JVM (Java Virtual Machine) version - IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ
Since v0.10.0, ZVTM no longer runs on JVM version 1.4.x. It requires a JVM 1.5.0 or later.
Since v0.9.1, ZVTM no longer runs on JVM version 1.3.x. It requires a JVM 1.4.0 or later.
Documentation
We have started working on a Developer's Guide (PDF).
But right now, the only detailed documentation is the API Documentation in Javadoc (HTML) format. This online version is synchronized at least weekly with the latest ZVTM source code (as found in the SVN repository). The documentation matching a specific version of ZVTM is located in directory apidocs/ of each release.
A research paper entitled A Toolkit for Addressing HCI Issues in Visual Language Environments, describing ZVTM's foundational concepts and main features, has been published in the proceedings of the IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC '05), which took place in Dallas, TX in September 2005. The paper has been presented during Session 6: Interaction and User Interface Design, and is now available online through the IEEE Digital Library. It is also possible to obtain it freely upon request. This is the publication to cite if you want to make a reference to ZVTM (see Citing ZVTM for more details).
If you want examples of code using ZVTM, you can read source files in the com/xerox/VTM/demo/ directory (the main class is Introduction.java) in package zvt-demos. This demo does not use all ZVTM features but should help you get started. For more advanced features, you can take a look at the source code of IsaViz and ZGRViewer.
A list of API changes between versions is available.
Technical questions can be posted to the zvtm-devel mailing list (subscribe). We try to answer them in a timely and precise manner.
Build
ZVTM build instructions are available.
mini-HOWTOs
- Focus+Context representations: magnification lenses, distortion lenses and Sigma lenses
- DynaSpot - Speed-Dependent Area Cursor
- Multiple Pointing Devices
- Glyph Animations
- Scroll Bars in Views
For French speakers, a description of the basic concepts underlying the ZVTM is available in chapter 5 of my PhD thesis (the library was then called XVTM, for Xerox Visual Transformation Machine). Note that it only covers concepts and features implemented before september 2002. So it is missing many features.
Optimizing performances
- ZVTM works well under Windows and Mac OS X. There can be some performance issues under Linux/Xorg, especially when making use of translucency.
- I recommend running ZVTM applications using a JVM 1.4.0 or later, as Java2D performances have been significantly improved.
- SUN's JVM is available at http://www.javasoft.com/j2se/1.4/
- When running ZVTM in a Linux or Solaris environment, it is worth reading Sun's white paper on Graphics Performance Improvements.
License Information
This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Lesser General Public License for more details. For full terms see the file COPYING in the releases.
