“Migrating to an Object-Oriented Graphics API” by Ghali, Blythe, Kettner and Sowizral
Conference:
Type:
Entry Number: 15
Title:
- Migrating to an Object-Oriented Graphics API
Course Organizer(s):
Presenter(s)/Author(s):
Abstract:
Prerequisites
Familiarity with the fundamentals of rendering, an object-oriented programming language such as C++ or Java, and the basics of genericity and template instantiation. The course was designed for computer graphics practitioners who are familiar with an object-oriented programming language but use an older, imperative language-based API.
Topics
Introduction to scene graph concepts, scene graphs and shapes, ways of embedding classical geometry classes in a modern API, separating topology from geometry in an API, immediate vs. retained-mode rendering, methods of specifying viewers in a scene graph, associating a file format with an API, user interaction, visibility culling, multiprocessing, the future of scene graph APIs.
Description
This course identified the classes and methods that must be captured by a programmer to implement a graphics system in an object-oriented language. Rather than focus on one specific language defined by a particular library, this course provided a taste of the different languages that result from the compromises in library design. Speakers presented concrete examples from several graphics and geometry APIs, such as OpenGL++, Open Inventor, Fahrenheit/XSG, Java3D, LEDA, and CGAL.
