Software from `Fortran Friends'

This page has details of utilities, libraries and complete applications:

• fast printing utility for Hewlett Packard printers - !Lazyprint ( v 2.40 9 Jun 1997 )
  
  
• Polyhedra software for RISCOS
  

  Note: PC users of Microsoft Windows 98 or later with a 300MHz Pentium/Celeron processor, 32MB RAM, 400Mb Hard Disk Space and a Direct X compatible graphics card need to mount the 'Virtual Acorn' program before trying to run any of these programs. Details from the website http://www.virtualacorn.co.uk.
  
  

  Click here to see examples of polyhedra and planar nets you can make with these programs. (They all run under RISC-OS 4 but versions before July 1999 will not write to files with long names).
  Since 1 Mar 2001 the demo versions (downloadable here) are the same as registered versions except that they are only allowed to read selected data and can not write output or print.
  1. interactive exploration of polyhedra - !PolyDraw ( v 3.25 19 Dec 2001 ) explore shape and space in over 140 different datasets Click here for updates
  2. interactive creation of planar nets for polyhedra - !PolyNet ( v 1.17 01 Mar 2001 ) and then cut out the net to make your own 3D models Click here for updates
  3. Extra data discs for either !PolyDraw or !PolyNet
         special offer with Disc 3 'The 59 icosahedra'.
  4. makes stellations of the uniform polyhedra - !Stellate ( v 2.15 10 Mar 2001 ) Click here for updates
  5. A comparison table of program features to help you to decide which one you want.
  Fortran programming utilities

  • Fortran Front End programming utility allows easy compilation linking and execution from the Desk Top
  • libraries allowing Fortran programmers to call RISC OS system functions from their Fortran source/
  Scientific utility library
  

  • PGplot is a portable high level graphics package, written for the display of astronomical data, but useful for any scientific discipline. Full information can be found on the web site PGPlot; brief details and some example plots can be seen here. We have ported the Fortran source to RISC OS and compiled it into a library; it is freely available for non-commercial use from here (size 413K).
  Complete molecular display applications (written in Fortran)

  • ORTEP III. Ortep is the Oak Ridge Thermal Ellipsoid Plotting program, first released in the early 1970s; this version, which uses PGplot graphics, was released in 1996 and mounted on the Acorn by 'Fortran Friends'. Full information can be found on the website, URL http://www.ornl.gov/ortep/ortep.html.
    Brief details and 12 example plots can be seen here (size including images 98K)
    
  • STRUPLO plots molecules as polyhedra and outline spheres. It uses PGPlot in a similar way to ORTEP. Brief details and some example plots can be seen here (size including images 32K)
    The RISCOS version is available to download from here (124K).
  Price List and Order Form.
  Upgrades free via the Internet or return your disc with a small handling charge.
  
  
  Articles, Reviews and demos published elsewhere

In preparation:

• Extra sets of data files.

prints text and Draw files quickly on Hewlett Packard printers using the HPGL and PCL languages. It does not use the RISC-OS utility !Printers so should work on any new HP printer without waiting for someone to write a new utility for !Printers. It is supplied with templates ready for common printing applications, including two column text or address labels. You can easily create your own templates up to a maximum of 12. Registration costs £10; for this you get the latest version of the program, extra utilities and we try to fix your problems and think about implementing your requested enhancements. The extra utilities are:

• !LazyCodes - helps with entering codes for fancy text in !LazyPrint.
• LPprint - sends files of type Printout (type FF4) straight to the printer.
• Thickline - allows you to increase the thickness of the thinnest lines in a Draw file. This is useful for those who have Draw files containing very thin white lines on a dark background which are often invisible when printed because spreading ink/toner covers them up.
• CSV2Labels - converts any CSV file (type DFE) to labels (text) in a suitable form for printing labels from !LazyPrint

Polyhedron plotting programs

Data may be saved for the ray tracing program POVRAY,

All have a set of Draw files showing all the polyhedra on A4 size pages

• Disc 1
  The duals of the Johnson Solids (92 files + 92 revised Johnson solids), created by Paul Gailiunas.
  click here to see four examples (8K)
  Four of the solids had their definitions revised on 10 July 2001; click here to download the updates (4.1K).
• Disc 2
  Stellations, compounds, space fillers, mostly created by G.Inchbald with some from Fortran Friends (76 data files).
  click here to see some examples (34K)
• Disc 3
  The 59 Icosahedra; in addition to the Polydata for PolyDraw/Polynet, this disc contains the data file for !Stellate, some explanation of the naming scheme as defined in the booklet
  The Fifty-Nine Icosahedra
  by Coxeter et al, and Draw files showing all 59 stellations.
  Special offer with this disc you have an option to buy a copy of the 3rd edition of the booklet, published January 1999.
  
  
• Disc 4 (The large amount of data requires this disc to be High Density).
  All the non-convex uniform polyhedra and their duals (106 data files) to complement the convex uniform polyhedra which are standard with !PolyDraw.
  click here to see some examples (31K)
  Versions 3.21 of !PolyDraw and 1.15 of !PolyNet are needed to use all of these.

!Stellate

                                    PolyDraw  PolyNet  Stellate

                Current version    |  3.25  |  1.17  |  2.15  |
        Feature                    |        |        |        |
 display any polyhedron            |    *   |    *   |        |
 display uniform polyhedron        |    *   |    *   |    *   |
 view 3d solids coloured/shaded    |    *   |        |    *   |
 view planar nets                  |    *   |    *   |        |
 create planar net from a 3d solid |        |    *   |        |
 add tabs to a planar net          |        |    *   |        |
 has tools pane                    |    *   |        |    *   |
 measure angles and distances      |    *   |        |        |
 print results directly            |    *   |    *   |    *   |
 save Draw file of 3d solid        |    *   |        |    *   |
 save Draw file of stellation diag.|        |        |    *   |
 save Draw file of planar net      |    *   |    *   |        |
 save PolyData                     |    *   |        |    *   |
 save POVscene                     |    *   |        |        |
 save Stelladata                   |        |        |    *   |
 create duals uniform polyhedra    |        |        |    *   |
 display dual if present in data   |    *   |        |        |
 create stellated 3d solids        |        |        |    *   |
 memory needed to run program  (K) |  436   |  384   |  500   |
 disk space needed for program (K) |  550   |  195   |  170   |
 disk space for documents      (K) |  128   |  127   |  566   |

In preparation

PRICES

We sell the polyhedra plotting programs for £20 each, with a discount of £5 per program for all subsequent programs bought at the same time.

Price for any one of !PolyDraw, !PolyNet, !Stellate: £20
Price for two, usually !PolyDraw and !PolyNet: £35
Price for all three (!Stellate, !PolyDraw, !PolyNet): £50

The additional data discs are £10 per disc of about 100 polyhedra and the set of A4 pages of draw files showing all the polyhedra collected together.

Special offer When you buy disc 3, which contains the data files to draw all the 59 icosahedra using !PolyDraw/PolyNet or !Stellate, normal price £10, you can have a copy of the 3rd edition of the booklet The Fifty-Nine Icosahedra for an additional £5 (Tarquin price £6.95), (Total cost, Disc 3 and the booklet £15).

Postage and packing are included for destinations in the UK. Please add £1 for postage to European Union countries and £2 elsewhere.

Click here for an order form.

Updates to the most recent version (registered users only)
Updates are free via the Internet.

For updates by snail mail return your original program disc with £2 to receive the latest version, £3 for users outside the UK.

High Density Discs
We normally distribute one program per double density disc in the UK; we can get two programs on a single high density disc, which saves us postage. Please let us know if you cannot read high density (HD) discs when you send your order.