CSG Ray Tracer, original version

Introduction

This ray-tracer based on information given in "Computer Graphics, Principles and Practice", by Foley, vanDam, Feiner and Hughes, and Byte magazine.

A document is available describing the script language.

Compilers etc.

I've compiled RT with the IBM xlc compiler under AIX, gcc 2.7.2.3 under Linux 2.0.30, and it should compile fine with any general ANSI UNIX compiler.

I've also used the IBM VisualAge C/C++ 3.0 compiler for OS/2, with CTC306, CTD302 and CTU304 fixes.

I've used MSVC 5.0 under Windows NT 4.0 and it works too.

Public domain declaration

I wrote all this code in my own time on my own equiptment. I hereby place all this code into the public domain. Feel free to do whatever you like with it. No copyright / no royalties / no guarantees / no problem. Caveat Emptor.

Source code

All the source code is folded using Andys Source Code Folding Editor, which should be available from the same place you obtained this package. The source is all highly portable.

The full source to GBM is hopefully available from the same place you obtained this Ray Tracer. By obtaining the source, versions of GBM for AIX and other 32 bit operating systems may be easily be built. GBM is also highly portable.

Obtaining this code

This raytracer, the GBM executables, the GBM source, and Andys Source Code Folding Editor are best obtained via my home page(s) :-

• http://www.interalpha.net/customer/nyangau/
• http://grob.ssd.hursley.ibm.com/ (IBM internal network).

To run under OS/2, you don't need the GBM source, but you will need GBM itself. Under UNIX, you'll need the source and will compile it and RT. If you wish to edit/browse/appreciate the source, you'd benefit from AE.

The future, the Modular Renderer

This program will no longer be supported in the future. It has been replaced by the "Modular Renderer". This is a library of C++ classes and functions which provide a superset of the RT functionality.

This means that now the full C++ language can be at your disposal to help build models for tracing and also for automating the generation of animations. It also opens the door to procedural textures and other advanced features.

Furthermore, MR provides other forms of rendering, such as wire-frame and polygon rendering, in order to provide fast previews etc..

It has the disadvantage that in order to perform raytracing, you have to write a program and compile it. Accordingly MR has a raytracer called RTMR, which is backwardly compatible with RT and implemented using MR.

Change log

1/1/92		Initial general release.

Various dates	Fixed assorted bugs.
		Removed support for 16 bit systems.
		Tidied source to make fussier compilers happy (eg: IBM C-Set++)
		Added support for GBM based bitmap file handling.
		Complete rewrite of colour support.
		Added capability to handle 1,4 and 8bpp bitmap 2D textures.
		Added capability to do 3D block texture maps.
		Improved shape tree memory management.
		Improved intersection list management.
		Added resurface a shape capability.
		Submitted to Internet.

11/1/93		Removed support for non-GBM based bitmap file handling.
		Added biplane shape to accelerate tracing.
		Added of rendertype argument to render command.
		Added Whitted anti-aliased rendering rendertype.
		Added Escher perspective rendering rendertype.
		Submitted to Internet.

1/4/94		Sanitised documentation.
		Fixed very close to zero inaccuracy problem.

1/8/94		Tidied up source.
		Added optionality of surface arguments.
		Submitted to Internet hobbes.nmsu.edu.

1/2/95		Tidied up source.
		Now use /Gf+ /O+, prereq-ing C-Set++ with CSD 11 under OS/2.

10/7/96		Changed to HTML documentation

8/1/97		Move up from C-Set++ to VisualAge C++ 3.0.

1/5/98		Ported to Linux using gcc 2.7.2.3.
		Ported to Win32 using MSVC 5.0.