REQUEST: povray!

[pterandon]

Hello, first let me introduce myself. I'm Greg M. Johnson, a non-programmer, a fan of the Windows GUI version of POV-Ray, and a newbie to linux, and thereby a huge fan of Knoppix, Kanotix, and Debian. I don't speak for the POV-Team, but I've been in email conversation with them.

I note with interest that the Knoppix 4.0 DVD ships with KPovModeller, a GUI modelling interface for povray. It has a "render" command in it. If one tells KPovModeller (as shipped with 4.0 DVD) to "render", you get an error message because the knoppix team has not put a povray app on the DVD! I would note that there is a "povray modeller" on Paipix (3.6??) that does in fact implement a successful render.

My request is that you make it work for rendering.

Now here's where it gets tricky. There is a command-line, official unix/linux version of povray available at povray.org. I don't know exactly if it were "optimized" (non-programmer here) for Debian; I note that Paipix's povray is a special, non-POV-Team-supported compile which claims to be. I forget the gent who did it.


Now here's my wish list. I am one of those who is in love with the GUI for the text editing of the scene description files-- it works just like the GUI kedit, where you type out your code, 'cept you hit a "render" icon instead of "print" icon-- but I find a GUI for the actual modelling-- lots of click and drag with the mouse-- to be quite annoying. Povray's benefits, in this overly opinionated user's opinion, come in the flexibility of its scene description language, not in the clicking and dragging of spheres around the screen. At the same time, my opinion is also that I hate the official linux version's command-line, non-GUI-ness as it requires typing out 40-character commands to render: ala'

 povray.exe inputfile.pov +i +320 -h +aa3.0 +janegetmeoffthiscrazything...

So my "idea" is that you instead use QTPOV instead of (or in addition to) KPovmodeller, with whatever povray compile works under Debian: I dunno if that were "the official" or the one chosen by Paipix (I'm not on POV-Team, not a programmer, and not associated with either QTPOV development team or that of KPovmodeller). Maybe even also find a way to make povray's non-GUI command line version be somehow "noticeable" off the main "K" menu (note nonetheless another annoying feature of command-line apps).

I think QTPOV ain't availabe free for Windows, but it might be for Linux. Povray, per se, is not GPL but "copyrighted freeware" but a member of the POV-Team has stated that its license would make it available for something like Knoppix.


In any case, DVD 4.0 is shipping an app that would appear to some users as broken. I've given my opinions on how I wish it could be fixed. Thanks greatly. I am greatly enamored with your product.[/code]

[UnderScore]

Since 99.99% of us here are not Knoppix developers, we can not get povray or povray GUIs on future releases without someone filling a bug report. http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/Bugs/4.0

So the best I can do is to suggest that you install povray. I go to http://packages.debian.org and search for povray under ANY and I discover that it is in the Debian package management system. So to install povray on Knoppix 3.8.x and Knoppix 4.0 (3.9 is buggy; Do not install apps on 3.9), assuming the network is properly configured & the machine can access the internet, is as simple running two commands:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install povray-3.5

The first commands refreshes the lastest package info from the package servers. Then second command tells the system to install povray. It will download, decompress, and setup it up for you. The total download size start to finish is about 11MB.

If this is too much command line mumbo-jumbo, then I agree. That is why GUI tools were made to allow easy access to the package management system. Run the program synaptic or kpackage. Refresh the packages lists (effectivly a 'apti-get update'). Do a FIND or CTRL-F. Type povray. It will find the package. Click apply and it will download, decompress, and set it up for you.

[pterandon]

Thanks for the advice on two quick commands to install povray. This I don't mind doing once. Here are the issues:


1) Official POV-Ray 3.6 linux version:
( http://povray.org/download/ )
GUI for modelling: doesn't have it. No loss.
GUI for script editing: doesn't have it. Minor loss.
GUI for initiating render: doesn't have it. I sorely miss it as seen in the Windows verison. I personally hate typing out long redundant commands every time I want to check a scene. Many linux pov-vers however swear by it.

2) KPovModeller:
(on Knoppix 4.0 DVD)
GUI for modelling: Has it. Not much value add IMNSHO for most advanced users.
GUI for script editing: Sorta has it, but obtusely there.
GUI for initiating render: Has it, but povray rendering engine (actually a separate app) is outright missing from Knoppix 4.0 distribution.

3) QTPOV
( http://qtpoveditor.sourceforge.net/ )
GUI for modelling: doesn't have it. No loss.
GUI for script editing: Lovely. Just as cool and even more value-add than the Windows version.
GUI for initiating render: Has it. (would need a povray rendering engine, a separate app, "too" however) .