rk MARS FINVERS

isio Technical is a drawing pro- gram that smooths and speeds V the translation of an engineer's

ideas into visual form. While Visio is stocked with all the tra-

ditional drawing tools, what differentiates it from other drawing programs is its use of "smart shapes," graphics macros that greatly reduce the time needed to create drawings such as.schematic diagrams. Users simply open up one of the elec- tronics symbol templates provided, then drag and drop it onto the drawing. Each shape has predefined connection points that the user can easily join by means of the "smart-connecto? tool. Interconnect lines drawn with this tool stretch like a rubber-band, to adjust their position as the shapes are moved around the draw- ing. The present version (4.5) includes new shapes for such elements as sensors and duct work for industrial controls for heating, ventilating, and air conditioning.

Smart shapes are not clip-art but pro- grammable images. A single generic shape can be used to generate many variations of a symbol. To control the appearance of the symbol and specify its behavior during such operations as scal- ing or rotation, a hidden shape sheet, similar to a spread sheet, containing for- mulas and parameters, is attached to each of the shapes.

Although the collection of pre-drawn shapes i s extensive and spans many fields of application, not all shapes that are desired may be available. Still, creating a new master shape for a simple symbol is straightforward. Adding programmability to the shape, however, is more complex and had me poring over the manual.

Installation proceeded apace. As the program arrived minus paper documen- tation (which came later), I made exten- sive use of the excellent on-line help. Within an hour, I had created a relative- ly complex schematic drawing, even though I had had no prior experience with the program.

I found the user's interface to be intu- itive and was pleasantly surprised that it shared many of the same keyboard short- cuts as more familiar drawing programs. The paper documentation is well laid out and informative, although the material dealing with the programming of shapes was intimidating and would benefit from more examples. Overall, this is an excel- lent tool. Contuct: Visio Corp , 5 2 0 Pike S t ,

Suite 1800, Seattle, WA mioi; 800-248-4746;

fax, 7 1 6-586-0820; Web, http://www.visio, coml, or circle 10 1,

lvars Finvers (M) is an IC development engi- neer at Mite1 Semiconductor in Ottawa, Canada. His e-mail address is Ivars-Finvers OMitel.Com.

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iQ, an

KENNETH R. FOSTER

I S handsome program combines Th. data visualization and analysis with an up-to-date Windows interface. Its ven- dor, National Instruments, also makes LabVIEW, a highly regarded data acquisi- tion program that is, in a way, a compan- ion product.

At its core HiQ has a math engine based on optimized matrix routines, with a programming language that closely resembles that of Matlab [see Software Reviews, February, pp. 14-15]. The pro- gram also has about 600 functions for numerical math and data analysis (solv- ing differential equations, optimization, statistical analysis, and so on), data visu- alization, and various utility functions. A facility called LabSuite makes it possible for the user to exchange files between HiQ and LabVIEW.

Although HiQ has much in common with Matlab, it has a different user inter- face and a different focus in its design

that will make it appealing to a different set of users. Its main strength is the ease with which a user can create interactive documents, called "notebooks," to visual- ize data and perform calculations.

A notebook is a page containing ob- jects (boxes) that can be arranged into an attractive and easy-to-read document. Objects can include programs (called scripts), plots with data or results of cal- culations, or forms with which the user enters data into a program. Users can include linked or embedded objects from other Windows programs, such as graph- ics produced by a drawing program, text from a word processor, equations from Microsoft Equation Editor, and so on.

In turn, notebooks can be linked to other Windows programs. They are acti- vated by right-clicking a mouse on a script, which runs the program and updates the graphics.

Linking or embedding objects in a program is, of course, standard Windows wizardry. In HiQ, users are able to create interactive technical documents that are effective and attractive. By entering the data in the objects in the notebook, users

out getting involved in (or even seeing) the script itself.

Other math packages allow users to create interactive notebooks, but the implementation of this concept in HiQ is unusually effective for sharing technical results with others, and the visual impact

6 5

can cany out involved calculations with-

IEEE SPECTRUM JUNE 1997

ties, and, unlike HiQ, it also has symbolic math as well 0-Matr ix [see Software Reviews, February 1997, pp 14-15] has most of the same numerical caDabilities of HIQ and at a far lower price

In short, HIQ is unlikely to win many converts among researchers who spend more time developing algorithms than communicating remlrs But for an engi- neer who needs to present complex data

of a notebook can be stunning. Changing the attributes of a graph (labels, font, bor- ders, or colors, for example) IS a snap with ffiQ, whereas t f IS a tedious job In Matlab, requiring a knowledgeable user

HiQ users can simply ~-ight-click with the mouse to edit the properties of the ob- ject, a familiar process to most users of Windows 95. A user can change the per- spective of three-dimensional graphics by simply moving the cursor in the graphics window, a nice feature.

HiQ ran smoothly on my system, which presently uses a 9O-MHz Pen- tium microprocessor, Windows 95, and 32MB of RAM. But its performance was sluggish, even on simple demo files, in part because of the large amount of graphical data, and in part because of the high computational costs of the Win- dows goodies. An engineer who plans on using HiQ for significant projects will require a high-end system with a fast graphics card.

By now math software is a mature product category. Other programs have broadly similar capabilities, and might be a better choice for many users. For exam- ple, Matlab has many application files (HiQ has few), and is better suited for users who are developing numerical algo- rithms. Macsyma also has a notebooks interface and superb numerical capabili-

66

and calculations to other people, it is hard to beat. Contact: National Instruments, 6 5 0 4 Bridge Point Pkwy., Austin, TX 78730 ; 5 1 2 - 7 9 4 - 0 1 0 0 ; f a x , 5 1 2 - 7 9 4 - 8 4 1 1 ; e-mail, info@natinst.com; or circle 1 OZ.

KENNETH R. FOSTER

Math Toolkit, a recent add-on for LabVIEW, is a collection of more

than 100 math functions packaged as so- called virtual instruments, which the user can include in a graphical LabVIEW pro- gram for data acquisition and signal pro- cessing. The result is a virtual instrument, which appears to the user as a signal flowchart (with data acquisition and anal- ysis operations represented by icons) or, in a different view, as a user-friendly in- strument on the computer screen [see Spectrum, April 1996, p. 181

The toolkit handles many numerical analysis functions-optimization, numer- ical solution of differential equations, numerical equation solving, curve-fitting, wavelet analysis, and so on-adding to

the already extensive signal-processing capabilities in LabVIEW.

Such virtual instruments can usefully blur the line between data acquisition, data analysis, and system modeling. It would be possible, in fact, to do away with data entirely and develop a virtual instrument that simulates a complex physical system. But the pros and con5 of this approach are open to debate. Xme constraints will limit the amount of math analysis that can be done in real-time applications. And, for off-line processing, many users would prefer Matlab, in particular, o r HiQ. T h e math tools are conventional.

But the power to include advanced math analysis in a signal-flow diagram by clicking with a mouse is a nice concept, and who knows where it will lead? The Toolkit costs $395, with educational dis- counts, and is available for several plat- forms. It requires the full LabVIEW development package. Contact: as above, or circle 103.

Kenneth R. Foster (F) is associate professor in the department of bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, Phila- delphia, and is presently president of the IEEE Society for Social Implications of Technology. His university e-mail address is kfoster@eniac.seas.upenn.edu.

High-frequency s t ructure simulator (HFSS), Version 5.0. Includes adap- tive meshing algorithm and optional new ferrite-modeling capabilities for nonreciprocal devices. US $41 900 plus $1 9 OOO more for ferrite model- ing. Contact: Ansoft CO$., 4 Station Square, Suite 6 6 0 , P i t t s b u r g h , PA 1 5 2 1 9 - 1 1 1 9 ; 412-261-3200 , f ax , 412-471-9427 i e-mail, info @an s oft. c o mi Web, h t i p :/IWWW. ansoft.com; or circle 104.

MagNet 5 . 2 RimsoIv. For computing performance of induction machines on the basis of their geometry, materials, and excitation. US $5000 and up. For .Microsoft Windows 95, Windows NT, and Unix. Contact: Infolytica Corp., Box 1 1 44, Place du Pax, 300 Leo Pariseau, Suite 2 2 2 2 , M o n t r e a l , PQ, Canada H 2 W 2 P 4 ;

circle 105. 5 1 4 - 8 4 9 - 8 7 5 2 ; fax, 5 1 4 - 8 4 9 - 4 2 3 9 ; 07

Digimatic for Windows V2.0. For con- version of graphical information into editable numerical data. US $249 ($149 students). Contact: Famous Engineer Brand Sojtware, 1 2 2 1 8 Prince Philip Lane, Chesterfield, VA 23838 , 804-739-5588; fax, 8 0 4 - 7 3 9 - 9 3 2 3 ; W e b , www. h u v a r d . com/feb/, or circle 106.

GADI KAPLAN , Editor

l E f E SPECTRUM JUNE 1997