This assignment is a combination of a reading assignment and a “writing assignment.” The assignment is due on Monday 9/24 before noon.
There is a diversity of background in graphics in the class. Part of the goal of this assignment is to give you a chance to do a little self-assessment, and for us to get some basic concepts.
The problem is that I have no good, up-to-date, survey of graphics technologies. So I will settle for one of those two (good, but not up-to-date). However, the main lessons of the article are timeless. You just need to beware the stuff that is out of date (it’s from 2006 and says things like “Windows 7 is coming soon” – although it doesn’t even call it Windows 7).
So, I’d like you to read the following article:
An introductory tour of interactive rendering, by Eric Haines. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, January 2006. (IEEE explore link) (course reader) (author’s unofficial version).
Try to ignore the stuff that is obviously out of date (e.g. Microsoft Avalon and Longhorn and coming soon), and in general, the details are less important. I am less concerned that you see the details of the specific methods, but rather the general challenges and the kinds of strategies used to address them.
When reading through the article, I would like you to:
- Make a list of the big themes (challenges and solutions) that you think are timeless.
- Make a list of the words and concepts that you are unfamiliar with.
- Make a list of the things that sound interesting and you’d like to learn more about. (if there are graphics topics that are not in the article that you are aware of, you can add them to the list as well)
- Make a list of the things you can spot that are out of date.
Depending on your graphics background, you will have different amounts of 2,3 and 4. If you’re a pro, you’ll probably have a longer list for #4. If your graphics background isn’t so great, you’ll have a long list for #2.
Please send your lists for #2 and #3 to the TA by email (that way you don’t have to admit all the things you don’t know). Please do this before noon on Monday, September 24th. Mark will compile the lists and get them to me so I can use them to plan the lectures for Tuesday and Thursday. The odd Monday deadline is necessary to get the info together in time to impact lectures.
Please put the answers to 1,3, and 4 in a post in the Assignment 3 section of the forum. (you can include your answers to #2 as well).
Mark’s email: mdhillon AT cs DOT wisc
