This example illustrates the many ways the
same data can easily be viewed using IDL.  The simple
mountain is created using IDL by a recursive fractal
routine.  The important thing to notice here is not
the mountain, but the many ways it can be viewed.
The mountain data is a two-dimensional array of
altitudes representing the height at any point on the
grid.

      Below is a brief example of just some of the
the ways data can be viewed in IDL commands:

      ; data is a two dimensional array

  CONTOUR, data, /SPLINES	;draws contour diagram

  SURFACE, data		;draws mesh surface

  shade_surf, data		;draws shaded surface

  show3, data			;draws composite view

      There is also an interactive X and Y sections
view that lets you pick single lines in the X and Y
directions from the surface mesh.  To pick them, use
the mouse and wave it over the drawing.  If you move
near the lower left-hand corner of the view, the lines
will follow your movements showing the lower left hand
sections in both the X and Y planes.