Customer Reviews

Computer Graphics Using Open GL (2nd Edition)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you're new to computer graphics and really want to gain a strong foothold and understanding about most of the subjects in the field, then I can't think of a better book to start with.

Professor Hill really does a fine job of explaining the concepts and theory behind all of the subjects he delves into.

Most of the text deals with your typical computer graphics material- transformations, modeling, texturing, hidden surface removal, etc.-- but the explanations and examples are very, very well done, and not "dumbed down" in the least. Anyone who's tried to learn computer graphics with, say, Foley and Van Dam's book will be pleasantly surprised by the comparison.

I should also mention that the book has a fairly comprehensive chapter on ray tracing that will give anyone new to the subject an excellent understanding of what it's all about.

My only complaint concerns the fairly large number of "practice exercises" at the end of each section. Not that there's anything wrong with testing your knowledge of course, but the sheer number and frequency of these things start to hurt the flow of the book and it's readability. Just a personal observation on my part.

If you don't know very much math, or have forgotten most of it, don't feel too concerned-- along with the graphics discussions there's a solid tutorial on all of the linear algebra needed to get you on your way.

All this, plus the examples in the text use OpenGL-- can it get much better?

This is one of the better books on computer graphics theory I have so far come across, but please be aware: there are many holes in this hefty and pricy book.

Francis Hill has provided a very thorough book on computer graphics with numerous topics that will appeal to many readers. It is one of the only books to really cover ray-tracing to the detail that I like. While the book title implies the use of Open GL as one of the main concepts, this is misleading. The vast majority of all of the programming is simply in C++ which just uses Open GL to paint the screen. If you are looking to learn Open GL, pick yourself up the Red Book (OpenGL Programming Guide) or look on SGI's web site for all of the text free online.

While the text has a very broad scope, it is entirely lacking the organization, completeness, or concistancy to even approch an acceptable text on any computer subject, let alone a very complex one. Computer Graphics Using Open GL is riddled with errors. There are a great deal of typos in the code provided, and some code is just plain wrong. To add to the confusion, the small subsection of code that is available on the companion web site doesn't even match the code in the book; it is a single file with all kinds of code concatentated together, which itself won't compile.

Hill has also provided with his book one of the most frustrating things I have come across in ANY computer book I have read: half of the code is marked with such helpful comments like "To be implemented" or "students do here". The book is FULL of functions and variables that come out of nowhere or are never defined. As a result, you are left to fend for yourself, and are trying to piece together Hill's code into something that will compile. The pieces of code are presented as excercises, but you are never told how to actually do the things asked of you. Never, ever have I seen a book that basically says "Figure it out for yourself" and moves on. Additionally, Hill just loves to use one set of variables for a general example, and then a whole different set for the code (or pseudocode; it's often intermixed)

Basically, it's as if Hill had written a skeleton guide to graphics programming, and midway through fleshing it out, he simply stopped. The rest is up to you to figure out.

I elected to mention all of that because I want anyone who is considering the purchase of this book to know what is expected of them. This book has a very steep learning curve at points, and unless you are willing to put in a the effort, you will lose track of what's going on - Hill's text won't fill in for you. All of that said, you will be hard pressed to find a more complete book on graphics that even gives you a code-based presentation. The text, where complete, is very well written, and give you a number of things to consider while reading the material.

Three Stars.

This is a really good book. One of the other reviewers had given it a poor review because s/he felt that the book was misleading in that it was more about computer graphics than OpenGL. This is very true, but the title of the book is "Computer Graphics using OpenGL." That means that it claims to teach you the subject of computer graphics using OpenGL as its main tool. But, if that title does mislead you, be forewarned that there are much better books at teaching you the OpenGL API.

This book, in my opinion, does a great job covering all the standard topics of computer graphics and leaves you ready to tackle some of the more advanced texts on the subject. I also really appreciated the gentle approach to the mathematics involved. The author has a good appedix to help you brush up on any math-related topics you may be rusty on. Overall, this is a great book and comes highly recommended as a means to start into the field of computer graphics.

Like most of the books I buy online, this one was also for a class I'm currently taking. The instructor for this class is fresh out of the box and this is his first semester and class ever. Needless to say, any learning I have to do in this class is taught to me by reading the book. It is more of a teaching book than a techincal reference book, but the good news is, they offer a free online techincal reference book. The best of both worlds. If you're starting off in graphics like me, this is a great investment....

If your a student or teacher of computer graphics this a great book to use. I've been teaching opengl (WSU Virtual Worlds on the Web) for six years and find the vast variety of ideas and problems to solve very interesting. The author explanations are clear and easy to transfer to students. Student response to the book seems to be very positive. I also recommend purchasing the Opengl Superbible 2nd edition as a reference book (the code samples are great). My only suggestion is to provide a CD with a cross sections of opengl code samples to be used with the book. But, bottom line this book rules.

I bought this book then jumped to the last chapter. With its help, I wrote a fairly decent ray tracer in under two weeks (which is no small feat considering I'm a full time mom of a two year old!). Of course, OpenGL is not used much for a ray tracer. As a result, I did not use the book for OpenGL purposes but rather for its logic and instruction. The code design is object oriented and very clear and easy to understand. The book uses GLUT which is platform independent. However, I transformed the concept to Windows with no problem (I do have prior knowledge of the system though).

This is an excellent book. I was coming from a novice OpenGL user and wanted to branch out from OpenGL, to understand more impressive CG techqniques. He uses OpenGL, but it's the underlying techniques that make this book impressive. He goes beyond the API and delves into a number of interesting areas. Good overall introduction, with a fair amount of code examples and discussion of how to modifiy what he gives you. Not perfect, I would have liked another chapter about radiosity, or more ray tracing, but really excellent.

This was my first book on computer graphics. It is extremely detailed - the chapters on modelling, rendering and ray tracing have a huge wealth of information. It wont teach you OpenGL but will do enough to get you going with the it's API. A lot of math is invloved and you must be prepared to hand solve a lot of equations to understand them. Also your coding has to be top notch to implement the more challenging topics - know your programming and know it very well to get the most out of this book

P.S. There is a mistake in the refraction equation at one place in the ray tracing chapters - drove me absolutely nuts for a while. Otherwise this should be your first book on graphics.

For many programmers, the jump into full-blown graphics programming is always a great pain. Starting into 3D programming is even worse. Thankfully, for those who are in school there is this text. While not entirely complete on the workings of OpenGL, Hill's text thoroughly covers implementation as well as theory for students of computer graphics. This text provides an excellent introduction to those who have never done any graphical programming, allowing them to have an extremely solid base from which to continue their graphics programming.

With that having been said, I give this five stars for its utilization in the classroom. Hill often blends programming assignments and explainations seemlessly, teaching the student concepts more thoroughly through experience. This, however, raises the problem for individuals who are either studying independently and have no experienced OpenGL programmers to whom they can turn. For them, this text can still be a great asset but may leave them "high and dry", so to say, if they have problems with some concepts which are solidified in Hill's often difficult assignments. For these individuals, I give this text three stars. Since there are many independent studying individuals out there, I have averaged the two ratings together to get four stars.

I am not through this book yet, and no it is not an openGL manual... nor did I notice it claimed to be. It is a useful, fun book for learning how to do grahpics programming...

What parts I have done so far have made me feel pretty good about my purchase, I never get so stuck I can't code my way to some solution. In addition, the book leads you on to better ways to do things starting from simpler, brute force stuff.

Then there's the bits of math review and exercises... useful but not overwhelming so far.

For me the parts about self-affine curves and golden ratios were things I skipped or skimmed.... but they can be useful I am sure.

Better than many out there.