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 Release of V4.02 TNT products
November 1992
Table of Contents
- General utility materials
- Object display and editing
- Object conversions
- Image and GIS processing
- Hardcopy Creation
- General utility materials
- Object display and editing
- Image and GIS processing
- Raster object creation
Release Notes Index
Release of TNT-MIPS V4.02
Introduction
TNT-MIPS V4.02 is being shipped to you
on either 3.5" or 5.25" high density disks according to the preference
expressed on your registration forms. The floppy disks which make up TNT-MIPS
V4.02 contain a common set of routines which are distributed to all current
subscribers to MIPS V3.31. Installation of TNT-MIPS will not
alter your current MIPS V3.31 in any way. It will create a complete
new TNT-MIPS structure on your drive and subsequently recreate or update
it with future releases.
This release of TNT-MIPS V4.02 is
not a complete equivalent of MIPS V3.31. Conversion of all remaining,
important MIPS processes is currently underway. TNT-MIPS V4.10
will be shipped to you about 15 December 1992 and will complete 95 to 99% of the
conversion of MIPS to TNT-MIPS.
The attached schedule indicates the status of
conversion of each MIPS process. The principal purpose of providing it at
this time is to provide an overview of how TNT-MIPS will operate on all
computer platforms supported and the progress toward its completion. It will
also get all of you either planning or experimenting with Microsoft Windows V3.1
and the possible hardware changes you may need to make to accommodate it and TNT-MIPS
in turn. MicroImages is just about to begin to advertise and sell TNT-MIPS,
although until V4.10 is shipping, MIPS V3.31 will be included in
all shipments. After TNT-MIPS is shipping next month, all new customers
will be shipped only V4.10 unless they also specifically request a copy
of V3.31.
Shipment
for Other Platforms
TNT-MIPS V4.02 is being concurrently
shipped to clients who have ordered it for their workstations on the media they
have specified. Development stations for all 6 popular workstations are now part
of the MicroImages' compiling network. These include Sun, IBM, DEC, HP, Data
General, and Silicon Graphics as well as Unix based Macintosh and PCs equipped
with the latest versions of ESIX and SCO. No particular difficulties are being
encountered in compiling TNT-MIPS V4.02 processes for these platforms
under their brands of Unix using their manufacturer's 32-bit ANSI standard C
compilers.
Installation
Running INSTALL upgrades your key to
authorize it for V4.02. It then decompresses and writes a copy of each
licensed process from the disks containing V4.02 into the selected
directory on your hard drive. You must use the INSTALL routine on the
installation disk supplied with this release to decompress the files during
installation. Installing this V4.02 will completely replace the
earlier V4.01ß if the same hard drive is selected.
The TNT-MIPS INSTALL program
works just as it does with MIPS V3.30 but will not alter V3.30 or
V3.31 in any way. For example, it will check your hard drive to determine
that space is available for the installation you are making.
V4.10 may be in your possession by the
time many of you have worked through installing MS W V3.1 and V4.02.
Remember, MS W V3.1 uses DOS V5.0 and its addition to your system
at this time will in no way will impair your continued use of MIPS V3.31
or other DOS based software. Thus, assuming you have sufficient hard
drive space available, you can have both TNT-MIPS V4.02 and MIPS V3.31
installed at one time.
It is our suggestion that anyone installing TNT-MIPS
for the first time, choose menu selection "Install minimal test version of
TNT-MIPS" offered by the INSTALL program. This approach will use
about 5 megabytes of drive space. It will install only the TNT-MIPS
display program and its associated support elements including the appropriate
menu and the process to convert RVF project files into RVC project
files. This comprehensive new display process is explained in detail in the
printed reference material supplied earlier and in the on-line documentation and
is the heart of TNT-MIPS.
When you experiment with the TNT-MIPS
display process for the first time you will find that it is a much more
comprehensive activity than in MIPS V3.31. It should be apparent that
since the severe memory constraints of MIPS are being lifted by MS W
V3.1, all our new processes will be considerably larger. Correspondingly,
however, there will be fewer loading processes involved as many formerly
independent processes are consolidated into fewer, more comprehensive
procedures.
After you have familiarized yourself with the
display process, choose menu selection "Install TNT-MIPS version 4.02"
in the INSTALL program to complete the loading of all the other available
processes. TNT-MIPS V4.02 will require about 40 megabytes of your hard
drive without illustrations and 56 megabytes with illustrations. Eventually this
hard drive requirement will shrink somewhat as processes are further streamlined
and integrated together.
The 5.25" version has 20 disks as follows:
16 containing processes, 3 containing documentation and illustrations, and 1
with the installation processes.
The 3.5" version has 17 disks as follows:
14 containing processes, 2 containing documentation and illustrations, and 1
with the installation processes.
An interesting note is that this is the first
version of MIPS or TNT-MIPS which has shipped to more clients on
3.5" disks than on 5.25" disks.
On-Line
Documentation
Approximately 250 printed pages of TNT-MIPS
documentation are included with V4.02 containing the new on-line
illustration display feature in a preliminary form. At present there is no
built-in printing capability for the TNT-MIPS documentation. Subsequently
you will be able to print out the TNT-MIPS documentation on your laser
printer just as with MIPS but with the addition of black and white
illustrations (sample windows and images). Including on-line illustrations
within TNT-MIPS will make it grow rapidly in hard drive storage
requirements. As a longer range solution, it will be important that the
illustrations be accessed directly from the CD-ROM disk eventually used to
distribute each new TNT-MIPS upgrade. In the interim period, during the
installation of the on-line documentation you will have the option of omitting
the installation of the illustrations.
The documentation available for V4.02
primarily covers the operation of TNT-MIPS as a system and the main
display process. As the conversion of MIPS to TNT-MIPS approaches
completion, all the processes will be checked and documented as rapidly as
possible. However, the functionality of many application processes in TNT-MIPS
are similar to those of the equivalent MIPS processes. Thus, the complete
on-line documentation for MIPS V3.31 has value to you until the TNT-MIPS
documentation is complete. V4.02 will also let you optionally load and
use all the old documentation available with MIPS V3.31 for possible
reference.
RVF
and RVC Details
Repeating the RVF to RVC
Conversion. As indicated in a recent memo, you will need to reimport any RVF
files into RVC files to accommodate changes made in the Project File data
structure made in TNT-MIPS V4.02. This last minute change was to
accommodate use of 2-byte UNICODE font standard which is also being adopted
directly or indirectly by Apple, OSF/Motif, X System and other commercial
packages to allow standardization of their products around the world. It is
quite unlikely that any further changes in the RVC Project Files will be
required. In the unlikelihood that this should occur, a conversion routine to
upgrade the RVC project files you create with V4.02 will be
provided.
RVC to RVF Conversion. TNT-MIPS
V4.10 will be shipped to you about 15 December 1992 and will complete 95 to
99% of the conversion of MIPS to TNT-MIPS. Based upon requests
from several clients, a backward conversion process is now available to convert RVC
Project Files to RVF Project Files. Such conversions can be only
partially supported as RVC Project Files can be used to import or form
new materials (for example, more complex relational attribute tables) which have
no implementation in MIPS and the earlier RVF Project File
structure. Thus if you go backward with objects in an RVC Project File,
you may lose information which has to be stripped off. In general you will find
that the prime objects can be moved backward to RVF. Those clients who
have a special requirement for such backward conversions not accommodated by the
process being provided should discuss its possible solution with MicroImages on
a case by case basis.
RVF on Workstations. There is no
MicroImages product that will create any form of an RVF Project File on
any computer platform other than those DOS based systems running MIPS.
Thus RVF to RVC or RVC to RVF conversion routines
will not be provided other than within TNT-MIPS for DOS based
microcomputers. Please plan to convert all your existing RVF Project
Files to RVC Project Files on the DOS based microcomputer that
created them.
Simple RVF Conversion. It is
important to emphasize that the RVF to RVC conversion process can
be run as a separate routine from a command line in DOS as long as the
other files needed by it are available as well as the hardware key. The fastest
way to set up this conversion process is to choose menu selection "Install
only RVF/RVC file conversion utility" offered by the TNT-MIPS INSTALL
process.
Application
Note Outlines
Internationalization and Localization (I&L).
There have been some additions to this AN Outline since its previous
version, and a new copy is enclosed. The equivalent MicroImages Font Editor to
that which occurred in MIPS V3.31 is now available in V4.02 to
support this I&L. Its use to create your local fonts will be expanded
in the next version of this AN.
Software Development Kit (SDK).
The outline of a new Application Note being prepared on the MicroImages'
Software Development Kit (SDK) - formerly the "C Tools Library"
- is enclosed. A detailed MicroImages MEMO outlining the uses of the SDK
to make external additions to TNT-MIPS is also enclosed. This AN
will eventually be completed and printed similar to the Application Note you
already have on the internal Spatial Manipulation Language (SML). It will
place heavy emphasis on providing a sequence of progressively more complex
sample programs with explanations. In this fashion it will illustrate how to
prepare your own custom applications for TNT-MIPS with complete windows,
Project File access and creation, display (if needed separately), and so on.
Advanced
User Workshop 5 (AUW5)
The Fifth Advanced User Workshop (AUW5)
will be held in Lincoln as usual on the bitter cold days of 12, 13, and 14
January 1993. At your request, this year January 15 (a Friday) will be scheduled
as an additional "open day" for the workshop so you can all visit with
your favorite programmer and technical support specialist. This year the fee for
the 3 day formal workshop will increase to $400 and the open day will be
provided without charge. AUW5 will find us all in the thick of using TNT-MIPS
and planning the exciting new, advanced capabilities it will allow. Please make
plans early for these dates if you are outside the U.S. and/or with a government
agency requiring long range planning.
One new topic area for AUW5 already
suggested by you will be the demonstration and comparison of performance
features of TNT-MIPS across a variety of platforms. MicroImages will
attempt to prepare and distribute performance information addressing this
question on some sort of normalized basis such as performance per dollar spent.
The "open" Friday session will provide an opportunity for a personal,
close up, comparative examination of these platforms and their performance.
TNT-MIPS
Release Schedule
Shipping
as V4.00ß
9 August development cut off date
19 August shipping date
General
utility materials
MicroImages' wrapper to convert existing MIPS
8-bit display board drivers into Microsoft Windows V3.1 drivers.
MicroImages' 8-bit X server for Microsoft
Windows V3.1
Conversion of RVF project files to RVC
project files
Installation instructions for TNT-MIPS in
Microsoft Windows V3.1 and on workstations.
Printed draft manual section on use of TNT-MIPS
display and system processes
Object
display and editing
Integrated composite display of raster,
vector, and CAD objects [the graphic windows for designing a line's style and
a symbol's style are not available. will display styles of existing lines and
points created and imported from RVF files. try the bit pattern editor which
is available to create fill patterns. see a list of other missing features
scheduled for V4.01ß below]
3D display of raster objects [create
and manipulate a wireframe for the raster but the raster can not be
subsequently draped or drawn on the wireframe]
Interactive editing of vector objects [will
not allow line to be drawn across an existing line so as to intersect it]
Mosaicking of raster objects [complete except
for trend removal, between frame color balancing, and abut method of seam
formation]
Object
utilities
Raster import/export [available for selected
external formats]
Raster, vector, and CAD statistics
Copy raster utility
Database object import/export
Database object editor
Relational database object query operations
Object
conversions
Raster to vector Conversion
Home range polygon finding
Surface fitting to swarms of data points
Viewshed computation from elevation object
Watershed properties from elevation object
Image
and GIS processing
Fourier analysis of 2D images
Spatial filtering
Principal components on multispectral images
Multilinear regression on multispectral
images
Classification of multispectral images
(supervised and unsupervised)
Extract rectified DTM elevation models and
orthophoto/images from SPOT images and stereo airphotos using a relative model
[numerous advanced features included over MIPS V3.3]
Hardcopy
Creation
Pen plotting
Raster printing [new color balance window is
designed and is shown but does not yet function]
Additional
features shipping as V4.01ß
17 September development cut off date
29 September shipping date
General
utility materials
MicroImages' wrapper to convert existing MIPS
16 and 24-bit display board drivers into Microsoft Windows V3.1 drivers.
Final printed copy of Application Note on
X-Y Digitizing
Final printed copy of Application Note on
Map and Poster Layout
Outline of Application Note on
Internationalization and Localization
On-line manual process [not manual but
process, without illustrations]
Object
display and editing
Interactive editing of CAD objects [no X-Y
digitizer support, block manipulation, or smart line following]
Interactive editing of rasters [only existing
binary, grayscale, and 8-bit color rasters with simple drawing tools and undo]
Additional display processes
Measurements [except protractor and flood
fill boundary]
3D display of raster objects [wireframe
design and output only to a raster object and not directly to screen]
Interactive editing of CAD objects
[completed]
Object
conversions
Raster import/export [available for
additional formats]
Warping objects [only for raster objects]
CAD to vector object conversion
Vector to CAD object conversion
Georeferencing objects and changing object
projections [only for raster objects]
Image
and GIS processing
Extract rectified DTM elevation models and
orthophoto/images from SPOT images and stereo airphotos using ground control
to provide an absolute orientation model.
Hardcopy
Creation
Pen plotting [no style by class (key field)
or point symbols and scale can not be set, limited to solid color lines]
Raster printing [no bilinear interpolation
only nearest neighbor resampling]
Plotting into a raster
Map and poster layout [no grid, scale bars,
or text features]
Additional
features shipping as V4.02
1 November development cut off date
10 November shipping date
General
utility materials
Conversion of RVC project files to RVF
project files [no CAD objects]
On-line manual process [partial manual with
illustrations]
Completed sections of on-line manual
Editor for creating outline fonts
Available sections of Application Note on
Internationalization and Localization
Available sections of Application Note on
Software Development Kit
Object
display and editing
Additional display processes
Line style editor
Interactive Contrast Enhancement
Attribute selection and display from vector
elements
Object extents
3D display of raster, vector, and CAD objects
to screen or file
Block manipulation in interactive editing of
CAD objects [no X-Y digitizer support or smart line following]
Object
utilities
Import/export of vector/CAD objects [most
used formats]
Object
analysis
Computing buffer zones for vector elements
with database query
Hardcopy
Creation
Additional Map and Poster Layout
Grids
Object placement
Additional
features shipping as V4.10
5 December development cut off date
15 December shipping date
General
utility materials
MicroImages' 16- and 24-bit X server for
Microsoft Windows V3.1
Completed sections of on-line manual
Slide show process
Object
display and editing
Additional display processes
Pin mapping
Selection by database query
Histograms of raster objects
Profile raster objects
HyperIndex and HyperIndex Linker
Capturing of live video
Mosaicking of raster objects [add trend
removal, between frame color balancing, and abut method of seam formation]
Interactive editing of vector objects
X-Y digitizer support and smart line
following in Editcad
Image
and GIS processing
Progressive image transformation
Feature Mapping
Spatial Manipulation Language
Intersection of vector objects
Raster
object creation
Import raster object from 8 mm and open reel
tape
Scanning
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