[ REQ 5826]: "Off" file format question

[kummer at post.its.mcw.edu]

Hi--

Some of our software tools handle the "off" format. I am currently 
attempting to write a software routine to read and write "NOFF" and 
"COFF" objects, specifically. However, the documentation provided in 
version 1.4.2 of the manual for SGI workstations is somewhat vague on a 
few points regarding the file format. If you have a second, I'd really 
appreciate it if you could answer a few questions.

What are the primary distinctions between "COFF" and "NOFF" objects? Does 
the keyword indicate that if there are only three values following the 
vertex coordinate that these are colors ("C") or normals ("N")? Is there 
a default order in the case of an "OFF" object (e.g., <VertexCoord> 
<Normal> <RGBA>). If both normals and colors are option, then how else 
would one tell the system reading the file what that data was? Perhaps 
I'm belaboring the obvious--just want to be sure.

Thanks very much for your help.

==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==
 Jay Brian Kummer                 I think all right-thinking people in this  
 Software Guy/Zappa Fan           country are sick and tired of being told   
 Department of Cellular Biology   that ordinary, decent people are fed up    
 Medical College of Wisconsin     in this country with being sick and tired. 
 kummer at post.its.mcw.edu          I'm _certainly_ not, and I'm sick and      
 Searching for slack...           tired of being told that I am. (Python)    
==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==