This book is an introduction to computer graphics with an emphasis on applica- tions programming. The first edition, which was published in 1997, was somewhat revolutionary in using OpenGL and a top-down approach. Over the succeeding
16 years and 6 editions, this approach has been adopted by most introductory classes
in computer graphics and by virtually all the competing textbooks.
The sixth edition reflected the recent major changes in graphics software due to
major changes in graphics hardware. In particular, the sixth edition was fully shaderbased, enabling readers to create applications that could fully exploit the capabilities
of modern GPUs. We noted that these changes are also part of OpenGL ES 2.0, which
is being used to develop applications for embedded systems and handheld devices,
such as cell phones and tablets, and of WebGL, its JavaScript implementation. At the
time, we did not anticipate the extraordinary interest in WebGL that began as soon
as web browsers became available that support WebGL through HTML5.
As we continued to write our books, teach our SIGGRAPH courses, and pursue
other graphics-related activities, we became aware of the growing excitement about
WebGL. WebGL applications were running everywhere, including on some of the
latest smart phones, and even though WebGL lacks some of the advanced features
of the latest versions of OpenGL, the ability to integrate it with HTML5 opened up a
wealth of new application areas. As an added benefit, we found it much better suited
than desktop OpenGL for teaching computer graphics. Consequently, we decided to
do a seventh edition that uses WebGL exclusively. We believe that this edition is every
bit as revolutionary as any of the previous editions.
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WebGL
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