This MetaPost tutorial demonstrates the language's versatility by showcasing various graphical techniques. It covers creating geometric shapes, manipulating paths and curves, applying transformations like rotations and scaling, working with text and labels, and generating patterned fills. The post emphasizes practical examples, like drawing a clock face, a spiral, and a function graph, illustrating how to combine MetaPost's features for creating complex and visually appealing illustrations. It serves as a good introduction to the language's capabilities for generating vector graphics, especially for mathematical or technical diagrams.
The Habr.com article, "Various Things in MetaPost (2019)," provides a comprehensive overview of MetaPost's capabilities beyond its commonly perceived role as just a tool for creating vector graphics. The author meticulously demonstrates MetaPost's flexibility as a general-purpose programming language capable of tackling diverse tasks, from generating geometric diagrams and complex visual patterns to solving mathematical problems and even simulating physical phenomena.
The article begins by highlighting MetaPost's core functionality in defining geometric shapes and manipulating them through transformations like scaling, rotation, and translation. It emphasizes the declarative nature of MetaPost's syntax, where the user describes the desired outcome rather than specifying the precise steps, making it particularly well-suited for geometrical constructions. This is illustrated with examples showcasing the creation of intricate designs composed of interconnected circles, arcs, and polygons.
Expanding beyond basic shapes, the author delves into MetaPost's path creation and manipulation capabilities. The article demonstrates how to define complex curves using Bezier curves and splines and how to apply various operations on these paths, such as finding intersections, determining tangents, and computing enclosed areas. This section underscores the precision and control offered by MetaPost for creating intricate graphical elements.
The article further explores MetaPost's capacity for generating intricate patterns by combining loops, variables, and mathematical functions. This allows for the programmatic creation of complex visualizations like fractals, tessellations, and spirograph-like patterns. These examples showcase the potential of MetaPost for algorithmic art and design.
Moving beyond purely visual applications, the author demonstrates MetaPost's aptitude for solving mathematical problems. They illustrate how to use MetaPost to visualize mathematical concepts, such as plotting functions, depicting geometric transformations, and illustrating solutions to geometric puzzles. This aspect of MetaPost extends its utility beyond graphics creation into the realm of educational and exploratory tools.
The article also touches upon the possibility of using MetaPost for simulating physical phenomena. Although not its primary purpose, MetaPost can be used to visualize physical processes like the trajectory of projectiles or the motion of a pendulum, by combining its geometric manipulation abilities with basic physics calculations. This demonstration expands the scope of MetaPost into an unexpected realm, showcasing its versatility as a general-purpose programming environment.
Finally, the article emphasizes the extensibility of MetaPost by showcasing how to incorporate external resources like images and fonts. This enhances the practical applications of MetaPost by allowing users to integrate existing assets into their projects, further demonstrating its flexibility and utility for diverse visual communication tasks.
In conclusion, the article provides a compelling argument for reconsidering MetaPost not just as a vector graphics editor, but as a powerful and versatile programming language capable of tackling a wide range of tasks involving geometry, mathematics, and visual representation. The author's meticulous examples and clear explanations illuminate the rich functionality of MetaPost and inspire exploration of its potential beyond traditional graphic design applications.
Summary of Comments ( 1 )
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43987814
Hacker News users discuss the utility and elegance of MetaPost, particularly for diagrams and figures. Several commenters praise its declarative approach, finding it more intuitive and less fiddly than alternatives like TikZ/PGF. Some highlight the integration with LaTeX and the power of being able to programmatically generate graphics. Others note MetaPost's age and the steeper learning curve compared to newer tools, although the quality of the output and the control it offers are seen as worthwhile trade-offs. The ability to express geometric relationships directly within the code is also mentioned as a significant advantage. A few users express a desire for a modernized, actively developed version of MetaPost, suggesting it could be even more powerful with improvements to the build process and editor integration.
The Hacker News post "Various Things in MetaPost (2019)" linking to a Habr article about MetaPost usage has a modest number of comments, mostly focusing on the niche nature of MetaPost and its relationship to other tools.
One commenter expresses surprise that MetaPost is still in use and questions its advantages over alternatives like TikZ/PGF, Asymptote, or even Python libraries like matplotlib. They seem particularly interested in understanding the specific use cases where MetaPost shines, implying a preference for more mainstream tools unless a compelling reason is presented.
Another commenter highlights the integration of MetaPost within the LaTeX ecosystem as its primary strength, especially for generating figures directly within LaTeX documents. This commenter appreciates the declarative nature of MetaPost and contrasts it with the more imperative approach of libraries like matplotlib, suggesting that MetaPost is better suited for certain types of diagrams.
A subsequent reply to this comment points out that while convenient for LaTeX users, embedding MetaPost code within a LaTeX document can lead to cluttered and difficult-to-maintain code. This commenter argues that separate MetaPost files are generally preferable for organization and reusability, echoing a common sentiment in software development about separating concerns.
Another commenter mentions ConTeXt, a typesetting system, as an environment where MetaPost is frequently used and well-integrated. This comment briefly touches on the historical context of MetaPost and its association with the creator of Metafont, further solidifying its connection to the TeX world.
Finally, one commenter laments the lack of a proper MetaPost mode in Emacs, suggesting that tooling limitations might contribute to its lower adoption compared to other options. This comment hints at the practical challenges faced by users who might otherwise be interested in exploring MetaPost.
In summary, the comments revolve around the niche appeal of MetaPost, its advantages and disadvantages compared to modern alternatives, its integration within the LaTeX and ConTeXt ecosystems, and some practical considerations regarding tooling. The overall tone is one of mild curiosity and a recognition of MetaPost's specialized role in technical typesetting.