Easiest way for representing 3D data

Hi,
I would like to represent 3D data from calculation. These datas could be for example temperature as a function of (x,y,z) coordinate.
My first question is :

  • is there a free soft that can easily do such job without spending 7 days to make it run ?
    Secondly, if I want to do it using opengl, what kind of routine should I use ? Where can I founbd some examples ?
    Many thanks for yur help

Reivax

To do something like this by yourself, you’d need a fairly in-depth parser to pick apart the function. You may even have to put limits on the functions it can handle, like limit it to f(x,y). From that point, it would be a simple matter to take the output data and map it to the screen. A vertex buffer would probably be fastest, with the possible exception of VBO.

As for software libraries, I don’t know of any offhand which could perform the above task. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any, though, so take a look around.

If all you need is a computerized 3D math tool, there are dozens, most of which are commerical products: MathCAD, Maple, and Mathematica are the three that come to mind immediately. But these are extremely expensive. Other, less expensive and perhaps free software probably exist though.