Gauss
This is a Windows application for drawing lines and surfaces in 3d space.. See screenshots below for an idea of what it can do.
Requirements : it works on versions of Windows with OpenGL (should be Windows 95 on) with sufficient memory - 128 M plus for reasonable speed.
This is freeware - no cost to you, not an evaluation version, no free trial, no time limit. Also no support and no warranty of any kind.
Since its release in May 2006, Gauss has been downloaded over 4600 times from this site.
Versions
Current release is 2.0. Previous versions used the WinAPI graphics and were not widely available.
Download and install
Download this file (962 kB as a zipped file).
Unzip it into a suitable directory - c:/gauss or wherever you like. Then create a shortcut on your desktop to gauss.exe. Drag a copy to the Start menu if you like. Simple. Gauss does not alter the system registry, install or change any dlls, or anything else which would alter the operating system.
Screenshots
Click on the thumbnail for a full-size version
Here a surface (an elliptic paraboloid) is defined by setting z as a function of x and y
Here a surface (a helicoid) is defined in cylindrical polar co-ordinates, setting z as a function of r and theta
This is the same surface but with a mesh showing lines of constant r and theta
Same helicoid but with the mesh only
Gauss can also use a parametric definition. Here a line is defined by setting x, y and z to be functions of a parameter - in this example the parameter is a, but any variable name can be used. As the parameter changes, we get different value sof x y and z, and a line is traced out.
For a surface, we use two parameters, such as this torus
Or this spiral tube