CS488 - Introduction to Computer Graphics - Lecture 1

Administrative Arrangements

Plagiarism, Cheating

Assignments

Environment

Format

• Very strict
• Signature, -2 if missing.
• Do assignment 0

Hand in to TA at the beginning of class.

Late if the TA has left the class.

• -2 basic late fee.
• plus, -1 per hour.

Examinations

History of Computer Graphics

Radar

Vector Displays

• Calligraphic displays
• Oscilloscopes
• Era of the game

Raster Displays

• the frame buffer
• University of Utah
  • Evans & Sutherland
  • `All' the basic algorithms
• Era of the animated movie

GPUs

• SGI & GL (Jim Clark, Utah)
• Era of the virtual environment

Rendering Pipeline

1. World --> Image
2. World --> Framebuffer --> Image
3. World --> 2D primitives --> Framebuffer --> Image
4. World (WC) --> 3D primitives (VC) --> 2D primitives --> Framebuffer --> Image
5. Models (MC) --> World (WC) --> 3D primitives (VC) --> 2D primitives --> Framebuffer --> Image

Grad student doing his research on GPU algorithms

• `The rendering pipeline no longer exists.'

What he really means

• 'The rendering pipeline no longer exists as a set of hardware components. We now do it all in software using a graphics processor.'

But is it really a graphics processor?

• GPGPU
• recent events at AMD

Geometric Primitives

1. Points
2. Lines
3. Planes
4. Volumes

Algorithms

1. Transformations
2. Clipping
3. Rasterization
4. Picking
5. Shading
6. Animating

APIs

1. 2D rasterization
   • Xlib
   • GDI (Graphics Device Interface)
   • QuickDraw
2. 2D transformation and rasterization
   • PostScript
   • PDF
   • SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)
   • Java2D
   • Quartz
3. 3D pipeline
   • OpenGL
   • Direct3D

Return to:

• Bill Cowan's home page
• Bill Cowan's teaching page.
• Bill Cowan's CS488 page.
• Bill Cowan's CS488 page for Winter 2008.
• Bill Cowan's CS488 lecture note page for Winter 2008.