GKS-3D

1. Platform, Price, and Company

• Platform
  • Machine and language independent. Specific implementations are known to have been developed for Silicon Graphics (IRIX),Sun Microsystems (Solaris), Hewlett Packard 9000 700 Series(HP/UX), IBM RS 6000 (Aix), Digital (OpenVMS and DEC UNIX),PC Linux, PC Windows NT/98, Convex, and Cray (Unicos). GKS has language bindings to C, FORTRAN, Pascal, and Ada.
• Price
  • Varies. GKS itself is a ISO standard (ISO 7942,8651-1, 8651-4).  Specific implementations vary in price according to the vendor.
  • CERN (cern.web.cern.ch/CERN/) offers GKSGRAL, an implementation of GKS-3D, to affiliated institutes for DM 28.000 (approx US $13,000).
  • TGS (http://www.tgs.com) offers GKS implementation for multiple platforms, but pricing is unavailable.  For more information, contact the company.
• Company
  • American National Standards Institute (www.ansi.org). GKS itself is a standard published by ANSI. This is available for free from the ANSI institute. TGS (http://www.tgs.com) offers GKS for a number of platforms. CERN (cern.web.cern.ch/CERN/) also offers an implementation of GKS-3D called GKS-GRAL through the CERN Program Library Office to affiliated institutions.

2. Applications

• GKS is a low-level 2D graphics ANSI/ISO standard that defines method to produce computer-generated pictures on vector or raster output devices, and is a high-level API.  GKS-3D is an extension to GKS which allows the production of 3-D objects.  It is similar to PHIGS, but where PHIGS allows the developer to create object hierarchies, GKS is non-hierarchical.  Both PHIGS and GKS are also similar to OpenGL, but OpenGL is much more specific in terms of required functionality and is currently much more popular.

3. Examples/Samples

• For an example of a GIS system, examine the product ARCINFO at http://www.esri.com
• A set of example images created with GKS: http://ngwww.ucar.edu/ng4.2/examples/#GKSExamples
• An example GKS program, written in C: http://vms.sggw.waw.pl/htbin/webbook/DKB0%3a%5bDECW$BOOK%5dd37vaaa8.p27.#126
• A set of Example programs, written in FORTRAN: http://www.cineca.it/manuali/CERN/asdoc/gks_html3/node114.html
• A short sample program, also written in FORTRAN: http://www.utoledo.edu/it/vms-guide/vmsgks.html
• How to set up and run a short sample GKS program: http://www.inf.aber.ac.uk/publications/documentation/g9.asp#2

4. Resources

• ISO standards related to computer graphics, including those that define GKS: http://www.dfmg.com.tw/member/standard/iso/35140.html
• CERN documentation of GKS and GKS-3D: http://wwws.irb.hr/~cern/gks_html3/gksmain.html
• DEC On-Line GKS User's Guide: http://vms.sggw.waw.pl/htbin/webbook/DKB0:%5BDECW$BOOK%5Dd37vaaa8
• A description of how to use both GKS and PHIGS: http://www.inf.aber.ac.uk/publications/documentation/g9.asp#2
• A short on-line lecture on GKS: http://www.maths.bath.ac.uk/~pjw/NOTES/graphics/node112.html
• A FAQ on GKS file formats: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/graphics/fileformats-faq/part3/section-58.html
• GKS's viewing pipeline: http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/cstechrep/Abstracts/UMCS-86-4-1.html
• Standards - an article: http://www.siggraph.org/publications/newsletter//v32n1/columns/carson.html

5. Books

Hopgood, Duce, Introduction to the Graphical Kernel System GKS, Second Edition Revised for the International Standard, Gallop & Sutcliffe, Soft Cover, AP, 1986, 250 Pages

Bono, Peter R., PC Graphics With Gks : Introduction to Graphics Standards (Gks, Gks-3D, Phigs, Cgi, and Cgm and to Graphics Programming), Publisher: Prentice Hall (Sd), ISBN: 0136544355, Published: September 1990.