The 3D alpha shapes software consists of four programs

SOFTWARE

The 3D alpha shapes software consists of four programs:

+ Delcx --- 3D (weighted) Delaunay complex,
+ Mkalf --- 3D alpha shape file and data structure,
+ Alvis --- 3D alpha shape visualizer, and
+ Volbl --- Measuring union of balls and voids.

The first two programs, Delcx and Mkalf, pre-process the data, and Alvis
visualizes the results interactively. The fourth program, Volbl, measures
the union of spherical balls dual to the alpha shape; it is aimed at
computational biology applications modeling molecules. Execute any of
these programs without arguments to get a list of available command-line
arguments. The programs are now described in more detail.

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SHORT TOUR

Let us assume that you have a hardcopy of this document on your desk, next to
your Silicon Graphics workstation. Now go to the demo directory of the alpha
shape distribution; for example:

% cd /usr/local/alpha/demo

This directory should at least consist of the following files:

% ls -F
alvis@
delcx@
mkalf@
molecule
torus
volbl@

The torus data consists of points generated in a regular fashion on the
surface of a torus; it will serve as demo data.

In case your demo directory already contains the files torus.dt, torus.alf,
and torus.info, you can jump ahead and start Alvis by typing:

% alvis torus

Otherwise, you should follow the instructions step by step.