Light++ Availability

Light++ is designed to be a C++ class library. This means that there is no `binary' or `executable', which parses some `scenery description file'. Instead, the user has to provide some C++ main() program which sets up the C++ raytracing objects.

In this sense, the scenery input language is C++ itself, therefore empowering the writer of some scenery description with the full power of C++, at the same time eliminating any parsing overhead. Still, the scenery description is very simple, but it may also be a complex C++ program or be an integrated part of some large C++ application.

Therefore, Light++ needs to be compiled by the user from the source code. Light++ source code is available under the Light++ Copyright License:

download linkcreated at

Please keep in mind that Light++ is neither GNU nor OpenSource (see the copyright notice for details), but it's intentionally free for personal and academic use. Please ask in case of questions.

Installation

Once you have downloaded Light++, you will find that there is no "configure" and no "make install" rule. Just do a make instead, all supported platforms are pre-configured anyway, and installation of Light++ doesn't make too much sense as this is a user-library, not a system library. If you want to work with Light++, better just go into the 3D/demo subdirectory and start with modifying one of the existing examples there, e.g. by copying its subdirectory. For simplicity, just stay in 3D/demo/ - it is possible to compile from another directory with the used make system, but not conventiently supported.

Make system

An always reoccurring problem is the compatibility of various libraries when merging them to a larger application. Light++'s make system was designed to be as generic as possible, and is available as separate distribution. It is encouraged to use this make system also for other applications, as it provides some features which make interfacing between libraries easier, beneath some other goodies.