This course will not teach the use of graphic design software such as Maya or 3D Studio Max (though we may incorporate such software in an assignment), but rather the fundamental underpinnings of these programs. Students will learn and use the OpenGL graphics API, but again the focus of the course is on the underlying mechanisms of OpenGL rather than its sophisticated use.

All assignments will use these machines as a base platform.  If your assignment does not compile and run on these machines, using Visual Studio 7 (a.k.a. VS.NET) under Windows XP, then it will not be graded.  If this happens, you will have to rework your assignment so that it does work on these machines, and take the corresponding late penalty.  In other words, work at home at your own risk.  Incidentally, you can download a (legitimate) copy of VS.NET for free.  See me for details.

We are sharing this lab with Prof Humphrey's Operating Systems course, so I will coordinate my assignments with his to avoid massive logjams in the lab.  Nonetheless, availability of the lab machines will be an issue and you will find it easier and less stressful to complete your assignments on time if you start early.  If you find availability is a real issue, don't fight about it; instead, let me know and Prof Humphrey and I will try to work something out.

Students registered for CS 445 will do the programming assignments in pairs.  This is necessary to reduce the grading load (we have only one undergraduate teaching assistant) as well as the demand on lab machines (see above).

Your source code will be read. Source code documentation and organization should make your programs easy to read and convey your understanding of the implemented functions. Poor documentation and programming style will result in a lower score. More detailed instructions regarding required documentation will be provided with each assignment.

The graduate-level course CS 645 is being taught through the same lectures, but with slightly different requirements for the assignments. 

We will make frequent use of geometry, basic linear algebra (vector and matrix arithmetic), and a bit of calculus.

Required:

Computer Graphics, 2nd Edition, C Version, Donald Hearn and M. Pauline Baker, Prentice-Hall Inc. (1997).

See also:

OpenGL Supplement, Hearn & Baker (free on-line OpenGL primer for the text).

Strongly recommended:

The OpenGL Programming Guide 3rd Edition: The Official Guide to Learning OpenGL Version 1.2 by Mason Woo et al., Addison-Wesley (1997).

"Instructor evaluation" is primarily influenced by participation and by peer evaluations on paired programming assignments throughout the semester. These measure how well you were able to work with others on your projects. Note that only CS 445 students do the assignments in pairs. "Participation" means coming to class, asking questions, taking part in discussions, not falling asleep, and so on.

I also reserve the right to institute quizzes (announced or unannounced).

Assignments one day late subtract an additional 1 point; two days late loses 3 points. After 2 days the assignment will be considered a zero.

However, each student has 5 late days to use at their own discretion over the course of the semester.  Each late day extends the due date by 24 hours.  If you submit an assignment after the due date, you must explicitly state the number of late days you wish to apply to the assignment.  With this flexibility built into the late policy, no other excuses will be accepted without a note from the Dean's office.

On paired assignments, each student can choose how many late days to use for the assignment.  For example, for an assignment two days late, one student could use two late days for full credit, while the other could use just one for a 10% penalty.

Of course, these policies do not apply to your partner in a paired assignments.