shan@unc.cs.unc.edu (Yen-Ping Shan) (04/30/89)
Can anyone give or point me to a precise definition of "Surface Area?" Is there a system that allows me to compute the value of the surface area? Thanks in advance. ---Shan---
render@m.cs.uiuc.edu (05/01/89)
Written 1:16 am Apr 30, 1989 by shan@unc.cs.unc.edu: > Can anyone give or point me to a precise definition of "Surface > Area?" Is there a system that allows me to compute the value of the > surface area? Seriously? A surface is the outside of an object or body; its area is the amount of surface measured in two-dimensions. Take a look at any decent integral calculus book for basic formulas for calculating surface area. If you want a more detailed examination, look at a mathematical topology book. If you want an automated aid for calculating surface area, try some symbolic computation program like mathematica. (Aren't CS students required to take calculus anymore?) Hal Render render@cs.uiuc.edu
dkukral@encad.Wichita.NCR.COM (Dean Kukral) (05/01/89)
In article <7978@thorin.cs.unc.edu>, shan@unc.cs.unc.edu (Yen-Ping Shan) writes: > > Can anyone give or point me to a precise definition of "Surface > Area?" Is there a system that allows me to compute the value of the > surface area? > Thanks in advance. > ---Shan--- A surface is usually thought of as a continuous image of a portion of a plane. The area would be the surface integral. See Hildebrandt's "Advanced Calculus for Applications" for a fairly good exposition. Think of dividing the surface up into jillions of little "rectangles" and summing up the area of the rectangles.
krichard@zaphod.axion.bt.co.uk (Keith Richards) (05/03/89)
From article <39400016@m.cs.uiuc.edu>, by render@m.cs.uiuc.edu: > > Written 1:16 am Apr 30, 1989 by shan@unc.cs.unc.edu: >> Can anyone give or point me to a precise definition of "Surface >> Area?" Is there a system that allows me to compute the value of the >> surface area? > > Seriously? A surface is the outside of an object or body; its area is the > amount of surface measured in two-dimensions. Take a look at any decent > integral calculus book for basic formulas for calculating surface area. A more relevant use of the phrase (considering the newsgroup) is that of Brad Cox in his `Object Oriented Programming' book for Addison Wesley. I think the term is used loosely and is meant to illustrate the concept by analogy, but an imprecise definition is given as, "the number of things that must be understood and properly dealt with for one programmer's code to function correctly in combination with another's" I haven't seen the expression used elsewhere in this context though. --- Keith Richards | RT3111, BT Research Labs, Martlesham Heath, IP5 7RE, UK. +44 473 642473 | krichards@axion.bt.co.uk (...mcvax!ukc!axion!krichards)