RenderManʼs Power to Visualizationʼs Rescue

Abstract

Most visualization systems employ a data flow approach in order to create visual representations of data. The data flows along a directed graph through the different components, gets filtered, extracted, analyzed, and finally converted into an image. Most visualization systems use one graphic toolkit or library to create the image. These toolkits and libraries are not created equally; some are better suited than others to solve given problems. Being able to pick and choose would often generate a better result. Within the Spiegel framework any toolkit, which can be used in a Java environment, can be employed to create the image. In this paper, we explain the Spiegel framework and how Pixar's PhotoRealistic RenderMan® can be used to visualize scientific data.