Many scientists in different disciplines realize the power of graphics, but are also bewildered by the complex implementations of a graphics system and numerous graphics tools. More often than not, they choose the wrong software tools and end up with unsatisfactory results. Hopefully, if we know how a graphics system works and what basic functions many graphics tools provide, we can understand and employ some graphics tools without spending much precious time on learning all the details that may not be applicable, and we can become graphics experts through such a shortcut. Overview This book aims to be a shortcut to graphics theory, programming, tools, and applications. It covers all graphics basics and several advanced topics without including some implementation details that are not necessary in graphics applications. It categorizes current graphics tools according to their applications and provides many weblinks to important resources on the Internet. The purpose is to provide an exhaustive list of graphics tools with their major applications and functions. The reference list may contain some inaccuracies, since new tools are constantly emerging VI Preface and old tools become obsolete. Through explaining and categorizing these graphics tools and their primary appUcations, we hope to provide learners and researchers with different means and appUcation areas in computer graphics, and help them understand and use visualization, modeling, animation, simulation, virtual reality, and many online resources.
