The NURBS Book (Monographs in Visual Communication) [Paperback]

Les A. Piegl (Author), Wayne Tiller (Author)

Book Description

Series: Monographs in Visual Communication | Publication Date: November 14, 1996

The second, revised edition of this book covers all aspects of non-uniform rational B-splines necessary to design geometry in a computer-aided environment. Basic B-spline features, curve and surface algorithms, and state-of-the-art geometry tools are all discussed. Detailed code for design algorithms and computational tricks are covered, too, in a lucid, easy-to-understand style, with a minimum of mathematics and using numerous worked examples. The book is a must for students, researchers, and implementors whose work involves the use of splines.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Piegl and Tiller offer an excellent source of information on NURBS (nonuniform rational B-spines), which fills a very large gap in the technical literature related to CAD/CAM/CAE. It is written for the average engineer with elementary knowledge of college mathematics and computing. It would be very useful to students, teachers, and designers of geometric modeling systems. A well-presented work, with abundant computer-generated figures." -- Choice

From the Back Cover

The NURBS book covers all aspects of non-uniform rational B-splines necessary to design geometry in a computer aided environment. Basic B-spline features, curve and surface algorithms, and state-of-the-art geometry tools are all discussed. Detailed code for design algorithms and computational tricks are covered too, in a lucid, easy-to-understand style, with a minimum of mathematics and using numerous worked examples. The book is a must for students, researchers, and implementors whose work involves the use of splines. "Some years ago a few researchers joked about NURBS, saying that the acronym really stands for Nobody Understands Rational B-Splines write the authors in their foreword; they formulate the aim of changing NURBS to EURBS, that is, Everybody ... . There is no doubt that they have achieved this goal. ... ... I highly recommend the book to anyone who is interested in a detailed description of NURBS. It is extremely helpful for students, teachers and designers of geometric modelling systems. ..." - H. Pottmann, Computer Aided Design, 1996

Product Details

• Paperback: 660 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 2nd edition (November 14, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3540615458
• ISBN-13: 978-3540615453
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #538,357 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for the programmer working with NURBS., October 3, 1998

By 

Larry Lukis (Long Lake, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The NURBS Book (Monographs in Visual Communication) (Paperback)

I have a reasonable if dated math background, but I'm not a mathematician, I'm a programmer. I was able to work through enough of the math to extract very practical and useful knowledge for my graphics programming work.

I've gone through 3 other graphics book trying to get enough clear information on NURBs, but they were all either inadequate or obscure.

"The NURBS Book" is the one you want.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to splines for the non-mathematician, February 11, 2000

By 

"[e-mail]" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The NURBS Book (Monographs in Visual Communication) (Paperback)

One of the greates assets of this book is that it is fairly comprehensive while still using a minimum amount of mathematics. The style is lucid, easy to follow; the numerous C-like algorithms can be adapted to one's own use, and deal with the most important aspect of NURBS. This is easily the best introductory NURBS text. The only problem I see is the lack of discussion for ray-surface intersection tests, which are necessary if NURBS are to be rendered by raytracing. I recommend "The Nurbs Book" to any engineers and graphics professionals interested in curved surfaces.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good reference for implementers who are familiar with NURBS, July 23, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The NURBS Book (Monographs in Visual Communication) (Paperback)

This book is best for those who have at least become familiar with Bezier and NURBS curves and surfaces and want to start implementing some programs.

The illustrations are not as clear as they could be so it may make it a little difficult for first-timers to understand. If you're unfamiliar with Bezier and NURBS curves then "Curves and Surfaces for CAGD" by Farin is probably a better place to start. But if you get Farin's book make sure to get the 5th edition since earlier editions aren't as clear.

With that said there is a wealth of information about creating and manipulating NURBS geometry in this book. All explanations are followed by code implementation. The code is a little difficult to understand at first, but if you stick with it you'll understand their coding style.

4 stars since thier layout and illustrations could be a lot clearer.