[Home Page] - [Reviews Main]

Graphics Gems by Andrew S Glassner Recommended

ISBN: 0-12-286165-5       Publisher: Academic Press       Pages: 832pp       Price: £?

Graphics Gems II by James Arvo Recommended

ISBN: 0-12-064480-0       Publisher: Academic Press       Pages: 642pp       Price: £?

Categories:   graphics

Reviewed by Francis Glassborow in C Vu 5-6 (Sep 1993)

Each book is divided into a number of sections which serve as repositories for papers on related topics. In general the papers in the main text provide a somewhat theoretical description of methods that have practical application. About half the papers in each book have associated C source code in the substantial appendices.

In general you are not going to simply dive in and rip out a piece of code to meet the need of the moment. Instead these books act as starting points to help you discover what you need to know in order to solve a specific graphics problem. Generally the material in the books will suffice for a basic understanding together with use of appropriate algorithms. The substantial list of references at the back of each volume will help you explore further when the need arises (or simply because you are curious and want to know more).

If you are serious about graphical program techniques then these books should certainly be part of your reference library. Expect to have to put some work in, but as a professional you know this already.