Table of Contents
We deal with special polyhedra: (orientable) graphs (embedded on surfaces) also called maps. Boundaries are allowed. Every face can be reached from another in a couple of steps.
The polygons have a constant number (3, 4, 5, 6, …) of vertices/edges (s.th. like face-valence). Actually things do carry over to general polytopes with variable valences, so this might be treated in the future as well.
The icosahedron for example is furthermore 'face-transitive' in the sense that all the faces have the same status. But this is not the case for all graphs treated here though, the dual's valence may vary.
As already mentioned a relational database MySQL™ as well as XML are used.
The Java3D™ scenegraph concept enables us to concentrate on our specific application instead of fiddling around with underlying layers such as OpenGL™.
The 3D - GUI provides the following feature: you can use the mouse buttons and rotate (left mouse button), translate (right button) and zoom (middle button).