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 POVWIN35.EXE - a self-extracting archive
   containing the program, sample scenes, standard include
   files and documentation. This file may be split into smaller
   files for easier downloading. Check the directory of your
   download or ftp site to see if other files are needed.
 
Recommended:
 Pentium 200 or Pentium II with 32mb and Windows 98 or 2000.
 SVGA display preferably with high color or true color ability
   and drivers installed. (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.
   Compilation of POV-Ray for Windows is only officially supported
   under Microsoft Visual C++ Version 6 and Intel C 5.0/6.0. There
   may be a VC++ Version 5 project included but we do not guarantee
   that it will work.

   Borland and Watcom C are no longer supported.
   
Linux for Intel x86
Required hardware and software:
 A 386 or better CPU and at least 8 meg of RAM.
 About 6 meg disk space to install and 2-10 meg or more beyond
   that for working space.
 A text editor capable of editing plain ASCII text files.
 Graphic file viewer capable of viewing PPM, TGA or PNG
   formats.
 Any recent (1994 onwards) Linux kernel and support for ELF
   format binaries. POV-Ray for Linux is not in a.out-format.
   ELF libraries libc.so.6, libm.so.6 and one or both of
   libX11.so.6 or libvga.so.1.
 
Required POV-Ray files:
 POVLINUX.TGZ or POVLINUX.TAR.GZ - archive containing an
   official binary for each SVGALib and X-Windows modes. Also
   contains sample scenes, standard include files and
   documentation in plain ASCII text.
 
Recommended:
 Pentium 200 or Pentium II (faster the better) 32 meg or more
   RAM. SVGA display preferably with VESA interface and high
   color or true color ability. If you want display, you'll
   need either SVGALib or X-Windows. (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.
 POVUNI_S.TAR.GZ or POVUNI_S.TGZ - The C source code for POV-
   Ray for Linux. Contains generic parts and Linux specific
   parts. It does not include sample scenes, standard include
   files and documentation so you should also get the
   executable archive as well. Requires the GNU C compiler and
   (optionally) the X include files and libraries.
 

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

The Macintosh version runs under Apple's Mac OS operating system version 8.1 
or newer with CarbonLib 1.0.4 or newer installed. Note that we no longer 
support 68K based Macintosh computers. POV-Ray 3.5 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 8.1 or later. Mac OS X 10.1.4 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 16 MB of free RAM.
 Mac OS 8.1 or newer.
 CarbonLib 1.0.4.
 About 20 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 9.0.4 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 7.2 (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 type of Unix. We distribute generic Unix 
source code in portable ANSI C source code. You will need a C compiler and 
(optionally) the X include files and libraries and knowledge of how to use it. 
Although we provide source code for generic Unix systems, we do not provide 
technical support on how to compile the program.

Required:
 POVUNI_S.TGZ or POVUNI_S.TAR.GZ - The C source code for POV-
   Ray for UNIX. Contains generic parts and Unix/Linux
   specific parts. It does not include sample scenes, standard
   include files and documentation so you should also get an
   executable archive for another platform or get
 POVUNI_D.TGZ or POVUNI_D.TAR.GZ which contains the sample
   scenes, standard include files and documentation.
 A C compiler for your computer and KNOWLEDGE OF HOW TO USE IT.
 Graphic file viewer capable of viewing PPM, TGA or PNG
   formats.
 A text editor capable of editing plain ASCII text files.
 
Recommended:
 Math co-processor.
 8 meg or more RAM.
 
Optional:
 X Windows if you want to be able to display as you render.
 You will need the X-Windows include files as well. If you're
   not familiar with compiling programs for X-Windows you may
   need some help from someone who is knowledgeable at your
   installation because the X include files and libraries are
   not always in a standard place.

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 read-only 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. At the time of writing (2002), there is some 
talk about making some new books for POV-Ray 3.5, and we believe at this stage 
that there is a very good chance of this happening. 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.

