The Implementation of a Standard Computer Graphics Package - Graphical Kernel System

Abstract

Computer graphics is a field whose time has come. In the past, it was an esoteric specialty involving expensive display hardware and idiosyncratic software. Recently, hardware has become more readily available, and efforts have been made to develop graphics software standards, which help make graphics programming rational and straightforward. The Graphical Kernel System (GKS) is rapidly gaining acceptance as a worldwide standard for computer graphics. The International Standards Organization (ISO) is in the final stages of converting GKS from its current status as a Draft International Standard (DIS) to an International Standard. This report presents an overview of GKS and also discusses a subroutine library, that has been developed for use at McMaster University and is equivalent to ”0a" GKS (the lowest level of GKS). This library, called GKSLIB, is written in FORTRAN 77, and could be used by a programmer to support a wide range of two-dimensional, passive graphics applications.