From: jotrs@hotmail.de   
      
   Am 02.11.2016 um 00:18 schrieb Adam Hirst:   
      
   >>   
   >   
   > I know I'm very late in responding to this, but if the OP is no longer   
   > available, at least my post might be useful to someone else.   
   >   
      
      
   I am the OP, and I thank you very much for your analysis.   
      
   In the meantime I had already "converged" to the book of Chaves, I find   
   it - up to the pont where i read it, that is the first explanations   
   about flow lines, detailed and reasonably easy to follow.   
      
   I have also read through the book of Koshel and I agree that it is more   
   of a reference book than a book for learning design techniques (although   
   I do not remember anymore what I read, it was the impression that I got   
   at the time). Moreover - I started with Welford and Winston (I do not   
   know if Winston, Miñano and Benítez is based on that!) I read and   
   experimented a bit with the edge ray principle, but I wasn't able to   
   understand what is a flow line and why it is useful from their   
   explanation; that is when I switched to the book of Chaves.   
      
   By the way for a software I bought myself LensLab (the entry level   
   version of Optica), I find it much fun to work with and - even if I do   
   not have any other significant experience with optical design programs -   
   I do have the guess that for learning it is better than standard   
   programs (which anyway I decided not to buy as I did not want to invest   
   the couple of thousands Euro for something that I yet don't know where   
   will go); and the reason is that Mathematica gives one much flexibility   
   to analyze the system according to one's wishes.   
   One problem with LensLab is that the intersections with the surfaces are   
   not always found - I experimented in different ways and at the end for   
   example I had to give up reproducing a diagram in Welford and Winston,   
   the one where the rays that hit a CPC are classified according whether   
   they are transmitted or rejected and for the transmitted ones the nubmer   
   of reflections is counted. I know that Optica is better on that respect,   
   but again it is much more expensive.   
      
      
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