main-basicinfo

Lectures

11:00-12:15 Tuesdays and Thursdays
Room 1221 Computer Sciences

You are responsible for material in the lectures. Notes are often posted afterwards.

Instructor

Michael Gleicher
Office: 6385 CS
Office Hours: Wednesdays 11:00-11:45, Thursday 9:30-10:15, or by appointment

TA

Blayne Field
Office: 1308 CS
Office Hours: Mondays 3:30-4:30pm, Tuesdays 1:00-2:00pm, or by appointment

Pre-Requisites

Technically, CS367 (Data Structures) and Math 320, 340 or CS416 (some familiarity with linear algebra). But please read the Should You Be Here page (from last year's web, but still pretty appropriate).

Mailing List and Web

The course home page is the primary place for announcements. Please check it regularly. There is an RSS feed available for it.

There is a mailing list that is set up by DOIT that I have little control over. It will send email to your "wisc" account if you are a student. Please make sure that you either read this account, or have it forwarded.

Books

Short Version (what books should I buy):
There are required readings in two books:

• Fundamentals of Computer Graphics, 2ed by Peter Shirley (the main textbook for this class). You should buy or borrow a copy of this book.
• The OpenGL Programmers Guide (the "red book"). Old versions of this text are available online, and the one critical new chapter from the newest edition will be made available to students online, so its not essential that you buy this book. However, if you plan on working in graphics, you'll probably want to own a copy.

Long Version (what are the books and why?)
Unfortunately, there isn't a textbook that covers the material in this class the way that I want to cover it. Shirley's book (see below) comes close, when coupled with the OpenGL red book (see below as well). The RTR book (see below) could be a textbook, it covers suprisingly many topics really well. But its a little too focused to be a general textbook.

I provide links to Amazon since they can be cheaper than the UW bookstore - I do not necessarily endorse them.

Main Textbook:

Peter Shirley. Fundamentals of Computer Graphics, 2ed
note: the new 2nd edition is considerably different than the first - it is green (not orange).

You may get the "uncorrected" 1st printing. If so, please be sure to check the errata page. In fact, I recommend that you go through the book and mark the errata right away.

Shirley, Foundations of Computer Graphics at Amazon.

Suplemental Textbook:

This book is optional - it won't be used for class readings. However, it is a great reference, and I recommend it if you're serious about graphics.

Mason Woo, et al. The OpenGL Programmer's Guide. This is sometimes known as the "red book."
The current edition is the 6th edition, but for the purposes of this class an older edition would be OK too. If you don't want to buy this book, the complete contents of the older version is online in html. There used to be an online PDF version as well, but it seems to have vanished. The old edition is OK for most things, the critical chapter in the 6e will be provided online in class.

OpenGL Programmer's Guide at Amazon.
There will be some readings from this book, and its an important reference.

Advanced Text:

Tomas Akenine-Moller and Eric Haines. Real Time Rendering, 3e.
This book is specifically about real-time rendering, and is very useful if you're interested in interactive stuff like games. It is really well written, and has great discussions of a lot of the basic topics. The new edition just came out (so new its out of stock most places), and is quite encyclopedic. Its an awesome reference book, but a little hard to learn from, so I highly recommend it if you are serious about graphics.
Real Time Rendering at Amazon

Exams

There will be 2 exams, counting for 25% of your grade.

There will be an evening midterm exam, on Tuesday, October 28th from 7:15-9:00pm. (note: to my knowledge, no other CS course has scheduled an exam in this time slot)

There will be a final exam, in the time slot given by the registrar. Currently, this is scheduled for Thursday, December 18th at 2:45 (ending at 4:45). The registrar sometimes changes this.

Exams are difficult to reschedule, and arrangements must be made ahead of time. Please contact me at the beginning of the semester if you forsee there being a problem.

Grading

75% * projects and assignments
25% two exams (midterm and final)

Generally, the projects are worth the most. , however, the exact nature of the projects hasn't been determined yet. The grading scheme for this year is discussed here.

See the Policy Page for more details.

Computing Environment

This class has been assigned to the computing labs that contain computers running Windows XP.

Programming assignments in the class will be in C++. If you do not have experience programming in C++, re-read the BAD LINKBAD LINK page. There is a page of information on C++ for 559.

The compiler provided in the labs is Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003. This is not the most current version. We can provide a copy of the compiler to any student taking the class, contact the TA for details.

See the Computing Policy page for more details.

Assignments

There will be a number of small written homework assignments and programming assignments. Most assignments will be graded on a check/no check basis.

Programming Projects

There will be several (either 3 big ones, or 4 smaller ones) programming projects. These have historically been the focal point of the course.

Previous Years

The web pages for previous versions of this class can be found here.

This class will be most similar to last years. Some things will be different, but looking at last years can give you some idea as to what to expect.