| Summary: | The area of Computer Graphics has evolved over time and its original role in communication, design, entertainment and art has broadened to include a wide spectrum of applications including education, computer games, films and videos, medical applications, geographic information systems and much else besides. There has long been a need for a comprehensive book that provides a coherent introduction to this fast-moving area, and Adrian Thomas's beautifully illustrated and well-written work does just that. Full colour throughout, the book explores programming language developments from machine code to more natural language forms, and the basic display operations and commands needed to create effective computer graphic systems. As the visual presentation of real and virtual environments becomes more and more the norm in application systems, a clear understanding of the theory that underpins these techniques is required of all students and practitioners studying and working on large computer systems. A particular example is provided showing how interactively building a graphic model of a system can be used to construct a matching computer model of the system capable of demonstrating its behavior. This illustrates a powerful new range of design and simulation tools that arise from integrating computer and graphic modeling schemes. Containing detailed programming examples along with an exploration of alternative algorithms to illustrate design options when building computer systems, this book provides a unique introduction to the complexities of integrating graphic and computer modeling and will be welcomed by all those interested in the way computers can be programmed to create images and environments
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