mplevine@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Marshall P. Levine) (05/23/89)
I think that subjects on this newsgroup have strayed too far from the original purpose of the board. If many people want to discuss the morals of computer pornographics, then a newsgroup should be created for these people. I believe that comp.graphics is the place to ask technical questions, exchange information, and discuss computer GRAPHICS. Many of the previous messages should have been on a morals newsgroup or a sex newsgroup. On a different note, I found a few books that give fantastic descriptions of principals of computer graphics. Most people recommend "Fundamentals of Interactive Computer Graphics" as a good starter's book. I have found that the book is needlessly difficult to read and does not give much useful information. David F. Rogers wrote the two best books I have seen: "Procedural Elements for Computer Graphics" gives superb explanations for everything from the fundamentals (line-drawing) to the extremes (ray-tracing) with clearly written examples of everything. "Mathematical Elements for Computer Graphics" is an earlier version of the previous book. It too offers clear explanations for many principals of computer graphics, but it is more math-oriented. If anyone out there is looking for a good place to start learning about graphics, I recommend the Procedures book by Rogers. Feel free to write to me if you have any questions. Let's stick to computer graphics! Best wishes, Marshall Levine