ABSTRACT
Graphics is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as ‘the use of diagrams as a means of calculation’, ‘drawing, painting, engraving, etching, etc., graphic representations’. Computer graphics software for business purposes originated in the United States, and its impact can be seen from the large number of software packages available (Table 5.1). However, the engineer or scientist, who wishes to use slides or overhead transparencies for illustration, often has to adapt business software to suit their specific application. The data entry formats are often very complex and require an inordinate amount of time to master a suite of complex key presses often combining the backslash ‘\’ with one-key commands. To simplify this task, the programs in this book have been prepared so that a newcomer to computer graphics should be able to enter data direct from the keyboard in a simple format.
