Core AVS/Express and the Object Manager

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How to use this book

The Developer's Reference provides a comprehensive guide to the development of visualization applications using AVS/Express.

AVS/Express often offers several means of achieving a given goal, both through the Network Editor (NE) and the native V language. This flexibility provides users of all experience levels the option to work in whichever manner suits them best. However, since this reference guide is aimed at those already familiar with basic AVS/Express functionality and the Network Editor (as described in the User's Guide), operations and techniques described in this book tend to be demonstrated via lower-level techniques.You are, of course, free to use any method available to you to achieve a given task.

Developer Edition versus Visualization Edition

This book is supplied with both the Developer Edition and Visualization Edition of AVS/Express. Although these AVS/Express variants offer different levels of sophistication and flexibility, both provide the capability to develop visualization applications. From the application developer's perspective, the key difference is that the Developer Edition allows the creation of runtime versions of those applications using the Save Compiled Project mechanism. This mechanism is not available in the Visualization Edition, although applications developed therein can be distributed and run by other AVS/Express (either edition) users.

Wherever there is a functional difference between the two editions of AVS/Express, this will be clearly flagged throughout this book.

1.1 Who should use this book

This book is intended for all AVS/Express (Developer Edition and Visualization Edition) visualization application developers.

You should already be familiar with

• Starting AVS/Express and operation of the Network Editor (see the User's Guide)
• The windowing software on your system
• Use of the mouse on your system
• Basic UNIX, Windows NT, or Windows 95 operating system commands (as appropriate)

Your system should have

• A licensed copy of AVS/Express installed
• Free read/write accessible disk space in which to save your work

1.2 How to find information in this manual

If you want to know about...	Read
AVS/Express basics	Chapter 1, AVS/Express overview
Building applications and application components using AVS/Express objects	Chapter 2, Defining and manipulating objects in AVS/Express
Defining objects and applications using the V language	Chapter 3, V and the V Command Processor
The AVS/Express project mechanism	Chapter 4, Projects, libraries, and processes
Integrating user code and manipulating existing objects via the C and C++ APIs	Chapter 5, Integrating user code
Monitoring and controlling the execution of an application using the status and interrupt facilities	Chapter 6, Adding status and interrupt controls
General-purpose programming objects	Chapter 7, General purpose modules
Importing data from simple files	Chapter 7, Importing data from simple files using File Access objects
Techniques for debugging AVS/Express modules and networks	Chapter 8, Debugging objects
Supporting reference information	Appendix 1, Properties, attributes, primitives, and functions Appendix 2, Worldwide language and font support Appendix 1, Object Manager Application Programming Interface Appendix D, Object Manager FORTRAN Application Programming Interface Appendix A, User Code Interface (UCI) reference

1.3 Using other AVS/Express books

You can find additional information about AVS/Express in several books and the online help system.

The documentation that you receive depends on whether you purchased the Developer Edition or the Visualization Edition of AVS/Express. The Visualization Edition is supplied with a subset of the AVS/Express document set that covers the available functionality only (the same applies to the online documentation). The Developer's Edition includes the complete document set.

Both Editions include:

• Visualizing Your Data with AVS/Express - An introductory guide to visualizing your data with AVS/Express, covering topics such as reading your data, standard visualization techniques, and so on.
• Getting Started - A tutorial guide that provides a product overview and a series of worked examples that guide you through most of the basic functionality of both editions of AVS/Express.
• User's Guide - A detailed guide to using the AVS/Express Network Editor for visualization and application development in both the Visualization and Developer's editions. It also includes information about how to use the DataViewer viewers and editors.
• Data Visualization Kit - A reference guide for the Data Visualization Kit with which you can define, manipulate, and transform numeric data arrayed in coordinate grids in space such that data can be meaningfully visualized.
• User Interface Kit - A reference guide for the User Interface Kit, a collection of objects that allow you to interactively construct a fully-functional Graphical User Interface for your applications.
• AVS/Express for AVS5 Users - A migration guide for users moving from AVS5 to AVS/Express.
• Release Notes, Known Problems, System Prerequisites, and Installation and Licensing - Standard release documentation.

Developer Edition additionally includes:

• Graphics Display Kit - A reference guide and tutorial examples for the Graphics Display Kit, a collection of objects that allow you to render and view appropriate data (such as AVS Field format, geometry, and image data).
• Annotation and Graphing Kit - A comprehensive guide containing task-oriented and reference material for the Annotation and Graphing Kit, a collection of objects that provide annotation and graphing functionality within AVS/Express.
• Database Kit - A reference guide for the Database Kit which provides access to data within relational database products.

  Note: Some material from the three Developer Edition-only books is repeated in appendices in the User's Guide for Visualization Edition users to whom it is also applicable. Developer Edition users should disregard those appendices and refer to the complete documentation available in the appropriate books.

1.3.1 online help

AVS/Express has an integrated context-sensitive, hypertext help system that provides online access to the applicable documentation (depending on whether you have the Developer's or Visualization Edition) as well as providing point-and-click access to information on any objects in the AVS/Express libraries. online help is convenient and easy to use; you can point at a primitive, macro, module, or any other standard object to access information specific to that object, or you can use the index and hypertext links to quickly find information on a particular topic.

1.4 Conventions

The following conventions are used in this book.

Convention	Explanation
Click (or left-click)	Click the left mouse button.
Middle-click	Click the middle mouse button.
Right-click	Click the right mouse button.
Double-click	Rapidly click the indicated mouse button twice. (If a mouse button is not specified, assume the left button.)
Shift-click	Hold the Shift key down and click the indicated mouse button. (If a mouse button is not specified, assume the left button.)
Drag	Position the pointer over an item, press and hold the indicated mouse button down, move the mouse while the mouse button is still pressed, and then release the mouse button when the move is complete. (If a mouse button is not specified, assume the left button.)

1.4.1 File Naming Conventions

File naming conventions differ between UNIX and Microsoft Windows (NT and 95) environments.

• UNIX file names are case-sensitive and pathnames use the / slash.
• Microsoft Windows file names are case-insensitive and the pathnames use the \ slash.

This document uses UNIX conventions. If you are working on a Microsoft Windows system, you will need to make the necessary adjustments.

1.5 Customer Support

Do not hesitate to contact Advanced Visual Systems if you need any assistance while using AVS/Express.

Depending on the nature of your problem, you can:

• Call a customer support representative on:
  • 800-428-7001 (within the continental US) or
  • +1-617-890-8192 x2400 (from elsewhere)
• Send e-mail to the support group at Advanced Visual Systems
  • support@avs.com
• Contact your local sales representative
  • Refer to the information on the back cover of this manual.