=== Tcl-SIPP 3.1a ===

    Tcl-SIPP provides a 3D image specification and rendering toolkit for use
with Tcl and Tk.  It is based on SIPP, the SImple Polygon Processor, a library
for creating 3-dimensional scenes and rendering them using a scan-line
z-buffer algorithm.  Tcl is an easy to use, powerful, interpretive programming
language, that is designed to be imbeddable in applications.  Tk is a X11
toolkit programmed in Tcl.

    Tcl-SIPP is a set of Tcl commands used to programmed SIPP without having to
write and compile C code.  Commands are used to specify surfaces, objects,
scenes and rendering options.  Scenes may be rendered to files in the PPM
format or in Utah Raster Toolkit RLE format.

   Tk interactive applications may also be developed that do rendering to the
Tk photo widget.

   This interface greatly speeds the development of scenes because no compile
and link phase is required.  Data is represented in a simple ASCII form.
This is particularly useful when for producing 3D scenes from ASCII data
generated by other programs.  Since most of the work in creating a scene is
still done in libsipp, the is only a small performance penalty in programming
in Tcl.


NEW FEATURES
============

The following new features have been added in this release.  

  o Incorporated version 3.1 of the SIPP library and added interfaces to
    several new features.
  o Incorporated version 2.4 of the Tk photo widget.
  o Added support of Utah Raster Toolkit, 3.1 Beta.
  o Improved configuration and portability.

VERSION NUMBERING
=================

    The Tcl-SIPP version number is a concatenation of the SIPP library version
number that it works with and a single letter indicating the Tcl interface
version.  The version may also include a patch level if Tcl-SIPP has been
patched.  This is Tcl-SIPP 3.1a.


THE FUTURE
==========

  Potential future work on Tcl-SIPP may include the following.  Any input
on these or other changes is very welcome:

   o Switching to Tk style objects-as-commands.  Objects, surfaces, shaders,
     handles would all become commands.  Operations on them would then be
     dome by calling the command with an action.  

   o Support for reading and writing TIFF files.

   o Pick functionality.  Ability to translate an pixel location to an
     object.

   o Export and document internal C functions so programmers can link
     in their shaders and object primitives.

Tcl-SIPP AUTHOR
===============

   Mark Diekhans - markd@grizzly.com

Please send all bugs, questions or comments to this address.

AUTHORS OF OTHER SOFTWARE IN THIS DISTRIBUTION
==============================================

The SIPP 3D rendering package was developed by:

   Jonas Yngvesson (jonas-y@isy.liu.se)
   Inge Wallin (ingwa@isy.liu.se)

of Linkoping Institute of Technology, Sweden

The photo widget was developed by:

    Paul Mackerras (paulus@cs.anu.edu.au)

of The Australian National University.

Thanks for the great software!!!