Introduction to FAST

FAST, a popular software package at the Institute, was designed for computational fluid dynamics, but it can be used to display contours, isosurfaces, vector fields, and particle traces. Annotation and animation is easy. Fast outputs SGI's rgb images as well as Postscript.

Data files may be structured (grids, rectangular or curvilinear) or unstructured (finite element triangulations) and must be in the PLOT3D format. The files can be binary, produced either by C or FORTRAN programs, or text files.

A script of the FAST session can be saved and edited.

FAST is installed on all SGI workstations at the Institute.

• Data Formats

  

  20 10
  2.000000 1.972723 1.891634 1.758948 1.578281 
  1.354563 1.093896 0.803391 0.490971 0.165159 
  -0.165159 -0.490971 -0.803391 -1.093896 -1.354563 
  -1.578281 -1.758948 -1.891634 -1.972723 -2.000000 
  4.000000 3.945445 3.783269 3.517895 3.156562 
  2.709126 2.187793 1.606782 0.981942 0.330317 
  -0.330317 -0.981942 -1.606782 -2.187793 -2.709126 
  -3.156562 -3.517895 -3.783269 -3.945445 -4.000000 
         .
         .
         .
  
  
  

• Getting Started/Reading Data Files

  

• Contours
  

• Vectors

  

• Particle Traces

  

• Isosurfaces and Plane Cuts
  

• Annotation
  

• Scripts

  #----------------------------------------------------
  # File written from FAST (Version 1.1a)
  # Module FAST_HUB (Version 1.1a)
  # File created: Tue Feb 13 16:38:46 1996
  #
  # No user comments should be placed above this header
  #----------------------------------------------------
  file_IO: FILE_FORMAT FORMATTED
  file_IO: FILE_ATTRIBUTE 2D ON
  file_IO: READ_FILE /n/wrk/fast/test.g
  file_IO: FILE_TYPE FUNCTION
  file_IO: READ_FILE /n/wrk/fast/test.f
  viewer: MODULE_START Surfer
  surfer: RENDER CONTOUR_LINES
  surfer: RENDER SMOOTH_POLYGONS
  viewer: FIND_OBJECTS
  viewer: START_TRANSFORM 1
  viewer: SET_VIEW GROUP RELATIVE SCREEN_TRANSLATE 0.000000 0.000000 -0.065017
  viewer: SET_VIEW GROUP RELATIVE SCREEN_TRANSLATE 0.000000 0.000000 -0.065017