CMSC 435: Introduction to Computer Graphics


Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Department
University of Maryland, Baltimore County


Fall 1997


Welcome to the CMSC 435 Home Page !

This page will be updated throughout the semester with new course information.

Important Information

The following are some sample images which YOU will be able to create at the end of this course (except for the steam).

Here are few Computer Graphics related sites which you might want to check out.


Prerequisites

CMSC 106, 341, Math 221, or permission of instructor.

Course Description

Introduction to display hardware, interactive techniques, 2D graphics, 2D viewing algorithms including transformations, windows, viewports, and clipping, 3D perspective graphics including hidden surface removal, shading, and illumination techniques.

Textbook

Introduction to Computer Graphics, Foley, van Dam, Feiner, Hughes, Phillips, Addison Wesley, 1993. Course notes may be purchased from the main office. Additional reading of papers from the literature may be required.

Labs

The lab assignments will require the use of UNIX and the C programming language. A tentative list of assignments is given below. Lab assignments will be due at MIDNIGHT of the due date.

Lab Schedule
Lab Weight Description Week Assigned
Lab1 4% Line/Circle Algorithm 2
Lab2 7% Clipping/Window to Viewport Transformation 4
Lab3 8% General 2D transformations 6
Lab4 16% Interactive 3D viewing transformation 9
Lab5 10% 3D Rendering by Ray Tracing 12


Late Policy

10% per 24 hours late. No labs accepted after 5 days past the due date. Labs will be submitted electronically. Labs are expected to be worked on individually. Collaboration in any form will not be tolerated. Any form of collaboration or copying of labs will be dealt with according to university policy.

Examination Policy

Exams are closed book and fixed duration. Make-up exams will only be given when a student is prevented from taking the exam due to unforeseen circumstances (e.g., sickness), and formal proof will be required to prove the prevailing circumstance.

Academic Honesty

Cheating in any form will not be tolerated. You may discuss programming assignments with anyone. However, any help you receive must be documented. At the beginning of your program, you must include a comment indicating the sources you used while working on it (excluding course staff and text), and the type of help you received from them. If you received no help, say so. Failure to include this comment at the top of your program will result in your program being returned ungraded.

Newsgroup

There will be local newsgroups named umbc.course.cs435 for this course. We will post messages to this newsgroup and assume that you will read them. You should also feel free to post your own messages to this newsgroup if you feel you have something that would be useful and appropriate to share with the rest of the class. If you do not know how to read news, you should find out by reading the man page for the rn command or Netscape.

Grading Policy

Grades will be assigned on the basis of accumulated points. The weighting is as follows:

As per University policy, incomplete will be granted only under extraordinary circumstances; students who are enrolled after November 11 (the last day to drop a class) should be prepared to receive a grade of A-F.

Letter Grades

The following general range will be used:

Course Schedule

Tentative Syllabus
Week Topics Chapter
1 Introduction to Graphics System components & graphics hardware 1, 4.2, 4.3
2-3 Line and Circle drawing 3.2-3.3
3-4 2D transformations, matrices, 2D spaces, windows, viewports 5.1-5.6
4-5 2D clipping, shading, filling 3.4-3.6, 3.8-3.11
6-7 transformation hierarchy, graphics packages, Midterm 7
7-8 2 1/2D & 3D spaces, 3D transformations, polygon scan conversions 5.7-5.9
8-10 3D viewing algorithm, perspective 6
10-13 3D clipping, hidden line & surface removal 12, 13
13-14 Illumination models, shading,animation 14
15 Intro to User Interfaces or advanced rendering 2.2, 8, 9

David S. Ebert
August 1997