Customer Reviews

Real-Time Rendering

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For a long time, I've looked for a book like this. Getting into graphics programming can be a real pain, because you either have books that don't discuss the issues involved with any depth whatsoever, or you wind up with tomes like Foley and VanDam, which can be overpowering to those not already versed in the subject.

This book does a fine job of bridging the gap, so to speak. For starters, the authors cover a very wide range of computer graphics topics, and do so in depth. The writing style is quite good, which helps a lot. Also, the text's illustrations and color photos in the middle of the book provide a good counterpoint to the topics being discussed.

For those readers who need a math review, or who don't know the math to begin with, an appendix in the back does a good job of going over the important mathematical points relevant to computer graphics.

That said, let me warn those of you out there who are "true beginners" that this book assumes you've had at least some previous exposure to computer graphics. It doesn't have to be that much exposure, but this text hits the ground running, and it's a good idea to have another, introductory book on hand to help you out should you get stuck or lost here. I'd reccomend Hearn and Baker's book- a personal favorite.

Also, those of you hard-core coders out there may be disappointed to learn that no API specific code is discussed here, with one or two exceptions. This is a theory book, period, and it does its job very well.

Up to date, filled with discussion topics no other book touches, and with an excellent footnoting scheme for those who want to learn more- this book is one to look at.

This book is simply put, a must have. If you are building an graphics pipeline for 3d games and need to know about things such as lens flares collision detection (hierarchical), pipeline optimization and general 3D math. Get This book. It is like the FOLEY and VAN DAMM book except it focuses on real time rendering (interactivity) I recoomend this book highly, as i got it yesterday and skimmed over most chapters and read the first two completely. This author writes not from a boring perspective, but of an fresh easily readible text format which basically teaches you the theory and gives you the inspiration to test it out on whatever platform you wish. This book should have come out sooner, is my only gripe. Purchase Book, grab a nice cup of joe, find a quiet corner and make sure to bring a pen/pad.

Real-Time Rendering is a wonderful all-around resource that belongs on the desk of any serious graphics programmer. Moller and Haines have taken a great deal of the research done in this area over the past decade and compiled it into a single, very well-written work. For each topic covered, several algorithms are discussed, with the strengths and weaknesses of each. Although pseudo-code is occasionally provided, source code is not, which I consider a plus, as it causes the focus of the book to remain on the algorithms themselves, not the implementation thereof.

Given the nature of the book, it's not one I'd recommend to beginners; although the first several chapters include a very clear and API-independent introduction to 3D graphics, the rest of the book is well beyond the scope of what most beginners will find useful. However, for anyone serious about the creation of high-performance graphics engines, this book is an indispensable resource.

Although not a programming how-to book, this book delivers something much more valuable, an understanding of the underlying principles involved in writing real-time, 3D programs. Too many books just give the author's own personal graphics engine to cut and paste into your own, but you never really learn anything about writing your own code. This book was a much needed breath of fresh air in a market seriously lacking a book on the hard-core principles. This book doesn't teach programming, but read and understand this book and you'll be able to come up with the code yourself. And it will be YOUR code!

This is a great book.

It is clearly written, in plain language. Although it does provide formulas here and there, it doesn't degenerate into "math-speak."

It is written as a guide to developers, rather than as a textbook, so final solutions to problems are given, rather than left as an exercise to the reader.

The book has a clear focus and doesn't include any fluff (e.g., Foley/vanDamm waste 3 or so chapters talking about how to write a friendly UI for a paint program).

Many references to other books and papers are included, so you know where to look if you want more information. And the book's online site is filled with similar links.

When I bought this book on a coworker's reccomendation, I was initially disappointed that it lacked the mathematical sophistication of Foley/Van Dam or of Glassner's books. Upon further reading I realized that this same "lack of deep mathematical insight" was also the book's strong point. "Real-Time Rendering" is a very clear, very readable "how-to" book. If you're looking for deep insight into graphics research problems I'd reccomend one of the two other books mentioned above ("Computer Graphics" by Foley and Van Dam or "Principles of Digital Image Synthesis" by Glassner), but if you want a straightforward plain-English explanation of some real-time graphics topic, this book is probably your best bet.

This is actually a good book, though it does not provide a "step by step" introduction, but more of a coarse overview of various topics. There's a small revision of mathematical basics, but I recommend you buy a complimentary book like Roger's "Mathematical Elements for Computer Graphics" to fill the gap if you're not mathematically liberate.
Actually one of the key features is the large bibliography with references to tons of books, papers and websites.
I recommend this book to everyone new to the topic, as it really helps to get a foot in the door and provides a great overview of various 3D-related topics, plus many links to further resources. Though it lacks the necessary details to directly turn everything into code, it shows you which techniques are available and where to learn about them.
Definetely recommended!

i am going to keep this short and sweet. see above. every minute you spend by not having this book you are "getting behind". this book is a gold mine. eric and tomas have put together an amazing book and kept it relativel "small". the brevity of the book is something of marvel. They manage to cover so much material in the book as well.

For more information on the book you should goto eric's site www.realtimerendering.com another _good_ book which will be coming it for computer graphics can be found at www.magic-software.com.

to tell you the _truth_, this book accompanied with watt and watt's "advanced animation and rendering techniques" is just about all you will need in your computer graphics library. there is the graphics gems series but ;)

peace, akbar A.

I just purchased this book recently because of all the reviews. I was not disappointed. This book teaches you in-depth 3D theory--not some 3D graphics library designed by the author. It gives you the background and understanding to create your own 3D engine.

This book replaces the "old school" stand-by Foley-Van Damn as the "bible" of computer graphics. It is a survey of computer graphics principles, focusing on real-time rendering, as indicated by the title.

Each subject is touched on in just enough detail to give the reasonably educated reader an understanding of the most important concepts, although sometimes tricky implementation details are left out. The style is academic and authoritative.

Some of the highlights of this book are:

- an excellent overview of the graphics pipeline
- general optimization techniques based on maximizing usage of all the processor(s) involved in rendering
- an excellent discussion of the standard lighting equation
- survey of special effects "tricks"
- many geometric tests such as intesection and culling
- large list of references

This book is not for beginners. A firm understanding of linear algebra, and a prior understanding of elementary graphics concepts such as triangle meshes and texture mapping, are both highly recommended before reading this book.

Definately one to have on the shelf. Currently, the best survey of graphics techniques available.