Interactive Computer Graphics

Reviewer: Steven L. Tanimoto

Many of the ideas of present day computer-aided design systems were present in the “sketchpad” system of Ivan E. Sutherland [1], which was reported on in 1963. As Machover and Myers point out, much of the 20 years between then and now has been spent making the hardware cheaper and better. Although there is something of an emphasis on graphics hardware in this article, the authors give a general survey of the principal issues and progress in interactive computer graphics, with attention to the following areas: graphics system organization, the quest for efficient algorithms, solid modeling, visual realism, and software package standards for graphics. Two mini-articles are embedded in this one as sidebars: “Fast image generation of solid objects: polygons vs. octrees” by Donald Meagher and “Progress in graphics standards” by Lansing Hatfield. Although the article may be useful as a general survey to many readers, its main strength is in its up-to-date summary of trends in graphics hardware.