Computer Graphics Using Open GL (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

by Francis S. Hill (Author) "Good question! People use the term "computer graphics" to mean different things in different contexts..." (more)
Key Phrases: exiting hit, texture quad, finite vanishing points, Chaos Game, Big Dipper, Intersecting Rays (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Combines the principles and major techniques in computer graphics with state-of-the-art examples that relate to things students and professionals see every day on the Internet and in computer-generated movies. DLC: Computer graphics.

From the Publisher
This book introduces the basic concepts and techniques of modern interactive computer graphics, assisting in writing practical application programs. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 922 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 2nd edition (May 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0023548568
• ISBN-13: 978-0023548567
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.6 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #435,205 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The first book you'll want in this field, May 24, 2000

By	larryq (California) - See all my reviews

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?

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great academic text, January 7, 2001

By	Jonathan D. Decarlo (Thomaston, Connecticut USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Thorough but terribly incomplete, September 22, 2002

By	"terribleshadows" (Milwaukee, WI USA) - See all my reviews

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.