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Re: Object Graphics newbie question



[sorry, that first message slipped out before I was done!]

Hi Arend,

"Arend Sluis" <sluis@physics.rutgers.edu> wrote in message
3B0E7558.8EA29250@physics.rutgers.edu">news:3B0E7558.8EA29250@physics.rutgers.edu...
> I want to make a 2D plot of, say, 10k data points, and each data point
> has associated with it a specific color and a set of secondary data
> points (an emission line spectrum). Since I want to be able to zoom in
> on and move around the data in order to make selection of individual
> data points easier, I thought that Object Graphics would be the way to
> go. However, it is 10k data points, so I clearly need to be careful in
> order to have efficient code.
>
> My first question is: should I be using Object Graphics

It may be overkill for the project as you've described, but the XObjView
example program is a great starting point for a 3D viewing/inspecting
application. If there's a useful way to turn your data into a 3D display of
some kind, this may be especially helpful. Your mention that each point in
2D has a spectrum associated with it suggests that some 3D representation of
the whole dataset at once may be possible. (or it may be just a mess)

Here's an example of how easy XObjView is to use (code examples are attached
to this message as .pro files... hope it works for you):

=====
m=obj_new('IDLgrSurface', Dist(30), Color=[255,0,255], Style=2, $
          Shading=1, Name='Wide Magenta Surface')
g=obj_new('IDLgrSurface', Dist(10)*5, Color=[0,255,0], Style=2, $
          Shading=1, Name='Tall Green Surface')
xobjview,[m,g]
=====

You've got viewing controls, and a select tool which presents the name of
whatever object you click on. If you want to do something else when an
object is clicked, you might modify the code in idlexobjviewwid__define.pro
around line 406. (I've done a bit of work extending these classes for my own
purposes, but be warned: they are not documented, and I believe they are
subject to change without notice.)

Now, a reality check shows that 10,000 separate objects (so that each is
selectable with the Select tool), even if they are just points, is a lot for
Object Graphics to handle.

=====
a=objArr(10000)
oSymbol=obj_New('idlgrsymbol',3)
for i=0,9999 do a[i]=obj_new('idlgrpolyline', $
                             RandomU(seed,3,1)*100, $
                             symbol=oSymbol, $
                             name=StrTrim(i,2))
xobjview,a
=====

(mine took 17 seconds to redraw while rotating)

But one IDLgrPolyline object with 10,000 points is a breeze!

=====
oSymbol=obj_New('idlgrsymbol',3)
b=obj_new('idlgrpolyline', $
          RandomU(seed,3,10000)*100, $
          Symbol=oSymbol, $
          Linestyle=6,Name='One big object')
xobjview,b
=====

This is where you might want to customize what happens when you click on the
object, perhaps to report the location of the point you clicked on (add this
in idlexobjviewwid__define.pro before the 'endif' on line 409):

                            pickedOK = self.oWindow-> $
                               PickData(oCurrent, oSelected[0], $
                                        [event.x, event.y], pickXYZ)
                            Print, pickXYZ

Recompile it, click on a point and see the output log. A bit crude, but you
get the idea.

If black points aren't enough, each datum can of course be represented by a
polygon, a smoothly colored line, or whatever you please. The graphics
classes really give you a lot of options. A colored point scatterplot can be
done as follows:

=====
oSymbol=obj_New('idlgrsymbol',3)
c=obj_new('idlgrsurface', $
          DataX=RandomU(seed,100,100), $
          DataY=RandomU(seed,100,100), $
          DataZ=RandomU(seed,100,100), $
          Style=0,Vert_Colors=RandomU(seed,3,10000)*256, $
          Name='One big object')
xobjview,c
=====

(yes, we'd prefer to use a vector of 10000 for DataX|Y|Z, but IDLgrSurface
really wants a 2D array)

Well, that was quite a ramble. Hope it's of some help.

Cheers,
--
-Dick

Dick Jackson                   /            dick@d-jackson.com
D-Jackson Software Consulting /       http://www.d-jackson.com
Calgary, Alberta, Canada     / +1-403-242-7398 / Fax: 241-7392


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