This page describes the reading materials for CS638 (computer graphics) for Fall of 1999. I should warn you from the beginning that the required textbook (yes, you need to buy it) is only part of the required readings for the class. For a partial discussion why, read this.

Required Textbook:

David Hearn and Pauline Baker. Computer Graphics, C version, 2nd edition. Prentice Hall, 1997.

This book will be the main textbook for the class. You will have to read a large amount of it over the course of the semester, so you should purchase a copy. It should be available at the University Bookstore, among other places. Since this is the same text as used in previous semester's courses, there should be used copies around.

Recommended Textbook:

Mason Woo, Jackie Neider, Tom Davis. Open GL Programming Guide. Addison Wesley, 1999. (note: by the time you read this, the 3rd edition should be available)

This book is strongly recommended. It is primarily a reference for the OpenGL graphics library (which you will need to use for the class). If you have an older version of the book, it should be fine. The differences between versions are subtle.

Reader

There will be a course reader with technical papers and tutorials available at the DOIT tech store.

Some other books that may be relevant

Charles Poynton. A Technical Introduction to Digital Video. John Wiley and Sons, 1996.

This book is specifically about issues related to video. However, it offers a great discussion of many of the topics of computing with images, and ties things very nicely to the perceptual psychology. Two chapters of the book are online, one of which is a required reading for the course.

Foley, van Dam, Feiner, and Hughes. Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice. Addison Wesley, 1990. (corrected edition in 1997)

Note: despite the fact that there are 4 authors on the book, many graphics people (including me) refer to this book as "Foley and van Dam" since they were the authors of the original.
This is the most standard graphics text book. It was a close call to choose Hearn and Baker over this.

Steven Upsill. The Renderman Companion. Addison Wesley. 1990

This is a reference for a piece of software that we probably won't use in the class. However, it is an excellent reference to a lot of concepts in computer graphics.

 

Some other References

Books on C++

If you're looking for a book on C++, my favorite is the C++ Primer. This preference is historical: I learned C++ from an older edition of the book, and at that time there were far fewer choices.

Stanley Lippman and Josee Lajoie. C++ Primer, 3rd Edition. Addison Wesley, 1998.

The "standard" reference on C++ is by Stroustrup. He created the language, but his book isn't necessarily the best reference or easiest to learn from.

Bjarne Stroustrup. The C++ Programming Language

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