CIS681 Class - Previous Announcements

PREVIOUS ANNOUNCEMENTS:

A draft of Lab #5 has been posted. (11/9)
We have a grader - see the info on the left. (11/8)
Include a README.txt file with your lab4 submission that explains your solid and surface texture functions as well as any extra credit work you've done. (11/5)
I've added some more detail to the Lab #4 specification. (11/3)
Lab #4 has been posted and the due date has been changed to Nov. 9. Read over it and let me know if you have any questions. (11/1)
We'll be going over the midterm on Wednesday, 11/4. (11/1)
I think we finally have a grader. He'll start this week with grading Lab #3. (11/1) I'll post his contact information when it becomes available.
to handle the very large sphere in the examples, you will probably have to use 'double' variables to hold the intermediate values. I used the geometric approach and had to go to double to eliminate some rendering artifacts. (10/26)
You don't have to handle multi-line commands - I'll put them all on one line. (10/26)
There are options for Lab #3 processing - I don't explect you to match my images exactly as long as you generate reasonable images
- The book has variations on how to handle transparency. you can use approaches from the book if you want to
- Clamping values different times can have a slight effect on the output.
- You can handle shadows by transparent object by various means, including the illumination points inside a transparent sphere. A transparent object can pass light through, block all light, or attenuate light.
(10/25)
There was a mistake in the left input file on Lab #3. It's fixed now. (10/25)
Here are the input files I'm using to grade Lab #2: input1.txt input2.txt input3.txt If your lab has a small problem that can be easily fixed, I will take a look at considering that in your Lab2 grade. You will get emailed (to your cse account) a summary of what I found about your Lab #2 - but no grades assigned yet. (10/22)
TENTATIVE LAB WIEGHTS: 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 10, 15. (10/21)
NEW in LAB #2 - allow one or more spaces between values of the input file. (10/16)
The preliminary version of Lab #3 has been posted. (10/16)
I added 2 clarifications to the Lab #2 spec
- be able to skip blank lines in the input file
- an example submission and execution was included to make what's required more explicit
(10/15)
I've posted new office hours - I'm not sure I going to keep these, but for right now they are T,F at 1:30. However as it turns out, I'm out sick at least for tomorrow and maybe Wednesday. I'll get a substitute instructor for Wednesday if I'm still out, so count on class. (10/12)
PIXAR: Q&A at 11 in DL298; talk at ACCAD at 5:30. (10/21)
If you submitted a Lab #1, then you should have received a grade for it via your CS email account. (10/17)
The CS meeting with Pixar will be in DL298 at 11:00; again, we'll dismiss class right before 11 on Wednesday, 10/21. (10/16)
Folks from PIXAR will be meeting with any interested CS students to talk about job and intership opportunities in a small informal group setting. We'll meet Wednesday, 10/21, at 11am. We'll adjoin our class early - like 5 'till 11. I'll find a room and let you know where the Pixar meeting is later. This is a good opportunity for students who think they might be interested in a job in the animation industry but who don't have a clue what it takes to land one, as well as anyone who wants to hear about cs-specific positions at Pixar. (10/15)
Class on Monday,10/19, will be given by Michael Andereck. I will be out of town. (10/15)
WEDNESDAY, 10/14 CLASS IS CANCELLED. I'm out sick. (10/14)
this coming week, I will be out of town Sunday (10/18) through Tuesday(10/20). So if you have questions about Lab #2 that need to be asked, ask them before Sunday. (10/12)
For Lab #1, the original lab spec specified using a unit radius sphere - use radius 10 (as it now appears on the lab spec.) instead. (10/5)
Notice that when you 'submit', it wipes out *everything* previously submitted. You cannot incrementally submit multiple files. For example,
```
submit c681aa hw2 prog.cpp
submit c681aa hw2 makefile
```
would result in only the 'makefile' appearing in your submit directory. It is a good idea to do a test submit to make sure you know how to use submit and that your submit directory is set up correctly. (10/3)
I reorganized the Lab #1 assignment web page - but I didn't change anything of substance. (10/2)
Just 'cause it's interesting (and kind of related to illumination of spheres), check out Mercury's Mysterious Bright Spot. (10/2)
To view a ppm file under UNIX, do the following:
```
convert sample.ppm sample.jpg
display sample.jpg
```
(9/30)
For homework #2, you do not need to worry about processing the comment line even though there is one in the sample input. For the labs that use a scene description file, you will have to process comment lines - by ignoring the lines. (10/3)
TAKE NOTE: For those of you who are familiar with OpenGL - notice that in Homework #2, the transformations are applied to a point in the order given, not the reverse order of OpenGL! (10/1)
A preliminary version of Lab #2 has been posted. (10/1)
The Homework #2 due date on the assignment has been corrected, it'ss due Monday, 10/5 (9/30)
Homework #2 has been posted. (9/29)
Although it's not due for awhile, Lab #1 has been posted. (9/28)
There will be substitute lecturer, Dr. Han-Wei Shen, on Friday, Oct. 2. (9/29)
A couple of students have asked about the scene file in Homework #0. (9/28)
- The Scene File is composed of the commands listed in the homework, but can consist of any of the commands in any order.
- Typically in a scene file, there will be one camera command, one ambient command, one background command and one output command - but if there are multiple of any, the last one given is retained.
- there will usually be several 'sphere' commands (and several 'light' commands that we will add later).
- Each sphere command will be preceeded by multiple transformation commands ('identity', 'rotate', 'scale', 'translate') in any order and each type of transformation can appear multiple times.
I'm putting this in a scene file format document and will post it soon.
The class schedule has been updated to reflect the posting of Homework #1 and it's due date - this Wednesday, Oct. 30. Remember to hand in hardcopy at the beginning of class this Wednesday. (9/28)
CORRECTION TO PROBLEM #4 in Homework #1: sin(30) = .5 and cos(30) = .87; in the original problem set, I had it the other way around. (Thanks to Keith Chima for catching this). (9/26)
Homework #1 has been assigned. Find it by following the link at the upper right of this page or the one on the class schedule. (9/25)
Use the 'submit' command under UNIX to submit your lab. Do 'man submit' to find out about it if you don't know how to use it. Note that everytime you do a submit, it wipes out everything that was previously submitted - it's not accumulative.

Last updated 9/30/09