cbuckley@vax1.tcd.ie (03/08/90)
I'm thinking of writing a ray-tracing program, and I'd like to know if I should stick to a standard format for the input. Is there a widely accepted Scene Description Language for programs like raytracers and simulators? It would need to cover most/all of the following features : 1) (obviously) 3-D positioning and orientation of simple geometric shapes (planes, cylinders, cones etc.) 2) constructs to describe the surface of an object (albedo, refractive index, colour, transparency) 3) constructs to describe light sources (intensity, diffusion, colour, size and location) 4) a method of varying the surface features of an object across its expanse (variations in colour, texture, "bump-mapping" etc.) /******************************************/ /* as an aside, how would this work for */ /* complex shapes - planes are obvious, */ /* but how would, for example, a "flat" */ /* surface be mapped onto a sphere - */ /* would it be something simple like a */ /* "reverse Mercator" projection, or */ /* something more esoteric? */ /* And what about a more complex shape, */ /* such as an ovoid or even an irregular */ /* shape? */ /******************************************/ 5) A way of building up more complex shapes from simpler ones. 6) Some way of specifying the relative "shininess" of an object - ie: how smooth the surface is, from mirror-like reflection down to perfectly diffuse reflection. I'm sure, with all the commercial ray-tracing packages around, that someone has decided on a standard SDL for them. EMAIL me at CBUCKLEY@VAX1.TCD.IE, or post if your reply is of sufficiently general interest. Thanks! Colm. +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ | Colm Buckley. (Computer Science, Trinity College, Dublin) | | | | EMAIL : cbuckley@vax1.tcd.ie | | Phone : Dublin 770101 | +---+---------------------------------------------------------+---+ | Beware of a programmer with a screwdriver... | +---------------------------------------------------------+