A Module for

IBM's Data Explorer

to convert

DX objects into autodesk's DXF objects

DX2DXF

Mai Tram Nguyen Van

Cornell University, 1997.

INTRODUCTION

GOALS

DESIGN

SOURCE CODES

HOW TO INSTALL

HOW TO USE MODULE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

REFERENCES

 

INTRODUCTION

Data Explorer (DX) is a data-flow, block-diagram language for data visualization and analysis.

DXF (Drawing Interchange File) Format is a standard ASCII text file that can be easily translated to the formats of other CAD systems or submitted to other programs for specialized analysis.

GOALS

To create a Data Explorer module that would export the DX 3D object into a DXF 3D object, readable by Autodesk, Inc. softwares.

DESIGN

Data Explorer's object are structured hierarchically whereas DXF file objects have a flat structured. Using Chris Kline's DX object parser, each object stored as a point/line/face in Data Explorer is stored in a DXF file format.

Data Explorer object structured is highly hierarchical leaving transforms or groups as objects. Because DXF does not allow such a high degree of hierarchy, all the objects are flattened to a single level: a level containing only points, lines or faces as objects. Thus, as the parser encounters transforms, a single cumulative transform is kept and applied to the field in order to represent the points in real-world coordinates in DXF.

DX2DXF only supports 3D world objects. Any objects in Data Explorer not represented tridimensionally will be ignored, as well as light.

Since I found no means of converting Data Explorer RBG coloring into DXF (Autocad's) palette, DX colors are approximated to the 8 following colors: red, blue, green, yellow, cyan, magenta, white, black. Any background colors are ignored.

WARNING: The resulting DXF file may require a great amount of memory for complex DX objects.

SOURCE CODES

The following makefile is adapted for SGI platform. If you are using a different platform, you may have to alter the makefile:

• makefile
• dx2dxf.c
• dx2dxf.mdf

 

HOW TO INSTALL DX2DXF

Create in your home directory a new directory and download the files in it.

Go in the new directory and compile the code by typing make.

Now, invoke DX.

Scroll down the file menu and go into the load .mdf file.

A window will open, double click on dx2dxf.mdf in the right of the window.

The DX2DXF module will appear in the OUTBOARD category.

 

HOW TO USE DX2DXF

The DX2DXF module is like an export module. Place it in the flow of the program where you want your DXF object

Double click on the module, the description window will appear.

Name your DXF file. A ".dxf" will be automatically appended to the end of the name upon execution.

Upon execution, the DX2DXF will create a dxf file that can be found in your current directory.

 

Sample image converted from Data Explorer and read by AutoCAD: rose

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Many thanks to Professor Bruce Land, Dept. of Computer Science, Cornell University for mentoring this project, to the Theory Center, to Chris Kline for providing the parser of the DX object.

REFERENCES

IBM Visualization Data Explorer User's Guide

AutoCAD User's Manual

Mai Tram Nguyen Van, February 1997