Image Synthesis brings together all the basic techniques needed for the production of computer images. Specifically designed to be a practical tool for the user of computer graphics systems, it provides a library of correct algorithms and offers an original set of methodological procedures that will enable a user to solve problems from the particular to the most general level. The book examines the three major classes of image synthesis - curve generation, zone filling, and geometric processing - providing the fundamentals for any image synthesis system. It presents a systematic review of the algorithms needed for each class of problem, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each; the algorithms have been written in a descriptive language, allowing the user to program them in whatever language he or she desires. Despite the wide variety of algorithms presented, Hégron draws them together into two unifying procedures, which he discusses in great detail: curve generation based on Bresenham's methods, and contour following. Because these two techniques can be applied to such a diversity of problems, they provide the user with a systematic basis for a software package.
