GFXTOOL(1) — USER COMMANDS
NAME
gfxtool − Run graphics programs in the SunWindows environment
SYNOPSIS
gfxtool [ −C ] [ program [ arguments ]]
OPTIONS
−C Redirect system console output to this instance of gfxtool.
gfxtool also accepts all of the generic tool arguments; see suntools(1) for a list of these arguments.
If a program argument is present, gfxtool runs it. If there are no arguments, gfxtool runs the program corresponding to your SHELL environment variable. If this environment variable is not available, then gfxtool runs /bin/sh.
DESCRIPTION
gfxtool is a standard tool provided with SunWindows. It allows you to run graphics programs that don’t overwrite the terminal emulator from which they run.
gfxtool has two subwindows: a terminal subwindow and an empty subwindow. The terminal subwindow contains a running shell, just like the shelltool (see shelltool(1)). Programs invoked in the terminal subwindow can run in the empty subwindow. You can move the boundary between these two subwindows as described in suntools(1) under The Tool Manager. If you wish, you can make gfxtool your console by entering a first argument of -C.
Normally you can use the mouse and keyboard anywhere in the empty subwindow to access Tool Manager functions. However, some graphics programs which run in this window may take over inputs directed to it. For example, SunCore uses the mouse and keyboard for its own input. When you run such tools, access the Tool Manager menu from the tool boundaries or namestripe.
Most of the graphics demo programs in /usr/demo will run in gfxtool. In particular, the following demos run in gfxtool:
/usr/demo/bouncedemo
Displays a bouncing square. Place a -n followed by a decimal number on the command line to indicate how many repetitions of the bounce sequence should be done.
/usr/demo/spheresdemo
Laboriously computes a random collection of shaded spheres. Place a −n followed by a decimal number on the command line to indicate how many spheres should be drawn. Colored spheres are drawn on color displays.
/usr/demo/jumpdemo
Simulates the famous Star Wars jump to light-speed sequence using vector drawing. Place a −n followed by a decimal number up to 500 to indicate how many stars should be used in the star field. Colored stars are drawn on color displays. A -c on the command line directs the program to rotate the color map, thus producing a sparkling effect.
/usr/demo/framedemo
Displays a series of frames, each of which contains a 256 by 256 image formed of pixels one deep (that is, the image is a square monochrome bitmap, with 256 bits on a side). The frames must be in the files frame.1 through frame.n on the current working directory, and are displayed in numerical order. A set of sample frames is available to you in the directory /usr/demo/globeframes/∗. Put a −n followed by a decimal number on the command line to indicate how many times to cycle through the frames. If you move the cursor into the image window, you can type certain characters to affects the rate at which the frames are displayed. The initial rate is one frame per second. Typing “S” causes an additional one second delay between frames. Typing “F” removes one second from the inter-frame delay. Typing “s” adds 1/20th of a second. Typing “f” removes 1/20th of a second. Typing “Ff” makes the delay as small as possible.
For all these demos the following is true: if no −n flag appears on the command line then the program runs continuously until you interrupt it. A −r flag on the command line turns the window into a retained window. This allows the image to reappear when uncovered instead of restarting the demo. You can also invoke all these demos from the workstation console, i.e., outside of the suntools window environment. A −d flag followed by a display device name as in "bouncedemo -d /dev/cgone0” directs the demo to run on a display other than the console.
SEE ALSO
FILES
~/.ttyswrc
/usr/bin/gfxtool
/usr/bin/suntools
/usr/demo/∗
/usr/src/sun/suntool/gfxtool.c
BUGS
If more than 256 characters are input to a terminal emulator subwindow without an intervening newline, the terminal emulator may hang. If this occurs, display the Tool Manager Menu; the "TTY Hung?" submenu there has one item, "Flush input", that you can invoke to correct the problem.
Sun Release 3.0β — Last change: 29 March 1985