adding graphics to my console app

I need to add scientific visualization capability to my "console"
application (text-based UI, C code). This just means being able to open
a window and display data in graphical format. I have a couple of
options:

1. Dredge up ancient QuickDraw code I wrote back in the '90s, Carbonize
it, and adapt it for my needs. I used to know all about GrafPorts, etc.
I don't know if this is still useful :-)

2. Develop a graphical front-end in Java, and implement a two-way
communication protocol between the Java code and my C application. My C
app would ship data to the Java app for display, and the Java app would
send graphics-related user commands back to my C app. I would retain
the text-based UI for non-graphics related stuff.

The advantage to #1 is tight integration between the number-crunching
and display code. The disadvantage to #1 is loss of cross-platform
compatibility.

An advantage to #2 is learning Java (the company I work for has gone
bonkers over Java - I gotta get with the program). Also, a Java-based
solution would be cross-platform. A disadvantage to #2 is possible
headaches implementing the dynamic interface between Java and my C app
(I currently don't know how to do this, although I've heard that it can
be done).

I've been experimenting with the graphics capability of J2SE 1.5 on
Windows. There appears to be sufficiently rich graphics functionality
within Java to do what I need.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks,
Steve

MacRules <dodeca001 DeleteThis @aol.com> wrote:

> I need to add scientific visualization capability to my "console"
> application (text-based UI, C code). This just means being able to open
> a window and display data in graphical format. I have a couple of
> options:
>
> 1. Dredge up ancient QuickDraw code I wrote back in the '90s, Carbonize
> it, and adapt it for my needs. I used to know all about GrafPorts, etc.
> I don't know if this is still useful :-)
>
> 2. Develop a graphical front-end in Java, and implement a two-way
> communication protocol between the Java code and my C application. My C
> app would ship data to the Java app for display, and the Java app would
> send graphics-related user commands back to my C app. I would retain
> the text-based UI for non-graphics related stuff.
>
> Anyone have any thoughts on this?

If cross platform code is important to you, maybe OpenGL would fit the
bill. It's a C API too. (I've no experience with OpenGL)

If you are sattisfied with an OS X only solution, drawing with the Cocoa
API would seem the best solution. But you'd need to know a bit of
Objective-C.

patrick