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<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<meta name="description" content="Real-Time Rendering Resources">
<meta name="keywords" content="computer graphics, real-time, real time, rendering, interactive, accelerator, hardware, OpenGL, DirectX, Direct3D, Glide">
<title>Real-Time Rendering Preface</title>
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" link="#2D4280" vlink="#9A6D03" alink="#2D92A0" background="background.jpg">
<h1>
<font face="LUCIDA, ARIAL, HELVETICA"><font color="#0D3256"><font size=+2>Real-Time
Rendering Preface</font></font></font></h1>
<font face="LUCIDA, ARIAL, HELVETICA">
This is the preface from the book
<a href="index.html"><font size="+1"><i>Real-Time Rendering</i></font></a>, by
<a href="mailto:[email protected]">Tomas
Möller</a> and
<a href="http://www.erichaines.com/">Eric
Haines</a>, from <a href="http://www.akpeters.com">A.K. Peters Ltd.</a>
</font>
<hr>
The title <I>Real-Time Rendering</I> pretty much sums it up. This
book is about algorithms which create synthetic images fast enough
that the viewer can interact with a virtual environment. We have
focused on three dimensional rendering and, to a limited extent, user
interaction. Modeling, animation, and many other areas are
important to the process of making a real-time application, but
are beyond the scope of this book.
<p>
This field is rapidly evolving and so is a moving target. Graphics
accelerators for the consumer market are currently doubling in speed every
six months. Graphics libraries appear, evolve, and often die out.
For these reasons we have avoided describing specific APIs,
chipsets, buses, memory architectures, etc., except where it
serves the goal of informing you, the reader, about some general
concept. We have endeavored to describe algorithms that, by their
popularity or lasting value, are likely to be used for some time to
come.
<p>
We expect you to have some basic understanding of computer
graphics before reading this book. The equivalent of a semester
course in graphics should be sufficient, though we cannot
guarantee we will not sometimes lose you along the way. Some of the later
chapters in particular are meant for implementors of various
complex algorithms. If some text does pass you by, skim on
through. One of the most valuable services we feel we can provide is
to at least
let you realize what you do not yet know, and so know where to look for it later.
<p>
This book does not exist in a vacuum; we make a point of
referencing relevant material wherever possible, as well as
providing a summary of further reading and resources at the end of
most chapters. We also spent much time searching for reference
locations on the Web; many current papers are available there for
free. The days are coming to an end when only those living near a good research library
could learn about various algorithms.
<p>
Because Web resources are notoriously transient and because the
field is evolving so rapidly, we maintain a Web site related to
this book. At <a href="http://www.realtimerendering.com">http://www.realtimerendering.com</a>,
the site contains links to tutorials,
demonstration programs, code samples, software libraries, and much
more.
<p>
Our true goal and guiding light while writing this book was
simple. We wanted to write a book that we wished we had owned when
we had started out, a book that was both unified and crammed with
details not found in introductory texts. We hope that you will find
this book, our view of the world, of some use in your travels.
<H2>Acknowledgements</H2>
Many people helped in making this book. Some of the greatest
contributions were made by those who reviewed parts of it. The
reviewers willingly gave the benefit of their expertise, helping
to significantly improve both content and style. We wish to thank
(in alphabetical order) Thomas Barregren, Michael Cohen, Walt
Donovan, Angus Dorbie, Michael Garland, Stefan Gottschalk, Ned
Greene, Ming C. Lin, Jason L. Mitchell, Liang Peng, Keith Rule, Ken Shoemake,
John Stone, Phil Taylor, Ben Trumbore, Jorrit Tyberghein, and Nick
Wilt. We cannot thank you enough.
<p>
Many other people contributed their time and labor to this
project. Some let us use images, others provided models, still
others pointed out important resources or connected us with people
who could help. In addition to the people listed above, we wish to acknowledge the help of Tony
Barkans, Daniel Baum, Nelson Beebe, Curtis Beeson, Tor Berg, David Blythe,
Chas. Boyd, Don Brittain, Ian
Bullard, Javier Castellar, Satyan Coorg, Jason Della Rocca, Paul Diefenbach,
Alyssa Donovan, Dave Eberly, Kells Elmquist, Stuart Feldman, Fred Fisher,
Tom Forsyth, Marty Franz, Thomas
Funkhouser, Andrew Glassner, Bruce Gooch, Larry Gritz, Robert
Grzeszczuk, Paul Haeberli, Evan Hart, Paul Heckbert, Chris Hecker, Joachim
Helenklaken, Hugues Hoppe, John Jack, Mark Kilgard, David Kirk,
James Klosowski, Subodh Kumar, André LaMothe, Jeff Lander, Jens Larsson, Jed
Lengyel, Fredrik Liliegren, David Luebke, Thomas Lundqvist,
Tom McReynolds,
Stan Melax, Don Mitchell, André Möller, Steve Molnar, Scott R. Nelson, Hubert
Nguyen, Doug Rogers, Holly Rushmeier, Gernot
Schaufler, Jonas Skeppstedt, Stephen Spencer, Per Stenström, Jacob Ström,
Filippo Tampieri, Gary Tarolli, Ken Turkowski, Turner Whitted,
Agata and Andrzej Wojaczek, Andrew Woo, Steve Worley, Brian Yen,
Hans-Philip Zachau, Gabriel Zachmann, and Al Zimmerman. We also
wish to thank the journal <I><a href="http://tog.acm.org/">ACM Transactions on Graphics</a></i> for
providing a stable Web site for this book.
<p>
Alice and Klaus Peters and the staff at A.K. Peters, particularly
Carolyn Artin and Sarah Gillis, have been instrumental in
making this book a reality. To all of you, thanks.
<p>
Finally, our deepest thanks go to our families and friends for
providing support throughout this incredible, sometimes grueling,
often exhilarating process.
<blockquote>
March, 1999
<br>
Tomas Möller
<br>
Eric Haines
</blockquote>
<p>
<font face="LUCIDA, ARIAL, HELVETICA">
on to the <a href="intro.html">chapter overview</a> or back to the <a href="index.html"><i>Real-Time Rendering homepage</i></a>.
</font>
<hr>
<address>
webslaves: <a href="http://www.erichaines.com/">Eric Haines</a>
/ <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>
<br>Tomas Möller / <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>
</address>
<p>Last change: <i>April 12, 1999</i>
</body>
</html>