Mathematical Optimization in Graphics and Vision - Luiz Velho - Impa

Chapter 1
Computer Graphics
1.1 What is computer graphics?
The usual definition for computer graphics is the following: a set of models, methods
and techniques to transform data into images that are displayed in a graphics
device. The attempt to define an area is a difficult, if not impossible, task. Instead
of trying to devise a good definition, perhaps the best way to understand an area is
through a deep knowledge of its problems and the methods to solve them. From
this point of view, the definition above has the virtue of emphasizing a fundamental
problem of computer graphics, that is: the transformation of data into images.
(Figure 1.1).
Figure 1.1: Computer graphics: transforming data into images.
In applied mathematics, the solution of problems is directly related with the
mathematical models used to understand and pose the problem. For this reason,
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