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1 Introduction

This manual documents 3DLDF 2.0. The most important difference between release 2.0 and previous releases is that 3DLDF 2.0 is an interactive program, whereas in previous releases, 3DLDF was more like a library of C++ functions that users could use in their own programs to make drawings.

Now, 3DLDF implements a language similar to the METAFONT language, and in particular the MetaPost language derived from it.

For several years, interactive versions of 3DLDF have been available for downloading from the Savannah website: https://savannah.gnu.org/projects/3dldf/. However, 2.0 is the first release that includes this feature.

One result of this is that the old manual for releases through 1.1.5.1 is largely obsolete, as far as the usage of 3DLDF is concerned. The reference sections, documenting the classes, functions, etc., are still usable for those who want to know the details of how the program works, though many descriptions may be out-of-date because of changes made in the meantime. On the other hand, the reference sections are longer needed for just using the program. The old manual is included in the distribution in the directory 3DLDF-2.0/doc/old_doc/.

The code for scanning and parsing, i.e., that which implements the interpreter that makes the program interactive, is of course not documented in the old manual at all.

To document the new, interactive version of 3DLDF, it would therefore be necessary to write a completely new manual. Unfortunately, it has not been possible for the author to do this, which is the main reason that there has been no new release for so many years. In order not to delay it any longer, he has decided to make a release without rewriting the manual, although this is clearly not ideal.

As a partial substitute, release 2.0 contains the directory 3DLDF-2.0/examples/ with many examples which can used to learn how to use the 3DLDF language. In addition, the directory 3DLDF-2.0/src/ contains the files sample.ldf, sample.ldf, sample0.ldf, sample1.ldf and sample2.ldf.


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