GKS workstation and Metafiles

A workstation is a very useful and important concept: GKS uses workstations for input and
output. A workstation is:

a display plus a number of input devices attached to a single line or channel. Workstations have
only a single display surface but may have any number of input devices.

There are three types of workstations:

INPUT only OUTPUT only OUTIN both input and output

The graphics manager will define the workstation types and numbers and provide a list similar to
the table below to the GKS users at that installation.

A mechanism for long term storage of graphical information is the metafile. In GKS this
important type of output device is given a special name - GKSM. The metafile is looked upon as
just being another workstation - either INPUT or OUTPUT type.

Different formats for the metafile could be defined as different number workstations by the
systems manager. This could cater for metafiles that are not produced by GKS but are common
enough to warrant facilities for interpretation / creation of that format.

A GKSM stores type information, data record length information and then the data itself.

GKS offers functions for storing pictures on an external file and for retrieving them from there as
an integral part of the system. Files which are used to store pictures are called graphics metafiles.
Within the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the working group TC97
fSC5fWG2 "Computer Graphics" has set up a metafile subgroup which defines graphics
metafiles as follows [IS081 a]:

Graphics metafile - Definition A graphics metafile is a mechanism for the transfer and storage of
graphics data that is both device- and application-independent. The metafiles which can be used
by GKS are called.the GKS Metafile, GKSM, and the Computer Graphics Metafile, CGM.

GKS metafile (GKSM) - Definition A sequential file that can be written to or read from by GKS;
used for long-term storage (and for transmittal and transferral) of graphical information (this
definition applies to the CGM as well).

The main reasons for the introduction of graphics metafiles in connection with graphics systems
are: The graphics data should be presentable on a number of different display devices. The user
should be able to choose between different plotters, output on microfilm, or display screens to
display his pictures. Graphics data should be retainable for later use. It should be stored in a
device-independent way, so that the output device can be chosen after the data has been
generated. Graphics data should be transportable, both via lines and on a storage medium, e.g., a
tape. Several sources of graphics data exist in most computing environments. Pictures produced
 as a result of picture processing techniques, simulation computations or experimental records,
with different graphics packages, must be merged together into a uniform presentation. Finally, a
way should be provided for editing graphics data which have been previously produced and
stored. Editing means that parts of pictures are changed, deleted, added to, their visualization is
modified, and whole pictures are merged together.

The main impact of graphics metafiles is due to the fact that they are able to interconnect various
graphical devices and graphics systems in a standardized and straightforward way. They allow
cost-efficient use and sharing of expensive graphical equipment. The Graphical Kernel System
GKS has an interface to the metafile. As part of the standard, the GKS document contains a
complete definition of the interface to and from the metafile. However the contents and the
format of the GKSM are described in an appendix which is not part of the standard. This division
was made to let the standardized graphics metafile develop independently of any particular
systems or devices and without any time pressure. Meanwhile the specification of the CGM
(Computer Graphics Metafile for Transfer and Storage of Picture Definition Information) is at a
very advanced stage.

A GKS metafile output workstation has the following characteristics:

1. Output functions are stored if the workstation is active.

2. Attribute functions are stored.
3. Segments are stored if the workstation is active.
4. Geometric data is stored in a form equivalent to NDC.
5. Non-GKS data may be written using the special function WRITE ITEM TO GKSM.

A metafile is regarded by GKS as a sequence of items, each of which has three components:

1. Item type
2. Item data record length
3. Item data record