“Natural and efficient viewing parameters” by Michener and Carlbom

The viewing scheme in the Core Graphics System is based on a unified approach to the specification of the viewing parameters for all types of planar geometric projections. As a result, the specification of some of the viewing parameters is inconsistent with traditional ways of specification and will often be found unnatural for use in certain application areas. Additionally, this choice of viewing parameters leads to inefficient implementations of viewing parameter modification, particularly in a high-performance graphics system which supports transformations in hardware or firmware. The natural ways to specify the different viewing parameters are discussed and efficiency considerations for viewing implementations are described. The Core System viewing scheme is evaluated in terms of its naturalness and efficiency of implementation. An alternate viewing scheme is proposed that provides viewing parameters that are more natural for many applications and that can he modified more efficiently.

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