The Cg Tutorial

"Cg is the key to unlocking the power of a new generation of programmable graphics hardware. This book is the definitive introduction to Cg, and will be essential for anyone programming high-quality real-time graphics. The Cg Tutorial will teach you to use Cg to create effects never before available for real-time applications."
--Larry Gritz, Author of Advanced RenderMan

"An important and timely book: Pixel-level procedural textures--animated clouds, fire, water, the whole bag of procedural tricks--finally go from the movie screen to the desktop. Access to computation of this power through a C-like language will usher in an exciting new era for the graphics community."
--Ken Perlin, Professor, New York University

Cg is a complete programming environment for the fast creation of special effects and real-time cinematic quality experiences on multiple platforms. By providing a new level of abstraction, Cg lets developers more directly target OpenGL®, DirectX®, Windows®, Linux, Mac OS X®, and console platforms, such as the Xbox™, without having to program directly to the graphics hardware assembly language. Cg was developed by NVIDIA® Corporation in close collaboration with Microsoft® Corporation, and is compatible with both the OpenGL API and Microsoft's HLSL for DirectX 9.0.

The Cg Tutorial explains how to implement both basic and advanced techniques for today's programmable GPU architectures.

• 3D transformations
• Per-vertex and per-pixel lighting
• Skinning and key-frame interpolation
• Environment mapping
• Bump-mapping
• Fog
• Performance optimization
• Projective texturing
• Cartoon shading
• Compositing

The accompanying CD-ROM includes the tools needed to run the sample programs in the book.

Contents

• What Is Cg?
• Vertices, Fragments, and the Graphics Pipeline
• Cg's Historical Development
• The Cg Environment
• Exercises
• Further Reading

• A Simple Vertex Program
• Compiling Your Example
• A Simple Fragment Program
• Rendering with Your Vertex and Fragment Program Examples
• Exercises
• Further Reading

• Parameters
• Texture Samplers
• Math Expressions
• Exercises
• Further Reading

• Coordinate Systems
• Applying the Theory
• Exercises
• Further Reading

• Lighting and Lighting Models
• Implementing the Basic Per-Vertex Lighting Model
• Per-Fragment Lighting
• Creating a Lighting Function
• Extending the Basic Model
• Exercises
• Further Reading

• Movement in Time
• A Bulging Object
• Particle Systems
• Key Frame Interpolation
• Vertex Skinning
• Exercises
• Further Reading

• Environment Mapping
• Reflective Environment Mapping
• Refractive Environment Mapping
• Chromatic Dispersion
• Exercises
• Further Reading

• Bump Mapping a Brick Wall
• Bump Mapping a Brick Floor
• Bump Mapping a Torus
• Bump Mapping Textured Polygonal Meshes
• Combining Bump Mapping with Other Textured Effects
• Exercises
• Suggested Reading

• Fog
• Non-Photorealistic Rendering
• Projective Texturing
• Shadow Mapping
• Compositing
• Exercises
• Further Reading

• Profile Descriptions
• Performance
• Exercises
• Further Reading

• Appendix A. Getting Started with Cg
• Appendix B. The Cg Runtime
• Appendix C. The CgFX File Format
• Appendix D. Cg Keywords
• Appendix E. Cg Standard Library Functions