The initial parameters for 3D graphics are defined here.

Sliders allow you to adjust the rotation around the z-axis and the tilt of the z-axis. This ensures that the z-axis always remains aligned upwards. The 3D graphics allow for further settings, which then only apply to the current graphic. The example graphic on the left shows immediately how the settings affect the result.

Notes on operating the graphic display

The number of support points determines how many individual points CGRAPH calculates to create flat graphics. For example, with a setting of 32×32, the two variables required for this then run through loops with 32 values each, so that a total of 1024 values are calculated.

The graphic also contains a red sphere. This shows how the transparency control affects the graphic. The setting does not allow for complete transparency (which would make the sphere invisible).

The transparency only applies to the objects created previously. If, for example, two spheres are displayed, the first sphere can be seen behind the second. However, if you look at the image from the perspective of the first sphere, the second sphere is hidden behind it, regardless of the transparency setting.

CGRAPH adds a surface grid to 3D graphics to illustrate the course of the surfaces. This grid can be drawn in a slow version or in a fast, optimised version. The slow version follows exactly the selected fill pattern that was chosen in the graph settings. The fast version uses an optimised grid.

The first image shows the slow grid, which follows the selected pattern display (‘filled area’) exactly. The optimised grid, on the other hand, is diamond-shaped. For speed reasons, we generally recommend the optimised display.

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