Where is M13? - version 1.2

I have just released version 1.2 of "Where is M13?". New features include:

1. Scrolling and zooming of the Galactic View.
2. A Galactic Map that shows the night sky plotted in galactic coordinates.
3. The object lists can now be sorted in by the various physical properties
of the objects.

It is a free, cross-platform Java application available for Windows, Mac and
Linux (or other Unix). You may read about it and download the latest version
at:

http://www.thinkastronomy.com/software/software.html

This is still a free version. A commercial version is in the works that will
have a more extensive object catalog and printing abilities.

I would be most interested in your comments.

--
Bill Tschumy
Think Astronomy -- Austin, TX
http://www.thinkastronomy.com

Bill Tschumy wrote:
I would be most interested in your comments.

I'm using it under Linux (Fedora Core 3). One of the messages that
comes out is "Didn't recognize object type: Double star." So M40 does
not show up.

That reminds me that one thing I wish that this had was a way to show
all of the Messier objects in one list, regardless of object type.

Still, very nicely done.

--
Brian Tung
The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/
The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.html

On Sat, 18 Feb 2006 15:11:48 -0600, Brian Tung wrote
(in article ):

Bill Tschumy wrote:
I would be most interested in your comments.

I'm using it under Linux (Fedora Core 3). One of the messages that
comes out is "Didn't recognize object type: Double star." So M40 does
not show up.

Yeah, I don't have a category for double stars (since there is only one in
the Messier list) so I treat this as unrecognized. Just ignore this
debugging message for now.


That reminds me that one thing I wish that this had was a way to show
all of the Messier objects in one list, regardless of object type.

I still haven't decided the most useful way to partition the data. I will
have other object catalogs soon, but the problem is that distance estimates
are not available for most objects in most catalogs. I think I can get good
data for the Caldwell objects and for certain NGC objects (globulars in
particular).

What I'm thinking of doing is to have filters rather than the tabs. You
would be able to set filters to show the type of objects displayed in the
list as well as the catalogs to draw from.


Still, very nicely done.

Thanks. Glad to hear it actually works on Linux as I didn't get a chance to
test it there sheepish grin.

--
Bill Tschumy
Think Astronomy -- Austin, TX
http://www.thinkastronomy.com

Just for your info, my Atari TT030 has a total of ZERO java of anykind on
it. None was ever set up to run with the TOS OS and it's GEM interface.


--

The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond
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www.sidewalkastronomy.info
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http://www.cafepress.com/astronomy_net
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"Paul Schlyter" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Bill Tschumy wrote:

I have just released version 1.2 of "Where is M13?". New features
include:

1. Scrolling and zooming of the Galactic View.
2. A Galactic Map that shows the night sky plotted in galactic
coordinates.
3. The object lists can now be sorted in by the various physical
properties
of the objects.

Nice program...


...however:

It is a free, cross-platform Java application available for Windows, Mac
and
Linux (or other Unix).

...it is NOT, repeat, NOT, a cross-platform program! Your program runs
only
on one single platform: the Java platform. Probably it won't run on any
Java
version though, so a list of the Java versions you've found your program
to
successfully run on would be interesting.

Of course the Java platform is emulated on a number of other platforms,
such
as the ones you listed above (plus some more) -- that's why Java code so
often
is falsely claimed to be "cross-platform". However, being emulated on
other
platforms is no unique property of the Java platform. There are several
emulators of Windows running on several Unices for instance. And CygWin
is a
fairly good emulator of Unix running on Windows. And a growing number of
old 8-bit microcomputers are nowadays emulated on modern computers - quite
often those emulations can run much faster than the original hardware.
So,
by that "Java = cross-platform" logic, most Windows and most Unix
programs,
plus most programs for old 8-bit microcomputers, are "cross-platform" -
just
because their native platform can be emulated on other platforms.


You may read about it and download the latest version at:

http://www.thinkastronomy.com/software/software.html

This is still a free version. A commercial version is in the works that
will
have a more extensive object catalog and printing abilities.

I would be most interested in your comments.

See above.

--
----------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Schlyter, Grev Turegatan 40, SE-114 38 Stockholm, SWEDEN
e-mail: pausch at stockholm dot bostream dot se
WWW: http://stjarnhimlen.se/

On Sun, 19 Feb 2006 04:43:00 -0600, Paul Schlyter wrote
(in article ):

In article ,
Bill Tschumy wrote:


snip


It is a free, cross-platform Java application available for Windows, Mac
and
Linux (or other Unix).

...it is NOT, repeat, NOT, a cross-platform program! Your program runs only
on one single platform: the Java platform. Probably it won't run on any Java
version though, so a list of the Java versions you've found your program to
successfully run on would be interesting.

Gee Paul, did I hit one of your hot buttons?

I said it runs cross-platform on Windows, Mac and Unix. I never claimed it
ran on any platform in existence. You are technically correct that it only
runs on the Java platform, but since the Java platform runs on all modern
OS's I think you are being a bit pedantic.

My web site does indicate it runs on Java 1.3 or higher. No, I haven't
tested on every possible permutation of OS and Java version, but I've done
enough that I feel comfortable with that statement.

--
Bill Tschumy
Think Astronomy -- Austin, TX
http://www.thinkastronomy.com

Bill Tschumy wrote:
I have just released version 1.2 of "Where is M13?". New features include:

1. Scrolling and zooming of the Galactic View.
2. A Galactic Map that shows the night sky plotted in galactic coordinates.
3. The object lists can now be sorted in by the various physical properties
of the objects.

It is a free, cross-platform Java application available for Windows, Mac and
Linux (or other Unix). You may read about it and download the latest version
at:

http://www.thinkastronomy.com/software/software.html

This is still a free version. A commercial version is in the works that will
have a more extensive object catalog and printing abilities.

I would be most interested in your comments.


Hey. You fixed the initial sizing. It actually works on my
machine now.

Still a problem, though. When I use the slider to change the scale,
the connector to the object can replicate across the screen (it
looks like many lines simulataneously); when I move the
position, it will, after some [unknown to me, just now] action,
go back to the single connector.

Bill Tschumy wrote:
I have just released version 1.2 of "Where is M13?". New features include:
snip
http://www.thinkastronomy.com/software/software.html
snip

Runs fine under Windows XP Prof v5.1 (Build 2600 SP2)
JSRE2 5.0 Runtime

Thanks for using Java Environment.

The Windows precomplied executable was much easier to install and run
than the java files distribution for Windows in v1.

- Canopus56

On Sun, 19 Feb 2006 15:29:15 -0600, Richard F.L.R.Snashall wrote
(in article ):

Hey. You fixed the initial sizing. It actually works on my
machine now.

Great!


Still a problem, though. When I use the slider to change the scale,
the connector to the object can replicate across the screen (it
looks like many lines simulataneously); when I move the
position, it will, after some [unknown to me, just now] action,
go back to the single connector.

I think this may not be a bug, but it is a bit hard to tell from your
description. Were you showing all the galaxies at once by any chance? When
the scale is such that a galaxy (or other dso) won't fix on the scrollable
canvas, I draw a grey line to the object to show its direction. When all
galaxies are shown, changing scale can go from many lines to just a few to
one and back again as you zoom the opposite direction. Is that what you're
seeing?

If you still think this is a real bug, please contact me via email if you
don't mind.
--
Bill Tschumy
Think Astronomy -- Austin, TX
http://www.thinkastronomy.com

"Bill Tschumy" wrote in message
om...
On Sun, 19 Feb 2006 04:43:00 -0600, Paul Schlyter wrote
(in article ):

In article ,
Bill Tschumy wrote:


snip


It is a free, cross-platform Java application available for Windows, Mac
and
Linux (or other Unix).

...it is NOT, repeat, NOT, a cross-platform program! Your program runs
only
on one single platform: the Java platform. Probably it won't run on any
Java
version though, so a list of the Java versions you've found your program
to
successfully run on would be interesting.

Gee Paul, did I hit one of your hot buttons?

I said it runs cross-platform on Windows, Mac and Unix. I never claimed
it
ran on any platform in existence. You are technically correct that it
only
runs on the Java platform, but since the Java platform runs on all modern
OS's I think you are being a bit pedantic.

My web site does indicate it runs on Java 1.3 or higher. No, I haven't
tested on every possible permutation of OS and Java version, but I've done
enough that I feel comfortable with that statement.

--
Bill Tschumy
Think Astronomy -- Austin, TX
http://www.thinkastronomy.com


There are so many buttons in the world of software development...

-p

Paul Schlyter wrote:
...it is NOT, repeat, NOT, a cross-platform program! Your program runs only
on one single platform: the Java platform. Probably it won't run on any Java
version though, so a list of the Java versions you've found your program to
successfully run on would be interesting.

I get what you're saying, Paul. But "cross-platform" is
not a very precise term, even within the software
development and computer science communities.

If I were writing a formal article, I would say something
like "runs on the virtual machine, in any environment
with an implementation of that virtual machine that
passes the standard test suite." That applies to
old software like the Pascal p-machine, the Smalltalk
virtual machine, and hundreds more. It's true, as you
say, that not all Java implementations are equal
(F'r instance, Oracle certifies several JVMs as compatible
with its products, but it's possible to write Oracle programs
that won't run under some of those JVMs).

It's common for people to say "cross-platform"
when they mean "load it and it should run." I think
that's the sense that Bill intended. That's good enough
for ordinary needs.

--
Glenn Holliday