91 Computer graphics 91. 2 Graphics Hardware Hard Copy Technologies. Display Technologies. Standard RT. Other Display Technologi Packages.General Purpose Librarie Programming. Plotting and Page Description Evelyn P Rozanski Rochester Institute of Technology 91.4 Conclusion 91.1 Introduction The term computer graphics refers to the generation, representation, manipulation, processing, and display of data by a computer. Computer-generated images may be real or imagined, animated or still, two-dimensional (2-D)or three-dimensional (3-D). Today most computers, particularly those in the PC, Macintosh, or workstation categories, have graphics capability. Their central components are a graphical display device, usually a cathode ray tube(Crt), and one or more input devices(e.g, keyboard, mouse, digitizer, data glove) Output devices include laser printers or video or such other displays as goggles or " ey es” as in the case of ual reality system Computer graphics encompasses a wide variety of applications. It has expanded its scope from the mundane business/presentation graphics to placing desktop publishing at everyone's fingertips. Highly interactive real time systems are used in flight simulators where the display represents changes in the scene or landscape. In engineering, computer-aided design(CAD)systems allow users to create, store, manipulate, and test objects and designs. Fully integrated systems allow standard component parts libraries to be incorporated into a productProduct design and drafting information is fed into manufacturing operations via numerical control interfaces. Other engineering applications that make extensive use of graphics include very large scale integration Graphics has emerged as the vehicle for visualizing physical phenomena and the volume visualization of complex datasets[ Purgathofer and Schonhut, 1989: Vince, 1990; Kaufmen et al., 1996]. Some examples inclu the medical modeling of the anatomy and MRIs [Kaufmen et al., 1996. One application simulates laboratory testing of a new friction material for disc brakes and visualizes temperature distribution of the brakes'ability to conduct or absorb heat[Purgathofer and Schonhut, 1989]. In mathematics, BB Mandelbrot defined the geometry of fractals Fractals, geometrical self-similar objects with fractional dimension, form a powerful tool for generating objects that resemble natural phenomena such as mountains, trees, and coastlines [de ruiter, 1988: Mandelbrot, 1982 In the world of animation, the computer has taken the drudgery out of transforming and redrawing objects of letting the puter transform one image to another by generating all the in-between image.g,aprocess It has enhanced cell animation as well as produced glitzy Hollywood special effects such as morphing One of the most spectacular uses of graphics is in the area of virtual reality(VR). This technology, which uses high-resolution graphics terminals and head-mounted displays(HMD)or eyephones, provides the user c 2000 by CRC Press LLC© 2000 by CRC Press LLC 91 Computer Graphics 91.1 Introduction 91.2 Graphics Hardware Hard Copy Technologies • Display Technologies • Standard CRT • Other Display Technologies 91.3 Graphics Software Engineering Software Packages • General Purpose Libraries and Packages • Solid Modeling Packages • Object-Oriented Programming • Plotting and Page Description Languages • Interaction 91.4 Conclusion 91.1 Introduction The term computer graphics refers to the generation,representation, manipulation, processing, and display of data by a computer. Computer-generated images may be real or imagined, animated or still, two-dimensional (2-D) or three-dimensional (3-D).Today most computers, particularly those in the PC,Macintosh, or workstation categories, have graphics capability. Their central components are a graphical display device, usually a cathode ray tube (CRT), and one or more input devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse, digitizer, data glove). Output devices include laser printers or video or such other displays as goggles or “eyephones” as in the case of some virtual reality systems. Computer graphics encompasses a wide variety of applications. It has expanded its scope from the mundane business/presentation graphics to placing desktop publishing at everyone’s fingertips. Highly interactive real￾time systems are used in flight simulators where the display represents changes in the scene or landscape. In engineering, computer-aided design (CAD) systems allow users to create, store, manipulate, and test objects and designs. Fully integrated systems allow standard component parts libraries to be incorporated into a product. Product design and drafting information is fed into manufacturing operations via numerical control interfaces. Other engineering applications that make extensive use of graphics include very large scale integration (VLSI) and solid modeling. Graphics has emerged as the vehicle for visualizing physical phenomena and the volume visualization of complex datasets [Purgathofer and Schonhut, 1989; Vince, 1990; Kaufmen et al., 1996]. Some examples include the medical modeling of the anatomy and MRIs [Kaufmen et al., 1996]. One application simulates laboratory testing of a new friction material for disc brakes and visualizes temperature distribution of the brakes’ ability to conduct or absorb heat [Purgathofer and Schonhut, 1989]. In mathematics, B. B. Mandelbrot defined the geometry of fractals. Fractals, geometrical self-similar objects with fractional dimension, form a powerful tool for generating objects that resemble natural phenomena such as mountains, trees, and coastlines [de Ruiter, 1988; Mandelbrot, 1982]. In the world of animation, the computer has taken the drudgery out of transforming and redrawing objects. It has enhanced cell animation as well as produced glitzy Hollywood special effects such as morphing, a process of letting the computer transform one image to another by generating all the in-between images. One of the most spectacular uses of graphics is in the area of virtual reality (VR). This technology, which uses high-resolution graphics terminals and head-mounted displays (HMD) or eyephones, provides the user Evelyn P. Rozanski Rochester Institute of Technology