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Interactive Computer Graphics: A Top-Down Approach with OpenGL (3rd Edition)

Interactive Computer Graphics: A Top-Down Approach with OpenGL (3rd Edition)

List Price: $103.00
Your Price: $97.85
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Bad Text Book
Review: I am a college student and had used this book in my graphics class. It was good for a general overview, but i frequently had to consult another text book to do the mathematics and to find the more advanced OpenGL commands.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Lots of theory, very little code.
Review: I am currently enrolled in an OpenGL course and we are using this book. I think it is absolutely useless. It is definitely one of those "and the rest is left to the student as an exercise" type books. If you like a lot of theory and mathematics, get this book. If you want to see some real examples of OpenGL, get the "lego" book.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Not for those wanting to learn OpenGL programming
Review: I have to use this text for a graphics course at my university. I was expecting a good introduction on how to create graphics, but this book doesn't do that. Rather, it focuses more on mathematics (linear algebra/matrices) and Computer Graphics _concepts_.

Exercises are given at the end of each chapter, and are poorly worded, and require knowledge not given in the accompanying chapter.

There are many grammatical errors and the author frequently refers to the third-person (reader) as "she", rather than use a neutral term.

Bottom line: If you want theory and mathematics, this is an excellent book.

However, if you want to get to programming graphics quickly, then this book is absolutely horrible. I've frequently had to resort to other texts ( "lego" text) to learn what was going on.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A good book for those with a decent math and cs background
Review: I used this book for a 400 level computer graphics course and found it to be very worthwhile. This book provides an introduction to 3D programming using OpenGL. It is not a book on OpenGL programming. The author assumes the reader has a good background in programming, at least senior level in college, and understands the basics of linear algebra such as matrix multiplication, etc. If you are a hobbiest or novice programmer, look for another book. If you are a student of computer science and mathematics, this book is an excellent introduction. Computer graphics is a complex and highly technical topic and any book that tries to hold your hand is probably not worth reading. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Computer Graphics.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It is an very good book - to say the least
Review: I'm puzzled by the bad ratings that this book has received. I felt it has been grossly under-rated.

I got this book because I needed two things - computer graphics math and how the computer graphics concepts relate to opengl. I found both in this book.

We can't do non-trivial computer graphics without math. APIs are great, but there will be times when we have to stretch our imaginations and apply our math knowledge to solve tough computer graphics problems.

The author has placed great emphaise on the math to do computer graphics and I applaud his approach. After the math foundation is laid, he would proceed to explain how opengl uses those math to do stuff under the hood. That, I thought, is the right approach to learn computer graphics.

If you can only buy 1 computer graphics book in your entire life, buy the cg bible - "Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice" by Foley and gang. If you can buy 2, then get this one too.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An excellent text for academic study
Review: I've read some of the negative reviews that students have given this text and I have to disagree. I took computer graphics from a fellow that teaches part time and works on scientific visualization projects for NASA full-time. I found the text EXTREMELY clear and concise, examples clear and useful, and projects meaningful and demonstrative.

Yes, some of what the book deals with is a little hard to follow, but that really just means that you've got to take the time to think it through in order to learn the subject matter at hand.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Descent Intro to OpenGL but horrible & difficult excercise
Review: This book is descent if used with the Official OpenGL Programming Guide. Alone, it is confusing, framented, and leaves the reader constantly asking "How did you do that, please explain!" The excercises are very difficult if you are not already an expert on Computer Graphics. It assumes you know complicated Computer Graphic techniques (although stated otherwised in the prefix) and askes you to implement them in OpenGL without hardly explaining how the technique works? I have to use this for a Computer Graphics course which is suppose to be for Senior Computer Science majors. Most of the exercises are completely beyond what the book has presented!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Start your education in computer graphics with this book
Review: This book is the work of a university professor who is teaching computer graphics at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels. You will find in there a lot of detailed concepts alongside with clear mathematical developments. The most popular aspects of computer graphics are covered in progressive order, from the most simple/basic to the most involved/advanced. This book is useful if you already have a good proficiency in geometry, in linear algebra, in calculus and in programming with a language like C or C++. Otherwise, I can hardly figure out how you could use the concepts and the mathematics for your own purpose. Even though I obviously need to read other sources to learn OpenGL, I expect to go back to this book on a regular basis to grasp fundamental concepts that are simply not explained in books showing you how to use a graphics library.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: run screaming to a real graphics book
Review: This is a terrible textbook to get if you want to actually learn something. I had the bad luck of having to use this as the text for a class and am thankful that I had Foley & Van Dam for a backup. Get that if you want a book that talks in depth(and with authority) about graphics.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Do not waste your money
Review: This is the worst book I have ever read in the topic of computer graphics. The excercises do not reflect the knowlegde you gain by reading the chapters. Do not waste your money by buying this book.


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