Computer Graphics:
The Introductory
Course Grows Up
Lew Hitchner, Moderator Calif. Polytechnic State Univ. Computer Science Dept. San Luis Obispo, CA 93407 805-756-2081
[email protected] Steve Cunningham Calif. State Univ., Stanislaus Computer Science Dept.
Scott Grissom Univ. of Illinois, Springfield Computer Science Dept.
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected] is the triangle. The mathematicsof curved surfacesis typically treated in a more advancedcourse. Computer graphics is intrinsically visual, and even the most technically oriented graphics practitioner must be aware of the visual effects of algorithms. Unlike other areas of computer science, algorithms must be considered not only for time and memory usage, but also for their visual effect.
1. Abstract The field of computergraphics has matured greatly since the formal statementof the introductory undergraduate coursewas createdfor Curriculum 91, and coursesmust changeaccordingly. This panel will describea philosophical basisfor the changesand will give some examplesof coursesthat are responding to that change. 1.I Keywords Curriculum, computergraphics. 2. introduction The panelists all teach computer graphics at modest-size campuses and teach courses whose details vary rather widely. However, all have addressedthe changesin the field and their discussionsof their choices will illuminate how the changesin the field are reflected in course design. The panel will show how several recurring themes are found in the courses. One of the goals of the panel is to lay out au early form of a philosophy of the first graphics course. We hope that this philosophy will evolve into a basis upon which people can develop courses that fit their local needs as well as Fundamentally, the reflecting the changing field. philosophy is: l
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Rosalee Wolfe DePaul University School of Computer Science
Computer graphicsis inherently 3D and coursesshould be also. The fundamental subject of a computer graphics course is geometry and how it is expressedin computational terms. Thus, geometry is a major part of the introductory course. Geometry is expressedin terms appropriate to the field, such as coordinate systems, transformations, and surfacenormals. The basic shape
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Besidesgeometry, computergraphics is about light and surfaces,and about developing algorithms to simulate their interplay. Coursesneed to include material about light and surface properties and about the distinction between the ways various algorithms present light and surfacesvisually. Computer graphics has matured to a state in which there are a small number of high-level API’s that support all the fundamental conceptsneededfor early work. Coursesshould be built upon this kind of highlevel approach. Computer graphics should be interactive. Courses should include interactive projects and cover eventdriven programming. Becausethis panel will break ground for new discussionsof curricula for computer graphics courses,ACM SIGGRAPH will organize a BOF discussionafter the panel to expand on the ideas presented here and to allow as many faculty as possible to be involved.
conceptsof ray tracing and have studentsuse POV-Ray to render an image. POV-Ray requires an models, view understanding about lighting manipulation, and texture mapping and is available on all platforms. The final project involves an interactive application on the Internet using JavaScript, CGI, VRML or Java.”
3. Panel Members and Position Statements l Steve Cunningham Steve Cunningham has taught at CSU Stanislaussince 1982, having moved from mathematics to computer science in the late 70’s. He has been involved in computer graphics from the beginning of his work in computing becauseof his development of a graphicsbased computational laboratory for general statistics around 1976. He has worked with ACM SIGGRAPH since 1983 as chair of their Education Committee, as chair of the SIGGRAPH 91 Educators’ Program, as Director for Publications, and currently as Chair of the organization. He has co-authored two books, on user interfaces and electronic publishing, and has co-edited three more, on visualization and on object-oriented computer graphics. He has just completed an invited editorial for the SIGCSEBulletin on the importance of covering user communication in the computer science curriculum. “In the late 1980sI had the opportunity to contribute to the development of Curriculum 91 through reviews of its recommendationsin the areasof computer graphics and user interfaces. As part of that review, I wrote the courseoutline for computer graphics that is included in the curriculum.
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The computer graphics field has changed dramatically since Cuniculm 91 was written, and it is time to reflect on the changes and see how they affect the details of computer graphics courses. I am changing my introductory computer graphics course to be based on OpenGL and to become fundamentally a course in computer graphics programming with an emphasison computer graphics applications. This is part of my thoughts that are representedin the SIGCSE Bulletin editorial.” l
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Scott Grissom Scott Grissom has been teaching at the University of Illinois at Springfield since 1993. He graduated from The Ohio State University with an emphasis on computer graphics and human-computer interaction. He is Editor of the Visualization Resource Center, which is a collection of peer reviewed teaching resources for computer science. He teaches Data Structures, Computer Science II, Object-Oriented Design, and Human-Computer Interaction in addition to the Computer Graphics course. “We only offer one undergraduatecourse in computer graphics. I therefore try to expose studentsto a wide range of computer graphics. I have been using C++ and OpenGL for three years. I want studentsto create interesting and motivating images as early as possible. Using a high-level API allows them to do that. Towards the end of the semester I briefly introduce
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Lew Hitchner Lew Hitchner has a varied background in academia, industry, and researchapplying computer graphics and virtual reality. His PhD is from the Univ. of Utah. He taught at the Univ. of Calif, Santa Cruz for 5 years and currently teaches at Cal Poly State Univ. in San Luis Obispo, CA. He has worked as a researcherfor NASA, in industrial R&D, and as a private consultant in graphics and VR. His teaching experience includes introductory CSl and CS2 and all levels of computer graphics courses(intro through graduatecourses). “The Cal Poly introductory computer graphics course is a practice-oriented curricula that combines fundamentals with intensive laboratory exercises and programming assignments. Students learn to apply fundamentalsthrough programsthat use two high level API’s. Our one quarter coursecovers 3D geometry and transformation basics, event-driven interaction, hierarchical modeling, camera and lighting equations, and rendering techniques (visible surface, texture mapping, etc.). Students use a high level API in all assignments(Open GL and Open Inventor).” Rosalee Wolfe Rosalee Wolfe has taught graphics and humancomputer interaction at DePaul University since 1987 after graduating from Indiana University. At the ammal SIGGRAPH conference, she served as Educators Program Chair in 1996 and 1997. She has edited several SIGGRAPH Education Slide Setsand the book “Seminal Graphics”. In addition, she is the Education columnist for “Computer Graphics” and currently serveson the SIGGRAPH Education Comm. “At DePaul, we have two introductory computer graphics courses. ‘Computer Graphics Survey’ covers the entire discipline and uses high-level packages (Rhino, POV-Ray) to teach topics from the areaslisted above and also covers animation. This course is often referred to as the seduction course because students taking this courseoften decide to embark on additional courses in graphics. The second course, ‘Computer Graphics I’ uses C++/OpenGL as a platform. Students are given a ‘crippled’ wireframe browser to which they add transformations,hidden surface removal, shading, texture mapping, and interactive elements. Although both are entry-level courses, many find that survey course helps them when they take Graphics I.”
