highly portable, with all system dependent routines clearly identified and kept within a single directory.
If you would like to receive a copy of the 1.34 master source, your first step would be to write, enclosing a cheque for the 40 pounds handling charge, payable to University of Kent, to: Dr T R Hopkins, Computing Laboratory, University of Kent, Canterbury. On receipt of your request, University of Kent will send you a copy of the licensing agreement which will have to be signed by two parties: your institution and the National Research Development Corporation (NDRC). Having signed the agreement, you will forward the copy to NDRC, who will countersign (providing yours is a recognized UK academic institution) and instruct the University of Kent to issue you a tape.
The tape will be a QIC 24 cartridge written in tar format. It will come with a disclaimer notice with respect to the University of Kent and with basic loading instructions.
Here is what to do to mount the master source:
Create a directory with at least 7 Mb free space (9Mb are required for a system with the libraries and possibly 15 Mb will be required for building the libraries). For example:
mkdir ral-gks Go there. cd ral-gks Load the tape. tar xvf/dev/rst0
On successful completion, you will find the entire RAL GKS tree structure below the ral-gks directory. The cleartext README file in the top level directory (i.e. ral-gks) will explain the structure of the master source and give instructions on how to generate libraries for Sun3s/4s, or create versions for other platforms.
While there will be enough on-line documentation to guide the users in setting up the system, the full RAL GKS manual will not be supplied with the tape. Those wishing to obtain it can do so by writing to the documentation officer at RAL. The address will be found in the README file.
The system having passed all of the (nasty!) validations tests, RAL believe it is robust and bug-free, and are therefore not offering any support for the master source. If you have any views on this decision, please include them with your reply to C D Osland's request for information.
We hope that the experience and knowledge gained in creating and perfecting RAL GKS will make its master source a useful addition to the community's catalogue of graphics tools and teaching aids.
The community in general are taking considerable interest in the emerging software for visualization which spans a wide range of application areas. In recognition of this AGOCG has recently provided funding for a visualization Coordinator Post for the next 15 months. I have been seconded to this post and will be situated in the Computer Graphics Unit, Manchester Computing Centre, University of Manchester.
The overall aim during this period is to raise the awareness and promote the use of visualization systems in the UK. It will also provide a mechanism to coordinate visualization activities and research throughout the UK. To meet these goals a number of activities will be organised over the coming year and these are listed below.
A number of seminars will be presented at Universities around the country to demonstrate visualization systems and their use. The seminars will also be accompanied by a demonstration of the various systems.
Two AVS training courses will be organised and held in Manchester
The aim is to maintain a repository of additional modules for visualization systems which will be easily accessible to users in the UK. The initial goal is to shadow the AVS modules currently available from the AVS Centre in North Carolina, USA and make them available via anonymous FTP on a machine in Manchester. Provision of similar facilities for other visualization systems will also be considered.
The development and submission of new modules from the UK will be encouraged.
Areas of research and/or development would be investigated and the coordinator would provide a focus for these activities. These would initially cover the following:
Information from the SERC visualization Community Club and other relevant information which emerges concerning scientific visualization will be circulated. This will initially begin with a report from the forthcoming AVS conference in North Carolina and current developments concerning the apE visualization software.
There will be an ongoing investigation of suitable equipment and visualization systems over the next year.
An email list will be set up to provide a mechanism for the UK to circulate and discuss information concerning scientific visualization and the associated systems.
If you require any more information or have any suggestions please contact me.
Editors: K W Brodlie, L A Carpenter, R A Earnshaw, J R Gallop, R J Hubbold, A M Mumford, C D Osland, P Quarendon
Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, Jan 1992, 53 Figures, 5 Tables, pp 284 ISBN 3-540-54565-4.
This volume represents a full consideration of the subject of scientific visualization and is intended to be a reference guide for the community on the technical aspects of the subject. The topics covered include:
An Introduction gives an overview of the current field, and a final chapter summarises the Conclusions of the present work.
Scientific visualization is concerned with exploring data and information in such a way as to gain understanding and insight into the data. This is a fundamental objective of much scientific investigation. To achieve this goal, scientific visualization utilises aspects in the areas of computer graphics, user-interface methodology, image processing, system design, and signal processing. The volumes of data that are currently being produced can be very large, and are often time-varying and multidimensional. Scientific visualization provides the tools and techniques to extract significant features and results quickly and easily. Without these tools much of today's data that is collected will never be analysed and never yield any useful information.
This book provides comprehensive information on scientific visualization and is international in its scope. The material is suitable for visualization tool makers and those involved in designing the next generation of systems. The range of applications included provides users and developers with valuable information on the current potential of scientific visualization systems.
There are many points of current debate and development in the area of scientific visualization. This volume sets out material on many of these. Current issues discussed include framework models, classification of techniques for representing abstract objects, multiplicity of data formats and standardization, styles of interaction and dialogues required, choice of visualization system, and hardware needed, are all discussed in detail and proposals are made for further work and development. The material in the book arose out of an AGOCG Workshop on Scientific Visualization held in February 1991, and organised by Anne Mumford and AGOCG.
A companion volume An Introductory Guide to Scientific Visualization by R A Earnshaw and N Wiseman, is also to be published by Springer-Verlag, and is intended for readers new to the field and who require a quick and easy-to-read summary of what scientific visualization is and what it can do. Written in a popular and journalistic style with many illustrations it will enable readers to appreciate the benefits of scientific visualization and how current tools can be exploited in many application areas. This volume is indispensable for scientists and research workers who have never used computer graphics or other visual tools before, and who wish to find out the benefits and advantages of the new approaches.
Seminar organised by the Scientific Visualization Group and the User Group at the University of Leeds on 22 January 1992.
Over 150 staff and students turned up to attend this joint seminar arranged by the Scientific visualization Group and the User Group on 22 January. A combination of video and computer presentations illustrated the latest products and facilities in this area, and already in use by key researchers in the University of Leeds.
Dr Earnshaw began the session by outlining the significance of data visualization facilities and what they could do. The current major upgrade in computing facilities in the University has brought computation and graphics capabilities to every workstation. Powerful software tools are now available to enable users to process large, multi-dimensional data sets, often without programming. The Scientific visualization Group is currently procuring software to add to the current provision in this area, and has brought forward plans to enable users to output real-time images on to video. This is expected to be a growth area in the future, with demands for presentations at Conferences and to secure research grants from funding agencies.
Dr Tim David (Mechanical Engineering) outlined applications in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and showed on video how data visualization facilities enabled the researcher to study fluid flow in detail, and thus obtain an understanding of the forces at work in real-life situations.
Dr Ben Whitaker (Chemistry) demonstrated that scientific visualization is essentially about interaction with data. The packages used to do this may be complex and require sophisticated hardware as in the case of, for example, those used in CFD, but the principles of good visualization software can be found in quite simple packages that run on PC's. This was illustrated using Genplot.
Dr Basem El-Haddadeh (Computing Service) used existing facilities provided by the Computing Service to illustrate how computer graphics can be utilised in geophysical applications. The UNIRAS software enabled surface and contour plots to be produced and also had facilities to produce cross sections to allow users to look inside surfaces and volumes.
Dr Mike Wilson (Applied Mathematics) showed how high powered graphics workstations (e.g. Silicon Graphics VGX) had been utilised in the design of ship hulls and propellers. A particular mathematical model of the surface was first generated, which was then displayed for the user to interact with. A video sequence taken from the workstation was used to illustrate the design process.
Mr Gurm Bacchus (Computing Service) showed how application builders such as Khoros and Explorer allowed the user to process data files by setting up a visual network on the workstation screen, and then activating the network. High-level, state-of-the-art functions are built in to systems such as these; all the user needs to do is select the items required by clicking on menus.
Recent studies have shown that data visualization techniques can be separated into three processes: filtering (to refine raw data); mapping (to select an appropriate geometric representation of the data, say as a contour map); and rendering (to display the geometric representation on a graphics device). Dr Ken Brodlie (Computer Studies) presented current work in this area. He also summarised the work of the GRASP ARC project, a collaborative venture involving NAG Ltd, Leeds University and Quintek Ltd.
Dr Rosemary Creasey (Engineering Computer Unit) addressed the question What real users want by looking at the variety of applications and the functional requirements in each area. In general, users required software (turnkey systems, application builders etc), hardware, network support, mass storage, and output facilities. These should be conveniently located, quick and easy to use, cost effective, reliable, and always produce the desired result. A tall order - but this is the goal.
Finally Dr David Morris (Computer Studies and Silicon Graphics Ltd) demonstrated the Silicon Graphics Indigo workstation and showed its capabilities for visualising data.
We thank the Audio Visual Service for their help and support with facilities for the demonstrations. Two videos will be made available for loan from the Help Desk in Program Advisory Service. One will be a full version of all the presentations; the second will be an edited, 45 minute, version illustrating the main points.
If you would like more information on the Scientific visualization Group or to join the email list, please contact me.
The 3rd meeting was held on 13 November 1991.
The Forum was set up to give CHEST Users of UNIRAS an opportunity to have direct dialogue with UNlRAS personnel on technical matters.
The 3rd Forum was mostly taken up with discussions about Europe+ which defines new technical support arrangements for European customers of UNIRAS and will apply to CHEST sites. Support for CHEST customers will no longer be from the UNIRAS UK Office.
Europe+ will allow CHEST users to send SPARs (Software Problem Analysis Reports) directly to Copenhagen via email. Ordinary mail and/or fax can, of course, be used where appropriate.
A hotline telephone number in Copenhagen will also be available. This line will be available toll-free to CHEST sites. It is expected though that most communication with UNIRAS will be via email and SPARs.
Full details of the new support arrangements are being sent to all CHEST sites.
At the meeting UNIRAS announced that they would, in future, have an official binary patch distribution policy. The details are not fully specified yet but several patch tapes a year are likely which will mean that bugs can be fixed between major releases.
The meeting also discussed new contractual arrangements for CHEST sites which will mean that UNIRAS will continue to be used in Higher Education establishments after April 1993 when the current contract expires. Details of these new proposed arrangements are not yet finalised.
UNIRAS commented at the meeting that Version 6.3 is optimised for both reduced start-up times and speed of plotting. Shared libraries will be used whenever available (at 6.3a on SUN). In future QA for all ports will be carried out to ISO 9000.
At the next Technical Forum (March 5th, 1992) it is hoped to have a short tutorial on AGX.
This section is intended to give space to those working in education and research to write on topical subjects related to their site. This is a good chance for publicity for your institution, which will perhaps help you attract support and finance. Contributions should be sent to me.
This month, we have an article describing the Computer Graphics and visualization project funded by the IT Training Initiative.
The Computer Graphics Unit at MCC and the Department of Computer Science at the University of Manchester are jointly hosting a three-year project under the Information Services Committee (ISC) Information Technology Training Initiative (ITTI) to produce IT training for the UK academic community. A graphics programmer, Mr Lin Fenqiang, and a technical author, Mr Chris Lilley, have been appointed. They are developing a modular set of teaching materials which will allow Computer Centres, Staff Development Units, and others concerned with postgraduate and staff training to run courses in the use of Computer Graphics and Scientific visualization.
The course materials will be aimed at a postgraduate-level audience of scientists and engineers who wish to use computer graphics in their work; prior experience of Computer Graphics will not be required. Some modules deal with graphics programming, and thus it will be expected that students are capable of using an editor and compiling programs; however much of the material could also be delivered to an audience of non-programmers.
A team of external evaluators will field test each module as it is developed; in the light of their experiences and comments revised modules will be made available at approximately 3 month intervals.
There will be 10 modules; 8 of these will be lecture based and two will have a self-paced interactive format. The lecture based modules will contain:
Together with the student notes, the lecturers's pack will provide sufficient material for the lecturer to learn and then deliver the core material. The aim of the resource pack is to enable individual lecturers to extend the core to suit local interests.
The modules are listed below (estimated completion date shown in brackets):
For further information, contact one of the project supervisors: Mr W T Hewitt (Computer Graphics Unit, Manchester Computing Centre, University of Manchester) or Mr T L J Howard (Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester).
