The IBM Visualization Data Explorer (DX) is a general-purpose software package for scientific data visualization and analysis. It employs a data-flow driven client-server execution model and is currently available on Unix workstations from Silicon Graphics, IBM, Sun, Hewlett-Packard and Digital Equipment. The OpenGL port of Data Explorer was completed with the recent release of DX 2.1.
The tests visualize a set of particle traces through a vector flow field. The width of each tube represents the magnitude of the velocity vector at that location. Data such as this might result from simulations of fluid flow through a constriction. The object represented contains about 1,000 triangle meshes containing approximately 100 verticies each. This is a medium-sized data set for DX.
Test Weighting
All tests assume z-buffering with one light in addition to specification of a color at every vertex. Triangle meshes are the primary primitives for this viewset. While Data Explorer allows for many other modes of interaction, these assumptions cover the majority of user interaction.
The first version of this viewset included indirect rendering to handle the client/server model of X-Windows-based systems. In this version, tests with indirect rendering have been removed to allow the viewset to be fully ported to Windows NT and OS/2 environments.
| Test | Weight | DX functionality represented |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40% | TMESH's immediate mode. |
| 2 | 20% | LINE's immediate mode. |
| 3 | 10% | TMESH's display listed. |
| 4 | 8% | POINT's immediate mode. |
| 5 | 5% | LINE's display listed. |
| 6 | 5% | TMESH's list with facet normals. |
| 7 | 5% | TMESH's with polygon stippling. |
| 8 | 2.5% | TMESH's with two sided lighting. |
| 9 | 2.5% | TMESH's clipped. |
| 10 | 2% | POINT's direct rendering display listed. |
| Test # | Weight (%) | Testing Parameters (Also see default parameters) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40% | -mh dx.msh -rm TMESH -cp VERTEX -zb -nl 1 |
| 2 | 20% | -mh dx.msh -rm LINE -cp VERTEX -zb -nl 1 |
| 3 | 10% | -mh dx.msh -rm TMESH -cp VERTEX -dl -zb -nl 1 |
| 4 | 8% | -mh dx.msh -rm POINT -cp VERTEX -zb -nl 1 |
| 5 | 5% | -mh dx.msh -rm LINE -cp VERTEX -dl -zb -nl 1 |
| 6 | 5% | -mh dx.msh -rm TMESH -cp VERTEX -zb -nl 1 -fn |
| 7 | 5% | -mh dx.msh -rm TMESH -cp VERTEX -zb -nl 1 -pp |
| 8 | 2.5% | -mh dx.msh -rm TMESH -cp VERTEX -zb -nl 1 -l2s |
| 9 | 2.5% | -mh dx.msh -rm TMESH -cp VERTEX -zb -nl 1 -c |
| 10 | 2% | -mh dx.msh -rm POINT -cp VERTEX -dl -zb -nl 1 |