Introduction to the Khoros Visualizations Tools

1. What is Khoros?
   1. Cantata: Visual Programming Environment
   2. Editimage: Display and Modify an Image
   3. Xprism2: Plot a pre-defined set of points in two dimensions
   4. Xprism3: Plot a pre-defined set of points in three dimensions
   5. Animate: Display a video animation
   6. Warpimage: interactive image warping
   7. Viewimage: imagery/elevation display package

2. Setup your Environment
   1. Environment Variables
   2. Paths
   3. X Defaults

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What is Khoros?

• Khoros is a software integration and development environment that provides a set of interacting packages to facilitate the development and use of visualization tools.
• Capability to execute applications on a distributed network of computers.
• Khoros is distributed via Internet as Free Access Software.
• On-line manuals available in:
  • /u/khoros/manual/vol1
  • /u/khoros/manual/vol2
  • /u/khoros/manual/vol3
• An estimated 20,000 people now use Khoros.
• The Khoros Consortium: A group of over 25 government and commercial orginizations that oversee the technical direction of Khoros.
• Click here for the khoros man page.

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Using Khoros Routines: Command Line Interface

• Khoros routines can be invoked as individual programs from the command line.
• Typically, the -i flag indicates an input file and the -o flag indicates an output file.
• The -U flag (usage) produces a short description of the program and the required and optional arguments.
• The -P causes the program to prompt you for the arguments one by one.
• List of routines available in /u/khoros/binibm or /u/khoros/binsgi.
• Unix man pages available in /u/khoros/man.

Cantata: Visual Programming Environment

• Cantata is the integration of a data flow visual language with a GUI design tool; primarily a data flow diagram editor.
• The visual programmer writes programs by connecting operators (glyphs) to form a data flow graph (into a level 1 application).
  • Nodes represent processing routines from Khoros libraries.
  • Tokens represent data to be processed.
• The visual data flow graph is interpreted dynamically to schedule operators and dispatch them to processes.
  In the data-driven model, execution of a node occurs whenever all its input data tokens are available.
• Data-dependent and Control-dependent program flow is possible with control operators such as if/else, while, count, and trigger.
• Local on-line help is provided by clicking on the HELP button.
• Click here for the cantata man page.

What Does Cantata Look Like?

• Cantata Main Window

• Cantata On-line Help Window

• Cantata Routines Window

• Example workspaces:
  • cantata -restore /u/khoros/repos/workspace/examples/example1
  • cantata -restore /u/khoros/repos/workspace/examples/example2
  • cantata -restore /u/khoros/repos/workspace/examples/example3

Cantata Master Form Window

Master Form Action Buttons

• RUN: Executes the entire flow graph of glyphs.
• RESET: Resets all glyphs so the entire flow-graph will be re-executed during the next run.
• REDRAW: Refreshes the lines and nodes of the flow graph.
• ROUTINES: Gives the user access to Khoros programs by name.
• HELP: Displays the master form documentation.
• QUIT: Exit from cantata. Upon exit you will be prompted if you want to save the contents of the workspace. Named workspaces can be restored by typing "cantata -restore workspace_name".

Program Subforms

Program Utilities, Input Sources, Conversions, Image Processing, Signal Processing, Output, Arithmetic, Image Analysis.

Interaction Subforms

• Edit: various functions of the interactive visual editor.
• Workspace:
• Variables: used to define variables and evaluate expressions.

Program Subforms: Histogram

• The Histogram subform can be selected from image processing subform along the top of the Master Form.
• Each subform consists of the guide pane in the leftmost section of the subform, and the pane section in the rightmost section.
• The Guide Pane is the leftmost portion of a subform. It contains a list of the specific programs abvailable in that subform. Clicking on a guide button will fill the pane section (to the right) with the appropriate program.
  1. Determine Histogram
  2. Histogram Equalization
  3. Histogram Stretch
• The Help button on the left side of the Histogram subform provides info on the various histogram programs available. Click here to see the help window.
• The pane section (to the right) is where most input of parameter information takes place. When a specific program is selected from the guide pane, the corresponding pane section appears with required and optional parameters.
  • Text Selections, Sliders, Filenames (file browser), Logicals, Optionals
• The Help button on the right side of the Histogram subform provides info on specific historgram programs.
• The Glyph button makes a small icon of the subform which then can be used in a data flow graph.

Glyph Icons and Bitmaps

• The subform glyph has several icons that act as action buttons:
  • The "bomb" (top-left) bitmap deletes the glyph.
  • The "subform" (top-middle) bitmap brings back the subform that the glyph represents.
  • The "on/off" (top-right) bitmap executes the glyph, or if it is running stops the glyph.
• When the glyph fails for any reason, a "unhappy face" bitmap will appear in the center. Clicking on this icon will pop-up the error message.
• Glyphs contain input and output connections.
  • Input buttons have arrows which point into the glyph.
  • Output buttons have arrows which point out of the glyph.
  • Dark arrows correspond to required parameters for that routine.
  • Light arrows correspond to optional parameters.
• Connections between glyphs are made by clicking on the output button of one glyph and then on the input button of another glyph.
• The resultant visual program may be run by clicking the on switch on each glyph, or by using the RUN action button on the master form.

Misc. Programming in Cantata

• You may create a new procedure from a cantata data flow graph by selecting the icons in the procedure and then clicking on Create ProcedureEdit Menu.
• You may save a set of glyphs by first selecting them abd then clicking on Save Glyphs of the Edit Menu.
• The COMMAND glyph off the PROGRAM UTILITIES menu can be used to execute an arbitrary Unix command.
• Flow Control statements can be found off the PROGRAM UTILITIES menu.

Editimage

• Editimage is an interactive image display, examination, and manipulation tool.
• Editimage accepts any Khoros VIFF file as input
• Click here to see what editimage looks like.
• Click here for the editimage man page.
• DISPLAY UTILITIES
  • Zoom on Image: Zooming in on an entire image or on selected regions of the image.
  • Print Pixel Values: Pixel values of 5 by 5 regions may be displayed with respect to the current color space.
  • Interactive LUT: The image's look up table (LUT) may be interactively manipulated.
  • Psuedo Color: Pseudo coloring may be performed interactively.
  • Windowing/Threshold: Windowing and Thresholding may be done on an image.
  • CHANGE BANDS: For multiband images, the currently displayed band may be changed.
  • OVERLAY IMAGE: Bit images may be overlaid onto the displayed image.
• IMAGE UTILITIES
  • Input/Output: Input and output of images, as well as input of a colormap from another image to be used by the displayed image
  • Region of Interest: Region of Interest (ROI) operations with which a portion on an image may be extracted or inserted; also the ability to perform image processing routines on the specified region of interest.
  • Colormaps: Standard colormap conversions, with a choice of 11 predefined colormaps
  • Annotate: Annotations that can be added to the displayed image, including circles, rectangles, text, polygons, and lines.
• Examples
  • editimage -i $KHOROS_HOME/data/images/moon.xv
  • editimage -i $KHOROS_HOME/data/images/lizard.xv

Xprism2

• Xprism2 is a 2D plotting package for use independently or with other parts of Khoros.
• Click here to see what xprism2 looks like.
• Click here for the xprism2 man page.
• Subforms
  • Plot: Used to create and display plots.
  • Options: Used to customize a plot.
  • Annotations:
  • Output: Used to send a plot to a printer or save as a VIFF file.
  • Answer Files:
• Action Buttons
  • PLOT INFO: Used to get statistics about a plot.
  • REFRESH: Used to redraw the workspace.
  • CLEAR: Used to completely clear the workspace.
  • HIDE: Used to hide one or more plots.
  • DELETE: Used to delete one or more plots.
  • RESET: Used to reset the axes to a certain plot.
  • HELP: Displays documentation.
  • QUIT: Exit from Xprism2.
• Examples
  • xprism2 -i11 $KHOROS_HOME/data/plot_functions/example2.0
  • xprism2 -i11 $KHOROS_HOME/data/plot_functions/example2.1
  • xprism2 -i11 $KHOROS_HOME/data/plot_functions/example2.2
  • xprism2 -i11 $KHOROS_HOME/data/plot_functions/example2.3

Xprism3

• Xprism3 is a 3D plotting package for use independently or with other parts of Khoros. It features 3D, mesh, contour, surface, color mesh, impulse and Scatter Plots.
• Click here to see what xprism3 looks like.
• Click here for the xprism3 man page.
• Subforms
  • Plot: Used to create and display plots.
  • Options: Used to customize a plot.
  • Annotations:
  • Output: Used to send a plot to a printer or save as a VIFF file.
  • Answer Files:
• Action Buttons
  • PLOT INFO: Used to get statistics about a plot.
  • REFRESH: Used to redraw the workspace.
  • CLEAR: Used to completely clear the workspace.
  • HIDE: Used to hide one or more plots.
  • DELETE: Used to delete one or more plots. >LI>PERSPECTIVE: Used to change the view perspective.
  • RESET: Used to reset the axes to a certain plot.
  • HELP: Displays documentation.
  • QUIT: Exit from Xprism2.
• Examples
  • xprism3 -i11 $KHOROS_HOME/data/plot_functions/example3.0
  • xprism3 -i11 $KHOROS_HOME/data/plot_functions/example3.1
  • xprism3 -i11 $KHOROS_HOME/data/plot_functions/example3.2
  • xprism3 -i11 $KHOROS_HOME/data/plot_functions/example3.3
  • xprism3 -i11 $KHOROS_HOME/data/plot_functions/example3.4
  • xprism3 -i11 $KHOROS_HOME/data/plot_functions/example3.5

Animate

• Animate is an interactive image sequence display tool.
  • May input an image with several bands and sequence through those bands.
  • May provide a basename that describes a set of single-band images.
• Animate can be executed from within cantata, or directly from the command line.
• Click here to see what animate looks like.
• Click here for the animate man page.
• Animate's display functions include:
  • Forward and reverse sequencing.
  • Different sequencing mechanisms (looping, one time, auto reverse).
  • Sequencing speed.
• Recommended images for use with animate can be found in $KHOROS_HOME/data/sequences.
• The minimum syntax specification to run animate from the command line is:
  • animate -i filename
  • animate -base basename
• Examples
  • animate -i $KHOROS_HOME/data/sequences/bush/bushes

Warpimage

• Warpimage is a new, experimental program which allows one to create tiepoints in a source image and target image, and warp the source image based on the tiepoint selections.
• Click here to see what warpimage looks like.
• Click here for the warpimage man page.
• Examples:
  • warpimage -src img.xv -target ele.xv

Viewimage

• Viewimage is an interactive imagery/elevation display package.
• Viewimage combines the capability of the xprism3 plotting package and the editimage display package.
• Click here for the viewimage man page.
• Examples:
  • viewimage -i feath.eye -e flow.eye

The Kraftsman Toolbox Manager

• A Toolbox is a collection of programs that are managed independently from the rest of the work group's software.
• Allows the work group to partition responsibilities and eliminate dependencies.
• The kraftsman user may perform several operations on the toolbox:
  1. open
  2. close
  3. pack
  4. unpack
  5. delete
  6. move
  7. install
  8. copy
• Click here for the kraftsman man page.

The Composer Program Manager

• A toolbox is composed of several program objects. Each program object consists of:
  1. Source code.
  2. User Interface Specification.
  3. Documentation.
  4. Configuration files.
• Composer provides convenient access to all the program object components and the operations needed to be performed on each of them.
• Click here to see what composer looks like.
• Click here for the composer man page.

The concert Groupware System

• Concert is a collaboration program, with which two or more people may "share" the execution of one of the main Khoros xvroutines: animate, cantata, editimage, putimage, warpimage, viewimage, xprism2, or xprism3.
• When concert is used, the specified application program will appear on all the displays that are indicated, and the same execution of the program will be reflected on each display.
• Click here for the concert man page.

Toolboxes

• Application Specific Toolboxes (developed by the Khoros group)
  1. Image Processing
  2. Data Visualization
  3. Geometry Visualization
  4. Format Conversion
  5. Data Manipulation
  6. Numerical Analysis
• Khoros Foundation Toolbox

Setting up your Environment

Environment Variables

1. KHOROS_HOME: the root directory where khoros is stored. At the MHPCC, type:
   setenv KHOROS_HOME /u/khoros

	/u/khoros/dotfiles/khoros_env

Paths

• If you are on an IBM machine at the MHPCC:
  set path = ($path $KHOROS_HOME/binibm)
• If you are on an SGI machine at the MHPCC:
  set path = ($path $KHOROS_HOME/binsgi)

X Defaults

xrdb /u/khoros/dotfiles/Xdefaults.snazzy

xrdb /u/khoros/dotfiles/Xdefaults.mono

Last revised: 1/3/95 Blaise Barney