Asymptote

Asymptote: A powerful vector graphic language

A powerful vector graphic language

Asymptote is a unique graphic vector language that powers a natural coordinate-based framework for professionals in the field of technical drawing.

It features equations and term names typeset with LaTeX in order to achieve superior PostScript outputs.

Asymptote has been created to provide graphical environment and standards for typesetting mathematical figures.

The difference between Asymptote and other technical graphics software is that all other programs are just graphics applications while Asymptote is a programming language, which allows for endless possibilities.

Some of the best features of this powerful graphic vector language are the fact that it provides a standard for typesetting mathematical figures just like Tex or LaTeX are standards for typesetting equations and it is also inspired by MetaPost, which is why its code is cleaner and utilizes modern C++ like programming and floating point numeric.

Asymptote is also completely mathematically oriented, for example it can portray vector rotation by complex multiplication and it also has support for LaTeX typesetting for terms which is extremely important for achieving consistency across your documents.

It also uses a simplex method along with deferred drawing in order to fix complete size constraint problems between fixed sizes objects (usually labels and arrowheads) and objects that are scalable with the size of the figure.

Some other useful algorithms and features are the possibility to fully generalize MetaPost path construction algorithms into 3D and the possibility to compile commands into VM code for increasing speed without sacrificing mobility.