| ILLUSTRATING MORE SHADOWS focusing on education and interesting practical aspects of sundial design FREE SOFTWARE PAGE IS HERE |
| Illustrating Shadows ~ ISBN 0-9765286-8-1 ~ Lib Cong 2005900674 about 300 pages of hands on, empirical, geometric, trigonometric, CAD, and spreadsheet dial design with 100 pages of charts, tables, formulae, and lists of useful information THIRD EDITION ~ Table of contents. This edition has expanded tables, more formulae, and more detailed chapters on CAD, vrml. The best book on gnomonics. Much new material. You get a free CD of booklets, spreadsheets, VRML/WRL files, templates, etc with the book. FOR A FREE SAMPLE... try Simple Shadows PayPal here to buy. Illustrating More Shadows ~ ISBN 0-9765286-9-X ~ Lib Cong 2006930654 This book continues Illustrating Shadows, and focuses on garden dials using common masonry supplies, clay, and glass, with emphasis on many calendar line techniques, and inclined decliners, while providing details on the use of DeltaCAD programming including the animation of many sheets as parameters vary. Sample here. Get CD here. |
| programming DeltaCAD sundials sun dials |
| Book purchase options are here... |
| MAIN VIRTUAL REALITY PAGE [uses the free CORTONA browser plug in] Jaipur in full 3d |
| Email comments or questions to the author at: illustratingshadows at yahoo dot com |
| Programmable graphical but not CAD systems |
| Octave Free, and programmable. I offer a free h-dial and vdec program. And notes on installing and programming it. Closely compatible with the expensive MATLAB. |
| Check the NASS or BSS web link pages. And this here is the most common master list of links, albeit some links may be non existent. |
| Sundial Specific Programs |
| Sundi Free, popular.. |
| SHADOWS Free, as well as a paid for version with extra features. Good graphical depiction. Even though you enter a longitude, it will ignore it unless you tell it to consider longitude. Animated gnomon shadows. |
| ZW2000 Free. very popular.. |
| SciLAB Free, and my page has the usual h-dial, v-decliner, and an almanac. And notes on installing and programming it. |
| Euler Free, and my pages has the same stuff as for Scliab, but I have an animation option. And notes on installing and programming it. |
| Legacy languages |
| COBOL A simple COBOL program along with notes on what free compilers work on Windows XP and on installing it. The ATAN function is not perfect. |
| C and C++ A simple PASCAL program along with notes on using the two free compilers with IDEs and on installing them. Also uses the Free Microsoft VISUAL CPP system. |
| Programmable CAD systems |
| ProgeCAD Free, and programmable using LISP. I offer a free h-dial and vdec program. The LISP programs should run under AUTOCAD. |
| DeltaCAD Around $50, programmable, and there are lots of DeltaCAD sundial macros available. Mine include the first astrolabe program with source code for you to peruse, and mine also are, I believe, the first DeltaCAD macros with animation for shadows and declination lines, hour line angles, and so on. Mine provive many many sundial types, as well as notes on how to program for DeltaCAD. Uses a simple BASIC like language. The benefit of DeltaCAD is its scripting. The DeltaCAD programs on this website are documented to show programming techniques, cover almost all dial types you can conceive of, including the planispheric astrolabe, and notes on programming methods for DeltaCAD. The book Illustrating More Shadows covers many more DeltaCAD programming methods, constraining line techniques, and so on, in much more depth. A programmed almanac is provided, and many dials can animate the calendar lines by latitude, or the shadow of the gnomon. NOTE: I use my own abbreviations as I found no standard ones. h(horizontal), v(vertical), p(polar), m(meridian), z(azimuth), q(equatorial), etc |
| TurboCAD Around $150, but the programmable version needs the Professional upgrade. HINT: Get the low cost deluxe system, and ask for the professional upgrade, saves lots of money. I offer an h-dial and a v-dec dial in VBS. And notes on how to program for TurboCAD. |
| Visual BASIC systems |
| Visual BASIC programs Here are my Visual Basic programs using the free ENVELOP system, the free Microsoft EXPRESS system, and the paid for NET version from Microsoft. And notes on installing and programming it. |
| PalmPilot I offer FREE the standalone programs for an almanac, h and v-dec dials, as well as the same using the PocketC compiler on the PDA itself. I also offer my spreadsheets tailored for the PalmPilot using Documents To Go. And notes on installing and programming it. |
| Spreadsheets and PDA systems |
| Excel Using Microsoft's Excel, as well as the Software602 programs, I offer FREE so many dialing aids that it is hard to describe them. Also offered are smaller Documents To Go versions for the PalmPilot. And notes on installing and programming it. |
| JAVA and Python systems |
| JAVA JAVA programs and notes on how to get JAVA to work for you. However, please check the NASS page for excellent JAVA programs that far exceed mine. Remember, that mine are educational in nature. And notes on installing and programming it. |
| Python The JAVA alternative that is catching on. Here are my programs using Python. And notes on installing and programming it. |
| BASIC Simple BASIC programs along with notes on using the free compiler and on installing it. |
| PASCAL A simple PASCAL program along with notes on using the two free compilers with IDEs and on installing them. |
| FORTRAN A simple FORTRAN program along with notes on using the free compiler and on installing it. |
| Sundial Software is here 2008 free general software is here |