PYFORMEX(1)						      text and X11 processing						       PYFORMEX(1)

NAME

       pyformex - generate and transform 3D geometry using Python scripts

SYNOPSIS

	  pyformex [options] [ [ file [args] ] ...]

DESCRIPTION

       This manual page documents briefly the pyformex command.

       pyFormex  is a program for generating, transforming and manipulating large geometrical models of 3D structures by sequences of mathematical
       operations. Thanks to a powerful (Python based) scripting language, pyFormex is very well suited for the automated design of spatial  frame
       structures.  It	provides a wide range of operations on surface meshes, like STL type triangulated surfaces. There are provisions to import
       medical scan images. pyFormex can also be used as a pre- and post-processor for Finite Element analysis programs. Finally, it might be used
       just for creating some nice graphics.

       Using  pyFormex,  the  topology	of the elements and the final geometrical form can be decoupled. Often, topology is created first and then
       mapped onto the geometry. Through the scripting language, the user can define any sequence of transformations, built from provided or  user
       defined functions. This way, building parametric models becomes a natural thing.

       While  pyFormex	is  still under development, it already provides a fairly stable scripting language and an OpenGL GUI environment for dis-
       playing and manipulating the generated structures.

OPTIONS

       The pyformex command follows the usual GNU command line syntax, with long options starting with two dashes ('-'). The non-option  arguments
       are  filenames of existing pyFormex scripts, possibly followed by arguments, that will be executed by the pyFormex engine. If a script file
       uses arguments, it is responsible for removing the arguments from the list.

       A summary of the most important options is included below.  A complete overview is can be found from the 'pyformex -h' command. For a  com-
       plete  description  of  the  use  and  operation  of pyFormex, see the online documentation at http://pyformex.org/doc or the documentation
       included with the distribution.

       --gui  start the GUI (default if no file argument is given)

       --nogui
	      do not load the GUI (default if a file argument is given)

       --interactive, -i
	      Go into interactive mode after processing the command line parameters. This is implied by the --gui option.

       --config=<file>
	      Read configuration settings from <file>, if it exists.

       --nodefaultconfig
	      Skip the default site and user config files. This option can only be used in conjunction with the --config option.

       --redirect
	      Redirect standard output to the message board (ignored with --nogui)

       --debug
	      display debugging info to standard output

       --whereami
	      Show where the pyformex package is installed and exit

       --detect
	      Show detected helper software and exit

       --version
	      Show the program's version number and exit.

       --help, -h
	      Show the help message and exit.

SEE ALSO

       http://pyformex.org/doc/

AUTHORS

       pyFormex is developed by Benedict Verhegghe with the help of the other pyFormex project members: Gianluca De Santis, Francesco  Iannaccone,
       Peter Mortier, Tomas Praet, Sofie Van Cauter, Wenxuan Zhou.

AUTHOR

       Benedict Verhegghe <benedict.verhegghe@ugent.be>. This manual page was written for the Debian project (and may be used by others).

COPYRIGHT

       GPL v3 or higher

0.1								    2011-12-29							       PYFORMEX(1)