Reference:
F. S. Hill, Jr., and Stephen M. Kelley, Computer Graphics: Using OpenGL, Third Edition, Prentice Hall, 2007.
See www.fshilljr.com/3rd-edition.html
Purpose: Summarize the goals of the course and of each chapter
from the text. This list is a good high-level study guide for exams and preparation
for a job interview.
Course goals:
- Learn the underlying principles, techniques, and approaches which constitute
a stable and coherent body of knowledge in the field of computer graphics
- Able to design and produce significant graphics programs
- Improve object-oriented software design skills
- Improved C++ programming skills
- Improved project planning and management skills
- Improved presentation skills
Goals of Chapter 1:
 Provide an overview of the computer graphics field
Describe important input and output graphics devices
Goals of Chapter 2:
Get started writing programs that produce pictures
Learn the basic ingredients found in every OpenGL program
Develop some elementary graphics tools for drawing lines, polylines, and polygons
Develop tools that allow the user to control a program with the mouse and keyboard
Goals of Chapter 3: Introduce viewports and clipping
Develop the window-to-viewport transformation
Develop a classical clipping algorithm
Create tools to draw in world coordinates
Develop a C++ class to encapsulate the drawing routines
Develop ways to select windows and viewports for optimal viewing
Draw complex pictures using relative drawing and turtle graphics
Build figures based on regular polygons and their offspring
Draw arcs and circles
Describe parametrically defined curves and see how to draw them
Goals of Chapter 4: Review
vector arithmetic and relate vectors to objects of interest in graphics
Relate
geometric concepts to their algebraic representations
Describe
lines and points parametrically
Distinguish
points and vectors properly
Exploit
the dot product in graphics
Develop
tools for working with objects in 3D space, including the cross product of two vectors
Goals of Chapter 5: Develop
tools for transforming one picture into another
Introduce
the fundamental concepts of affine transformations, which perform combinations of rotations, scalings, and transformations
Develop
functions that apply affine transformations to objects in computer programs
Develop
tools for transforming coordinate frames
Set up
a camera to render a 3D scene using OpenGL
Design
scenes in the Scene Design Language (SDL) and to write programs that read SDL files and draw the scenes they describe
Goals of Chapter 6: Develop tools for working with objects in 3D space
Represent solid objects using polygonal meshes
Draw simple wire-frame views of mesh objects
Goals of Chapter 7: Develop
tools for creating and manipulating a "camera" that produces pictures of a 3D scene
See
how to "fly" a camera through a scene interactively and to make animations
Learn
the mathematics that describes various kinds of projections
See
how each operation in the OpenGL graphics pipeline operates and why it is used
Build
a powerful clipping algorithm for 3D objects
Devise
a means for producing stereo views of objects
Goals of Chapter 8:
Add realism to drawings of 3D scenes
Examine ways to determine how light reflects off of surfaces
Render polygonal meshes that are bathed in light
Make a polygonal mesh object appear smooth
Remove hidden surface by means of a depth buffer
Develop methods for adding textures to the surfaces of objects
Add shadows of objects to a scene
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