StarSplatter Particle Renderer

Version 2.1

StarSplatter is a renderer for particle data, specifically data generated by SPH simulations. It is a python 'package' which provides the ability to load datasets of particle or SPH data and render them. There is a Tcl interface also, left over from revision 1.1, but it doesn't currently support the full functionality of the package.

StarSplatter's home page is:

      http://www.psc.edu/Packages/StarSplatter_Home

At the moment (July 2008) the documentation there is out of date; it describes the Tcl interface but not the new Python interface. The best way to learn about the Python interface is from the examples in the 'scripts' directory of this distribution.

Installing

The easiest way to build and install StarSplatter as a Python package is via the 'setup.py' routine. The short form of the instructions is below; you probably already did the first two steps or you wouldn't be reading this!

% tar -zxvf starsplatter-2.1.0.tar.gz % cd starsplatter-2.1.0 % python setup.py install

This is by far the easiest way to build and install the Python package.
Further details about installing with 'setup.py' can found at:

       http://docs.python.org/inst/inst.html

StarSplatter also includes a configure script and Makefiles. YOU PROBABLY DON'T NEED THESE, unless you want to build the Tcl interface. To do this sort of build, do:

% tar -zxvf starsplatter-2.1.0.tar.gz % cd starsplatter-2.1.0 % python setup.py install % ./configure % make

To build the Tcl interface you will need a linkable Tcl library. The configure script should detect its presence.

Testing The Installation

You can test the Python installation with:

% scripts/test.py

This will load a small set of particles in Tipsy format and save a rendered image in 'test.png'. The equivalent test for the Tcl interface is:

% starsplatter scripts/test.tcl

Tests for a number of specific features can also be found in the 'scripts' subdirectory.

Documentation

There isn't much. The documentation pages in the 'doc' subdirectory are out of date and are mainly relevant to the Tcl version. For the moment, your best bet is to look at the examples in the 'scripts' subdirectory.