GKS stands for "Graphische Kernsystem," which is a German term meaning graphical core system. It refers to a widely-used graphics library that has been created and developed by the Gesellschaft für Mathematik und Datenverarbeitung (GMD), a German national research center dedicated to mathematics and computer science. GKS is primarily utilized for the representation, manipulation, and visualization of graphical data in computer graphics applications.
As a core system, GKS provides a set of fundamental functions and tools that enable the creation and manipulation of two-dimensional and three-dimensional graphical elements. These elements can include points, lines, curves, surfaces, and text. GKS follows a device-independent approach, allowing it to be implemented across various output devices, such as displays, plotters, printers, and more.
The library defines a standardized interface that facilitates communication between applications and the underlying graphics hardware or software. It provides a level of abstraction, allowing programmers to write graphics applications without being concerned about the specific characteristics of the target output device.
GKS includes features for defining coordinates, colors, line styles, character fonts, and attributes, which can be used to customize the appearance of the graphical elements. It supports standard annotation capabilities, text manipulation, input handling, and a variety of graphics transformations, such as scaling and rotation.
Overall, GKS is a crucial graphical core system used in computer graphics applications, providing a standardized interface for rendering and manipulating graphical elements across various output devices, and offering flexibility and device independence to programmers.
