Tool to generate parametric equations

Question

I'm looking for a tool that allows me to create shapes (along the lines of a rendering application) which will also generate the parametric equations of the various shapes.

I need to use it for some Java3D work I've been doing. Normal shapes (spheres, boxes etc.) are easy, Java3D has built in types for them. However, when it came to creating non standard shapes (in particular curved surfaces) I find myself using graph paper to sketch, and then manually putting a large number of point into a point array.

Surely there is an easier way?

Answer 1

When I'm fitting data, I use splines and Bezier curves to help me generate curved lines and surfaces. They can work in as many dimensions as you required, so perhaps they'd be useful to you as well?

Answer 2

You can use java3D's triangulator to get a shape from those points.

http://download.java.net/media/java3d/javadoc/1.3.2/com/sun/j3d/utils/geometry/Triangulator.html