Implementing a GKS-like graphics package on a microcomputer

Reviewer: Lyle Benson Smith

The title of this five-page paper might better have been “A Computer Graphics Course Assignment Based on Implementing GKS on a PC.” The paper claims that such a course assignment, based on a GKS-like implementation, will give students a base on which to understand extant computer graphics terms and systems and will also provide insight into how individual graphics concepts fit together in a complete system. GKS, the first international graphics application programmer interface, is described very briefly. An appendix lists a subset of GKS functions that the author considers appropriate for implementation by students in the course being described. The author has taught computer graphics using this GKS project with students implementing their work in a variety of languages on different PCs (IBM PC/XT/AT or compatible and Macintosh IIs). He states that the preferred PC-type system is equipped with EGA graphics hardware or better (he does not say what EGA is). He briefly describes a Turbo Pascal version of the project and gives an outline of steps to take to present the project to students. Finally, he presents three variations of the assignment, which range from a few weeks worth of work implementing device drivers and a few other algorithms to an entire course built around the project. Instructors who wish to use this idea in teaching a computer graphics course might want to contact the author to get more details, and perhaps copies of handouts, in order to avoid reinventing the wheel.