JavaScript Class Lecture

by Mike Gleicher on September 17, 2015

If you couldn’t sign up for CS638, but want to hear more about JavaScript, I tried recording Tuesday’s CS638 lecture.

https://mediaspace.wisc.edu/edit/1_watic24o

I am not sure if this has much value if you weren’t there. If you find it useful, please let us know and we’ll try to keep doing it. There’s a link to the class slides as well.

TWGL Matrix Tutorial

by Mike Gleicher on September 17, 2015

A tutorial on using the matrix class in the TWGL library is available here.

You’ll see it in the orthographic projection example (posted earlier) and you’ll probably want to use it for Program 3.

Basic 3D example

by Eftychios Sifakis on September 17, 2015

And yet another example, demonstrating 4×4 transformation matrices in TWGL, 3D rotations, and orthographic projection

jsbin.com/befetukece/edit?html,js,output

Also, can you tell the difference with this ?

http://jsbin.com/tosuxalisa/edit?js,output

Class Piazza

by Mike Gleicher on September 16, 2015

There is a piazza discussion board for this class.

Some students are already using it (24 of you). You can use the link on the right side of the course web page. The first time you use it, you might need to get their through Canvas. If you ask questions there, you might get a faster response – other students might answer it, or we are inclined to answer it since many people will see the answer.

Another Example for Program 2

by Mike Gleicher on September 16, 2015

A student from last year’s CS559, Yusef Sohail, did an example for Program 2. The colorful rain is just for fun, but it is an articulated arm that is animated.

Learning JavaScript

by Mike Gleicher on September 16, 2015

Some questions that people are asking have made me realize that I might not have properly advertised the “Learning JavaScript” tutorial post.

I do recommend Eloquent JavaScript and JavaScript the good parts.

I have mixed feelings about recommending doing your programming in JSBin, since I am not sure how to use the debugger with it. And I find I need a debugger. A lot with JavaScript.

Simple hierarchical modeling example

by Eftychios Sifakis on September 15, 2015

You can find a very simple example of an articulated hierarchical model here:

http://jsbin.com/mopizukowi/edit?html,js,output

Pay attention to the balance of save vs. restore calls, and how they relate to the hierarchical connectivity of the arm (you might want to try “reconnecting” the chain in different ways, by shifting those calls around!)

“Grading” and Canvas

by Mike Gleicher on September 15, 2015

As you should know from the syllabus, most things are graded “check/no-check.” The programming assignments are like this.

Canvas doesn’t let us record check/no-check. It forces us to give numbers.

We’ve made a 4 point scale as follows:

0 = nothing turned in.
2 = turned something in, but doesn’t deserve a check.
3 = Check – meets the requirements.
4 = Above and Beyond / Gold Star.

Note: in the future, we might give 1s and 5s as a way to make notes to ourselves.

These cannot be averaged (getting a gold star on one assignment doesn’t make up for not getting a check on another). Remember that we don’t always give gold stars.  They are often at the discretion of the grader for subjective reasons (each assignment will explain). But also, getting gold stars isn’t what gets you a good grade (see the syllabus): it’s more important to be consistent in your work and to get the “project points”.

The Week in 559: Week 2 Sept 14-18

by Mike Gleicher on September 11, 2015

This past week, we got started thinking about coordinate systems and transformations. This coming week, we’ll look some more at the mathematics of transformations, see how they get used for hierarchical modeling, and see how they work in 3D. You’ll also get a chance to try them out in a programming assignment!

For Monday, September 14th, there is Reading Assignment 2, which includes a Quiz.

For Thursday, September 17th, there is Programming Assignment 2.

Simplest Transformations Demo

by Mike Gleicher on September 9, 2015

This is a really simple example so you can see transformations in action.

Read the code, and see if you can understand why it does what it does. Why do the red ones and green ones do different things?

You might see some other tricks in there as well – as well as some lazy coding practices.