<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head><title> Asymptote FAQ - Section 1 </title> <link rev="made" href="mailto:"> <link rel="Contents" href="index.html"> <link rel="Start" href="index.html"> <link rel="Next" href="section2.html"><link rel="Bookmark" title="Asymptote FAQ" href="index.html"> </head><body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><h1> Asymptote FAQ - Section 1 <br> About Asymptote </h1> <ul> <li><a href="#whatisasy" rel=subdocument>Q1.1. What is Asymptote?</a> <li><a href="#whereisasy" rel=subdocument>Q1.2. How do I obtain Asymptote?</a> <li><a href="#beforeasking" rel=subdocument>Q1.3. Where can I ask questions about Asymptote? </a> <li><a href="#whyasy" rel=subdocument>Q1.4. Why was the name Asymptote chosen?</a> <li><a href="#whycamp" rel=subdocument>Q1.5. In the internal Asymptote source code, what does the name <code>camp</code> refer to?</a> </ul><hr> <h2><A name="whatisasy"> Question 1.1. What is Asymptote? </A></h2> Asymptote is a vector graphics language designed for technical graphics, inspired by MetaPost but with IEEE floating-point numerics, native three-dimensional graphics, Grayscale/RGB/CMYK colourspaces, and a C++-like syntax. Unlike MetaPost, it natively supports multiple-segment paths (and hence regions other than simply connected ones), tiling patterns, Gouraud shading, tensor patch shading, and PostScript images. <h2><A name="whereisasy"> Question 1.2. How do I obtain Asymptote? </A></h2> Binary releases are available for Linux, MacOS X, and Microsoft Windows platforms, in addition to full source code, from the website <A href="http://asymptote.sourceforge.net/">http://asymptote.sourceforge.net/</A>. Many Linux distributions (such as RedHat and Debian) now include an Asymptote package (check your distribution's documentation for further information about this). <h2><A name="beforeasking"> Question 1.3. Where can I ask questions about Asymptote? </A></h2> If you have a question, please try to find an answer in this FAQ, in the extensive Asymptote documentation at <A href="http://asymptote.sourceforge.net/doc/">http://asymptote.sourceforge.net/doc/</A>, or search the forum: <A href="http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=409349">http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=409349</A>. <h2><A name="whyasy"> Question 1.4. Why was the name Asymptote chosen? </A></h2> Well, it isn't the perfect graphics package, but we do think it is getting there asymptotically... <h2><A name="whycamp"> Question 1.5. In the internal Asymptote source code, what does the name <code>camp</code> refer to? </A></h2> That was our original tentative name for this project, which stood for "C's Answer to MetaPost" (the language that inspired Asymptote). However, we eventually decided that the name <code>Asymptote</code> better emphasizes the mathematical and graphical nature of this language. <hr> Next: <a href="section2.html" rel=precedes>Questions about installation and setup</a>.<br> <a href="index.html" rev=subdocument>Return to contents</a>.<p> <address> <A href="http://asymptote.sourceforge.net">Asymptote</A> - 21 October 2013 </address><br> Extracted from Asymptote Frequently Asked Questions, Copyright © 2013 . </body></html>