What to do if you don't have POV-Ray
------------------------------------

This documentation assumes you already have POV-Ray installed and running 
however the POV-Team does distribute this file by itself in various formats 
including online on the internet. If you don't have POV-Ray or aren't sure you 
have the official version or the latest version, then the following sections 
will tell you what to get and where to get it.


Which Version of POV-Ray should you use?
----------------------------------------

POV-Ray can be used under Windows 95 or later, Windows NT or later, Apple 
Macintosh Power PC, Linux. If you can compile your own version you can also 
get it on other platforms such as most Unixes. Some unix vendors even make 
available pre-built versions of POV-Ray.

The latest versions of the necessary files are available on our web site at 
http://www.povray.org/ and through various CD distributions such as the IRTC 
CDROM's (see our website). See the section "Where to Find POV-Ray Files" for 
more info. If your platform is not supported and you are proficient in 
compiling source code programs written in C, see the section "Compiling 
POV-Ray" for more information.

Microsoft Windows 95/NT and later
---------------------------------

The Windows version runs under Windows 95/98/ME/NT4/2000 and XP.

Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups are no longer supported.

Required hardware and software:
 Minimum - 486/100 with 16mb RAM and Windows 95.
 Disk space - 20 megabytes
 
Required POV-Ray files:
 User archive POVWIN36.EXE - a self-extracting archive
   containing the program, sample scenes, standard include
   files and documentation.
 
Recommended:
 Pentium 4 or later with 256mb and Windows 2000 or later.
 XGA display high color or true color ability.
 (Note: accelerated graphics hardware will not improve performance.)
 
Optional:
 The source code is not needed to use POV-Ray. It is provided for
   the curious and adventurous.

 POVWIN_S.ZIP --- The C source code for POV-Ray for Windows.
   Contains generic parts and Windows specific parts. It does
   not include sample scenes, standard include files and
   documentation so you should also get the executable archive.
   
Linux for Intel x86
-------------------

The PC-Linux version should run on any GNU/Linux distribution based on the
kernel 2.2 series or above using the ELF 32-bit format for executables.
The binary is fully static, meaning that it has no external dependencies
to system or third-party libraries.  It includes support for two kinds of
display: the standard text-based display and the graphics display using
either the X Window System or the SVGA library.

Required hardware and software:
 An Intel Pentium-compatible CPU (i586 or better) and at least 32 MB of RAM.
 About 20 MB of disk space to install the program, its documentation,
   scenes and standard include files.
 A text editor capable of editing plain ASCII text files.
 Graphic file viewer capable of viewing image formats such as
   PNG, TIFF, PPM or TGA.

Required POV-Ray files:
 povlinux-3.6.tgz or povlinux-3.6.tar.gz - archive containing an official
   binary combining text, SVGALib and X Window displays.  Also contains
   sample scenes, standard include files and documentation in HTML and
   plain ASCII text.

Recommended:
 Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon XP (faster the better)
 128 MB (text console) / 256 MB (X Window running a window manager) or more
   RAM.
 A recent GNU/Linux distribution with kernel 2.4.x or above running KDE 3.x
   for full POV-Ray integration in the window manager.  Alternatively, SVGA
   display preferably with VESA interface and high color or true color ability.
   (Note: accelerated graphics hardware will not improve performance.)

Optional:
 povray-3.6.tgz or povray-3.6.tar.gz - archive containing the generic
   UNIX/Linux C++ source code of POV-Ray for UNIX.  The source code
   is not needed to use POV-Ray.  It is provided for the curious and
   adventurous.  The archive contains generic Unix parts and Linux
   specific parts (namely: support for SVGAlib).  This package does
   also include sample scenes, standard include files and documentation.
   For displaying purposes, the SVGAlib and X11 (X Window) includes and
   libraries can be used by the source code of POV-Ray for UNIX.
   See below for further details.

Apple Macintosh
---------------

The Macintosh version runs under Apple's Mac OS operating system version 9.2 
or newer with CarbonLib 1.6 or newer installed. Note that we no longer 
support 68K based Macintosh computers. POV-Ray 3.6 requires a Power Macintosh!

A Power Macintosh is any iMac, iBook, Mac G3, Mac G4, Mac G5, Cube, any older 
Mac with a four digit model number (i.e. 5200, 6300, 7200, 8100, 9600) and any 
third party computer running Mac OS 9.2 or later. Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later are 
supported but for maximum render speed it is not recommended to use Mac OS X.

Required hardware and software:
 Power Macintosh computer with at least 30 MB of free RAM.
 Mac OS 9.2 or newer.
 CarbonLib 1.6.
 About 25 MB free disk space to install and an additional 5-10
   MB free space for your own creations (scenes and images).
 Graphic file viewer utility capable of viewing Mac PICT, GIF
   and perhaps TGA and PNG formats (the shareware
   GraphicConverter or GIFConverter applications are good.)

Required POV-Ray files:
 POVPMAC.SIT or POVPMAC.HQX - a StuffIt archive containing
   the native Power Macintosh application, sample scenes,
   standard include files and documentation.

Recommended:
 Power Macintosh G3 with 64 MB or more of free RAM.
 Mac OS 9.2 or newer.
 CarbonLib 1.6 (works with Mac OS 8.6 or newer) to access all
   features of the Mac frontend. CarbonLib 1.6 is available
   for free download from Apple in the software update section
   of the Apple website.
 Color monitor with millions of colors.

Optional:
The source code is not needed to use POV-Ray. It is provided for
the curious and adventurous. POV-Ray can be compiled using
Metrowerks CodeWarrior Pro 9.2 (for other compilers no project or
make files are provided). Read the file "How to compile!" before
compiling. There is no other support or help for compiling the
source code! 
 POVMACS.SIT or POVMACS.HQX - The full C source code for POV-Ray
   for Macintosh. Contains generic parts and Macintosh specific
   parts. It does not include sample scenes, standard include
   files and documentation so you should also get the executable
   archive as well.

Generic Unix
------------

Because Unix runs on a wide variety of hardware and CPUs, the POV-Team
cannot provide executable versions for every kind of Unix systems.
We distribute a generic, portable C++ source code suitable for running
on Unix or Unix-like platforms.  You will need a recent C++ compiler which
follows the ISO C++ standard as close as possible, and (optionally) the
X11 and/or SVGA include files and libraries (SVGAlib is for GNU/Linux based
systems).  Although we provide source code for generic Unix systems, we
do not provide technical support on how to compile the program.  Support
may be obtained from the POV-Ray user community on the dedicated POV-Ray
newsgroups (povray.unix at news.povray.org).

Required hardware and software:
 A UNIX operating system with 32 MB of RAM.
 A recent C++ compiler, a working make utility and Bourne-compatible shell;
   see the INSTALL file in the package for details.
 Graphic file viewer capable of viewing e.g. PNG, TIFF, PPM or TGA formats.
 A text editor capable of editing plain ASCII text files.

Required POV-Ray files:
 povray-3.6.tgz or povray-3.6.tar.gz - the C++ source code of POV-Ray for UNIX.
   Contains generic parts and UNIX/Linux specific parts.  The package includes
   sample scenes, standard include files and documentation in HTML and plain
   text ASCII format.

Recommended:
 Math co-processor.
 128 MB (text console) / 256 MB (X Window running a window manager) or more
   RAM.

Optional:
 The X Window System (e.g. XFree86) to be able to display the image while
   rendering.  The X Window System is available on most UNIX platforms
   nowadays.
 On GNU/Linux platforms, the SVGAlib library can be an alternative to
   the X Window System, as it allows to display the rendered image directly
   on the console screen.

All Versions
------------

Each executable archive includes full documentation for POV-Ray itself as well 
as specific instructions for using POV-Ray with your type of platform. All 
versions of the program share the same ray-tracing features like shapes, 
lighting and textures. In other words, an MS-Dos-PC can create the same 
pictures as a Cray supercomputer as long as it has enough memory. The user 
will want to get the executable that best matches their computer hardware.

In addition to the files listed above, the POV-Team also distributes the user 
documentation alternate forms, such as HTML and possibly PDF.

See the section "Where to Find POV-Ray Files" for where to find these files. 
You can contact those sources to find out what the best version is for you and 
your computer.

Where to Find POV-Ray Files
---------------------------

The latest versions of the POV-Ray software are available from the following 
sources.

World Wide Website www.povray.org
---------------------------------

The internet home of POV-Ray is reachable on the World Wide Web via the 
address http://www.povray.org/ and via ftp as ftp.povray.org. Please stop by 
often for the latest files, utilities, news and images from the official 
POV-Ray internet site.

The POV-Team operates its own news server on the internet with several news 
groups related to POV-Ray and other interesting programs. For more information 
about the server see the page http://www.povray.org/groups.html. You may also 
access a HTML version at http://news.povray.org/.

Books, Magazines and CD-ROMs
----------------------------

Unfortunately all English language books on POV-Ray are out of print and there 
are no plans to reprint them.

Our official products page (http://www.povray.org/products/) will list any
officially-sanctioned books that do come out.

Additionally, there is POV-Ray 3.02 book and CD-ROM available in Japanese. It 
talks about the Windows and Mac versions of POV-Ray, and various utilities. 
The CD-ROM is dual format, Windows/Mac. It was written in Japan by Hideki 
Komuro-san, and published by ASCII Corp. in June 1998, ISBN 4-7561-1831-3.

There are also several other Japanese books that include or otherwise cover 
POV-Ray, but as we don't have their URL's we won't list them here.

The POV-Team does endorse some CD-ROMs containing POV-Ray which are prepared 
by team members. A portion of the proceeds from these CDs support our internet 
sites and other team activities. You can always find the latest information on 
what is available at our web site www.povray.org.

