All objects (existing ones and those of the future) must be able to react to a number of manager commands and to perform certain calculations and user interactions. Here is an overview to give you an idea about SPRAY objects' structure and abilities.

Interfacing with the user and SPRAY:

 set geometrical data in a user dialog

 determine frequency dependent properties in a user dialog

 objects write their data to SPRAY binary files

 objects read their data from SPRAY binary files

Frequency scan:

 objects adjust their behaviour when a new frequency is selected

 objects eventually update their internal data when the simulation for a frequency is done

Ray-tracing:

 objects decide what happens to a ray after a hit

Whenever you would like to have a type of object in SPRAY that doesn't exist presently you can suggest to implement it - it might be useful for other users, too. The fastest implementation is achieved when you can even supply a suitable way to compute the hit point for arbitrary rays - this is usually the most difficult part, especially for objects with complicated shapes.

The optical properties of all materials that are used in SPRAY are defined using the same objects as in the SCOUT software package. As in SCOUT, you can connect to a database of optical constants and layer stacks and use its items.

Since SPRAY does a fully three-dimensional ray-tracing you as a user must specify all the geometric data of all the objects which can be a tedious job. All lengths are specified in 'cm' - there is no option to change this basic unit up to now.