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Win32/Linux Bundles

March 21st 2003

Several specially priced Win32+Linux bundles are now available for g77/F and Lahey LF9x users. See the Price List page for details.

Win32/Linux : F

March 21st 2003

The Intel Win32 and Linux g77 versions of INTERACTER now also support F, the Fortran 95 subset compiler from The Fortran Company. An F compatible interface module is provided, along with a comprehensive set of F compatible demos.

Reduced Prices

December 30th 2002

Prices for new INTERACTER licences have been reduced by up to 20%. See the Price List page for new prices.

Win32 : Intel Fortran 7.0

December 30th 2002

The Win32 version of INTERACTER is now available for use with the recently released Intel Fortran v7.0 for Windows.

Linux : Lahey LF95 6.1

September 24th 2002

 

The Intel/Linux version of INTERACTER for Lahey LF95 has been rebuilt using LF95 6.1 on a kernel 2.4 Linux system. This is available as INTERACTER v5.01. Version 5.0 was built with an earlier LF95 release on a kernel 2.0 system.

Linux : g77 0.5.26

June 13th 2002

The Intel/Linux version of INTERACTER for g77 has been rebuilt using g77 0.5.26 on a kernel 2.4 Linux system. This is available as INTERACTER v5.01. Version 5.0 was built with an earlier g77 release on a kernel 2.0 system.

Win32 : Lahey LF95 5.7

May 29th 2002

Lahey release LF95 5.7 for Windows in June. This compiler release uses a different linker to previously and therefore requires a new INTERACTER library. Users of the LF9x version of INTERACTER 5.0 can purchase a v5.01 update CD for £40 from ISS. Version 5.01 is functionally identical to v5.0 except for a new LF95 5.7 compatible library and a handful of bug fixes. Lahey users of INTERACTER 1.xx-4.xx who require support for LF95 5.7 should refer to the upgrade prices on the Price List page.

Linux : NAGWare f95

February 23rd 2001

INTERACTER is now available for the NAGWare f95 compiler under Intel/Linux.

INTERACTER Version 5.0

October 27th 2000

The final major INTERACTER release, version 5.0, is now available. New features include:

  • 3D Graphics

     

    • 3D Volume plots. Three dimensional data which specifies a value or colour at every point in a (x,y,z) matrix can be displayed.
    • 3D Stepped Surfaces. As an alternative to our existing 'carpet' style plots, surface data can now also be plotted in a 'stepped' style where each grid cell value is plotted as a rectangular column.
    • Graduated Colour Surface Plots. Our existing surface plotting routines have been extended with an option to automatically graduate the colour of a surface between given maximum and minimum colour values.
    • 3D Line Plot. Arrays of (x,y,z) triplets can be plotted in the form of three dimensional line plots.
    • Improved 3D Scale Plotting. The automatic scale plotting algorithm used on 3D X/Y axes has been substantially impoved.
    • 3D Primitives. A set of 3D line, polyline and polygon primtives have been added to the Presentation Graphics subroutine group, allowing easy creation of 'custom' 3D plots. A complementary set of 2D primitives have also been added for use with INTERACTER's two dimensional plots.

     

  • Presentation Graphics (general)

     

    • Polar Plots. Line plots and scatter plots can now use polar co-ordinates (angle,radius) instead of cartesian (x,y) co-ordindates, if required. Polar/cartesian co-ordinate conversion routines are also provided.
    • Easier plot definition. New plot selection has been redesigned to provide a more rational calling interface and to allow automatic selection of plot-specific style/layout options, reducing coding.
    • Tick Length. Control is now provided over tick length on all plot types.
    • Bar Charts/Histograms. Graduated colour bars are now available on these plot types.
    • IPgDecimalPlaces. This routine now has a much more universal effect than previously.
    • Line Labels. The descriptive labels plotted by IPgKeyAll can now be displayed at the end of each line on a line plot.
    • GraphEd. Our visual graph designer has been updated to take advantage of all the new 3D graphics and presentation graphics features listed above.

     

  • Graphics Import

     

    • Read Data from BMP/PCX Files. Any colour BMP or PCX bit image file can now be loaded into a format independent data array describing the image as 24-bit RGB values.
    • Xlib Image Load. The Xlib versions of IScreenLoadImage and IGrLoadImage now support 1/4/24/32-bit colour BMP files and 24-bit PCX files in addition to 8-bit colour files.

     

  • Graphics Hardcopy/Export

     

    • Print Commands. The routines which invoke hardcopy output now accept an operating system printing command as an alternative to a destination filename when generating non-Print Manager hardcopy output.
    • Separate HP-GL & HP-GL/2 device types. The device numbers used by the HP-GL and HP-GL/2 drivers have been separated to eliminate ambiguity.
    • HP Color LaserJet 4500/8500. Specific device types have been added to the PCL and HP-GL/2 drivers for these top end HP printers, to take advantage of their 600 dpi printing capability.
    • Xlib Image SaveThe Xlib versions of IScreenSaveImage and IGrSaveImage now save the resulting BMP or PCX file in 24-bit colour format on X servers which use more than 8-bit colour.
    • Xlib and DOS Print Dumps. The range of colours generated on a colour printer when performing a graphics screen dump, under X Windows or DOS has been substantially expanded. The range of grey scales used on a monochrome printer when dumping a colour Xlib or DOS display has also been increased.

     

  • Graphics primitives

     

    • Non-solid lines in combination with line thicknesses greater than one device unit can now be drawn under Windows NT/2000 in Windows GDI output to screen, printer and metafile (WMF).

     

  • Information Functions

     

    • Device Names. Descriptions of the currently selected printer and plotter types are now available.
    • Presentation Graphics. Numerous presentation graphics settings can now be interrogated.
    • Media Presence. The presence of removal media (e.g. diskettes or CDs) can now be checked under Windows as well as DOS.

     

  • Manual

     

    • PDF Manual. The v5.0 manual is included on the CD in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format, in addition to the hardcopy equivalents which are still supplied, as usual.

     

  • Rationalisation

    A certain amount of rationalisation has taken place at v5.0. To keep INTERACTER relevant to current requirements, support for the following obsolete hardware, operating systems, compilers and graphics file formats has been withdrawn:

    • VAX/VMS (Alpha/OpenVMS support continues)
    • Phar Lap DOS extender in combination with Watcom F77 (DOS/4GW extender still supported)
    • Alpha/NT (Compaq have discontinued this platform)
    • DOS CGA/MDA/Hercules/MCGA/EGA graphics (VGA/SVGA required)
    • Cifer T5/T6 terminals
    • Wyse 60 terminals
    • Microcolour M4xxx terminals
    • Version 2.3x of DOS/Kermit (v3.x now required)
    • Teemtalk 05 and 340 DOS based terminal emulators
    • Acorn Draw graphics files
    • DEC LN03+ printers
    • INTCONV DOS image file converter no longer supplied

     

 

Support for Alpha Linux Compaq Fortran 95

 

February 24th 2000

Our Fortran 9x/Linux support has been further extended with the addition of an Alpha Linux implementation of INTERACTER 4.30, for use with Compaq Fortran 95. Pricing is the same as for the Intel Fortran 9x versions.

Support for Sunsoft Fortran 90 v2

February 10th 2000

The version of INTERACTER 4.30 for Sunsoft Fortran on Sun/SPARC systems under Solaris 2.x now includes a library which is compatible with Sunsoft Fortran 90 v2, in addition to the v1.2 release of the same compiler. The two compiler releases are incompatible at the object code level. Sun INTERACTER users with a v4.30 licence who need a Sunsoft f90 v2 compatible library should send email to support@polyhedron.com

INTERACTER Version 4.30

October 29th 1999

Our annual INTERACTER update is now available. New features include:

  • Graphics Primitives

     

    • 24-bit colour control, allowing up to 16-million colours to be used simultaneously. The new 24-bit colour capability is supported in various formats including: Windows (screen, printer and metafile), Xlib, PostScript, CGM, BMP, PCX, HP PCL and Epson ESC/P2.
    • Graduated colour polygon fills
    • Screen line thickness control under DOS, Windows and Xlib
    • Up to 128 simultaneous colours allowed on 256 colour displays under Windows and Xlib
    • The graphics palette can be interrogated in the default 8-bit colour model

     

  • Presentation Graphics

     

    • Number of decimal places definable in numeric scale values
    • Scale point text labelling on 3D surface/scatter plots
    • User definable scaling on histogram X axes and bar-chart Y axes
    • Workspace limits on 2D contour plots eliminated under Fortran 9x compilers
    • Marker frequency on line plots can be specified
    • Plotting of 3D surfaces is about a third faster
    • 2D fill-based contour plotting is signficantly quicker
    • Transparent tiles available on 3D surface plots

     

  • Bit image files

     

    • Create 256 or 16-million colour BMP or PCX files directly from raw pixel data
    • Save/load BMP screen image files under DOS
    • Save/load BMP or PCX screen image files under Xlib
    • Load PCX screen image files of any colour depth under Windows (previously, only 256 colour files were supported)
    • PCX screen image files under Windows now saved in 24-bit format on 16/24/32 bit colour displays
    • Raster image file driver can now generate 24-bit colour PCX and BMP files

     

  • Screen Dumps

     

    • The graphics screen bit-image printer dump (IScreenDump) now operates via Print Manager under Windows. The result is faster, more reliable, printing and slightly better quality.
    • New IGrPrintImage routine prints the graphics area only

     

  • WMF

     

    • The Windows metafile driver can now send output to the clipboard

     

  • PostScript

     

    • Multi-page PostScript output files can be viewed by GhostView/GhostScript

     

  • Graphics Import

     

    • IGrFileInfo can count the number of images in a CGM, PIC, HP-GL or HP-GL/2 graphics file
    • The vector graphics file import routine, IGrReplay, can zoom in on a specified area
    • 24-bit colour information fully utilised when importing vector graphics files (e.g. CGM, HP-GL/2)

     

  • Text File printing

     

    • Page/carriage control added to the ASCII text file printing routine.

     

  • Generic Installer for Windows

     

    • The Winteracter generic application installer and installation script editor SetupEd are now also included with the Windows versions of INTERACTER.

     

  • Mouse

     

    • Four additional cursor shapes are supported under DOS, Windows and Xlib

     

  • Debugging

     

    • A set of routines have been added to generate diagnostics to a debugging file
    • A debugging level can be set which triggers error reports whenever the internal INTERACTER error flag is set

     

  • Terminals

     

    • A display option has been added to the Unix and VMS versions for Tera Term Pro, a freely available Windows based VT/Tek colour graphics terminal emulator

     

  • Graphoria emulation

     

    • 11 more routines have been added to the Graphoria emulation interface

     

  • Compilers

     

    • A version of Windows INTERACTER is now available for use with the mingw32 implementation of g77, the GNU Fortran 77 compiler

 

Linux : Lahey LF95 Express & Absoft Pro Fortran

September 18th 1999

Our support for Intel Linux Fortran 9x compilers has been further extended with versions of INTERACTER for the newly released Lahey LF95 Express (www.lahey.com) and for Absoft's Pro Fortran (www.absoft.com).

Linux : Fujitsu Fortran 95 Express

August 6th 1999

Our first Linux Fortran 9x version of INTERACTER is now available, for use with the recently released Fujitsu Fortran 95 Express compiler.

Linux : g77 on Alpha and SPARC

June 4th 1999

I.S.S. has extended its support for Linux by adding Alpha and SPARC g77 version of INTERACTER to our existing Intel version. The Linux INTERACTER licence for g77 now offers even better value, supporting all three hardware platforms for the price of a single licence.

INTERACTER version 4.20

October 30th 1998

Version 4.20 is our latest 6-monthly INTERACTER update (Please note : In future INTERACTER will be updated annually). New features in 4.20 include :

  • CalComp HCBS and Lahey Compatible Graphic Emulations

     

    • Legacy code written to use the CalComp HCBS interface (PLOT/PLOTS/etc.) can be relinked with INTERACTER using a new set of emulation routines. The HCBS emulation is supplied in source form allowing customisation.
    • Code written for the semi-CalComp compatible Lahey Video Graphics Library can also be relinked using the new emulation routines.
    • The CalComp/Lahey emulation also includes an emulation of a substantial subset of the Lahey Graphoria library.

     

  • Presentation Graphics

     

    • Tables are supported for the first time. Specifically, tables of numeric data (integer or real arrays) can be displayed quickly and simply via the routines in the Presentation Graphics group.
    • 3D scatter and surface plots of (x,y,z,c) data can now be plotted where 'c' represents the colour of each marker or each grid point.
    • Extra key plotting options have been added which allow the key strings to be rotated or plotted below the X axis. A key border option has also been added.
    • The maximum number of data sets, contours or pie wedges has been increased from 40 to 256.
    • GraphEd, the Windows based PG plot designer has been updated to support the new PG features listed above.

     

  • Graphics Hardcopy

     

    • A text file printing routine called IGrHardCopyTextFile has been added. This will print any ASCII text file via any of INTERACTER's graphics hardcopy drivers. The start/end page and number of rows/columns per page can all be specified.
    • Epson Stylus support has been upgraded to include 720x720 dpi printing.
    • The graphics file information routine has been extended to recognise the full range of graphics formats supported by INTERACTER including PostScript, HP PCL, ESC/P2 and DXF.

     

  • Text Editor

     

    • Block copy/cut/paste/delete facilities have been added to the window based text editor.
    • Another entry point has been added to the text editor allowing character arrays to be edited as well as text files.
    • Screen updating in the editor has been substantially optimised. This is most noticeable on serial terminals.

     

  • Graphics Input

     

    • An option has been added to IGrInputBox to allow the aspect ratio of the box to be maintained when rubber banding under DOS, Windows or X Windows.

     

  • Lahey LF95

     

    • The Lahey LF95 compiler is supported. A Win32 LF95 INTERACTER library is included with the LF90 version. i.e. A single Lahey INTERACTER licence includes support for both LF90 and LF95.

     

  • Salford FTN77/FTN95

     

    • Support for Salford's compilers has been rationalised. All three INTERACTER libraries (for DBOS, WDBOS/Win16 and Win32) are now built with FTN95, but are also compatible with FTN77. Note that FTN90 is no longer supported.

     

  • Manual

     

    • The INTERACTER manual has been reprinted and is now supplied in three volumes. All maintenance updates and upgrades include a new manual set.

     

 

 

 

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