mirror of https://github.com/CGAL/cgal
81 lines
3.4 KiB
Plaintext
81 lines
3.4 KiB
Plaintext
/*!
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\mainpage
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This is the beta version of the %CGAL Manual generated with doxygen.
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As it was generated semi-automatically from LaTeX sources of an
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inhouse documentation tool, followed by months of postprocessing
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we are happy about user feedback how we might improve things and
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where we have documentation bugs.
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For that we have set up a [tracker](https://gforge.inria.fr/tracker/?atid=13845&group_id=52&func=browse) where you can submit documentation bugs.
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During beta we only provide the manual online, so that we can
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publish fixes quickly.
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About %CGAL
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==========
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The goal of the \cgal Open Source Project is to provide easy access to
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efficient and reliable geometric algorithms in the form of a C++
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library. %CGAL is used in various areas needing geometric computation,
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such as: computer graphics, scientific visualization, computer aided
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design and modeling, geographic information systems, molecular
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biology, medical imaging, robotics and motion planning, mesh
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generation, numerical methods... More on the [Projects Using %CGAL](http://www.cgal.org/projects.html) web page.
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The Computational Geometry Algorithms Library offers data structures
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and algorithms like triangulations, Voronoi diagrams, Boolean
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operations on polygons and on polyhedra, arrangements of curves, mesh
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generation, geometry processing, convex hull algorithms, to name just
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a few.
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All these data structures and algorithms operate on geometric objects
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like points and segments, and perform geometric tests on them. These
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objects and predicates are regrouped in \ref PartKernels "CGAL Kernels".
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Finally, the \ref PartSupportLibrary "Support Library" offers geometric object generators and
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spatial sorting functions, as well as a matrix search framework and a
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solver for linear and quadratic programs. It further offers interfaces
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to third party software such as the GUI libraries Qt, Geomview, and
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the Boost Graph Library.
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Organization of the Manual
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==========================
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This manual is organized in several parts covering the many domains
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of computational geometry. Each part consists of several chapters,
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and each chapter is split into a *user manual* and a *reference
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manual*. The user manual gives the general idea and comes with examples.
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The reference manual presents the \sc{Api} of the various classes
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and functions.
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The manual has a package overview, gives a short paragraph what the package is about, what license
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it has, and on which other packages it depends. It further provides
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links to precompiled demo programs for the Windows platform.
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The manual further has a class index, as well as a search box in the upper right of
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each page.
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The scope of the search box is the package you currently look at and the
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packages it depends on, or it is the whole manual when you are in
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a top level page such as the package overview.
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Demos and Examples
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==================
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In the distribution of the library you find the two directories *demo*
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and *examples*. They contain subdirectories for the \cgal packages.
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The demos use third party libraries for the graphical user interface. The
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examples don't have this dependency and most examples are refered to in the
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user manual.
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License
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=======
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%CGAL is distributed under a dual-license scheme. %CGAL can be used
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together with Open Source software free of charge. Using %CGAL in
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other contexts can be done by obtaining a commercial license from
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[GeometryFactory](http://www.geometryfactory.com). For more details
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see the \ref licenseIssues "License" page.
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*/
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