[Axiom-developer] Graphics and Axiom (was Re: touchgraph, hypertex, hypergraph)

[Jason White]

While graphics software is under discussion there are a few questions
I would like to raise:

With Axiom's current graphics system, is it possible to generate
graphs of Postscript (or encapsulated Postscript) non-interactively,
without having the X Window System running? There are circumstances in
which this functionality would be desirable, including server-side
applications of Axiom that convert and deliver the graphical output to
a client via a Web page or similar interface. Some users with
vision-related disabilities might want to generate a graph of a
function and emboss it to create a tactile version, or simply include
it in a document written in TeX/LaTeX, in which case non-interactive
operation is needed.

As a more general issue, is it currently anticipated that Axiom will
continue to maintain its own graphics functions, or would it be
preferable to integrate support for an externally developed graphics
language? These two options aren't entirely mutually exclusive, of
course. Regarding the latter possibility, projects such as
http://asymptote.sourceforge.net/ are worth watching (they may be
other, comparable efforts - I haven't tried to conduct a thorough
search).