INFORMATION SYSTEMS SERVICES

Overview of Computer Graphics

This document gives an

overview of the computer
graphics facilities provided
by Information Systems
Services.

AUTHOR: Information Systems Services

DATE: December 2002

EDITION: 3.1

OVE 5
£1.00

UNIVERSITY OF
LEEDS
Contents
1 Introduction 1

2 What are Computer Graphics? 2

3 Charting 3

4 Presentations 5

5 Drawing, Painting and Design 6

6 Image Processing 7

7 Scientific Visualisation 8

8 Desktop Mapping and GIS 10

9 Subroutine Libraries for Graphics 11

10 Multimedia 12

11 Further Information 13

Appendix 1 Software Summary 15

Appendix 2 Peripheral Devices 16

Appendix 3 Graphical File Formats 17

Appendix 4 Graphics Terminology 19

Feedback
If you notice any mistakes in this document please contact the Information Officer.
Email should be sent to the address info-officer@leeds.ac.uk.
Copyright
This document is copyright University of Leeds. Permission to use material in this
document should be obtained from the Information Officer (email should be sent to
the address info-officer@leeds.ac.uk).
Print Record
This document was printed on 16-Jun-03.

1
1 Introduction
1.1 Aim of this Document
The objective of this document is to provide a general overview of
computer graphics facilities offered by ISS. This comprises what they
can do for you, what is available and how to exploit their capabilities.
This document also covers multimedia facilities which are supported
in conjunction with University Media Services.

1.2 Who this Document is For

This document is intended for all new users of our facilities and any
existing users who wish to obtain a general overview of the graphics
facilities available. This includes undergraduates, postgraduates and
staff.

1.3 What this Document Covers

This document covers the following topics:
• The application areas that are covered by the facilities.
• What Information Systems Services recommend for use in
various areas.
• The graphics software available.
• The hardware available for graphics.

1
2 What are Computer Graphics?
Today there are very few aspects of our lives not affected by
computers. Practically every cash or monetary transaction that takes
place daily involves a computer. In many cases, the same is true of
computer graphics. Whether you see them on television, in
newspapers, in weather reports or while at the doctor’s surgery,
computer images are all around you.
“A picture is worth a thousand words” is a well-known saying and
highlights the advantages and benefits of the visual presentation of
our data. We are able to obtain a comprehensive overall view of our
data and also study features and areas of particular interest.
A well-chosen graph is able to transform a complex table of numbers
into meaningful results. Such graphs are used to illustrate papers,
reports and theses, as well as providing the basis for presentation
material in the form of slides and overhead transparencies.
A range of tools and facilities are available to enable users to visualise
their data, and this document provides a brief summary and
overview.
Computer graphics are used in many disciplines and subjects but for
the purpose of this document, we will split the topic of computer
graphics into the following fields:
• Charting
• Presentations
• Drawing, Painting and Design
• Image Processing
• Scientific Visualisation
• Desktop Mapping and GIS
• Subroutine Libraries for Graphics

2
3 Charting
One of the prime uses for graphical software at the University is to
produce graphs and charts.
Everyone has data of one kind or another, whether on paper, in the
computer, or just in the mind. We often need to know the
significance and properties of the data, or to be able to compare
different parts of it against other data sets.
One of the simplest aspects of data display is the production of
charts. This is where you would want to put your data into a
graphical form to show relationships and comparisons between sets
of values. There may be a number of reasons why you would want to
put your data into a chart:
• to illustrate differences between different sets of data
• to show trends between two variables
• to show patterns of behaviour in one variable.
There are basically two broad areas of graphs:
• Presentation charts and graphs of the kind used to illustrate
a few principal points. We see these on news and current
affairs programs on television. A bar chart or a pie chart is
used to indicate results of data obtained so far and the
general trends. They are often liberally decorated with bright
colours to increase their visual appeal and attractiveness to
the viewers and to hold their attention. They are used for
visual impact and getting a simple point over clearly and
effectively.
• Scientific charts and graphs which are more concerned with
ensuring that the detail in the data is represented accurately
and faithfully. We may have some results obtained from
experimental measurements and wish to display them. We
may want to compare the results from the data
measurements with the results we would expect according to
a particular theoretical model. We may want to draw a curve
through the data points (i.e. interpolate the data) and display
this along with the original points.
The aims of the two are different, and so the facilities you will want
from your charting package will also be different.
Presentation charting is more to do with impressive presentation
graphics where the aim is to put a salient point across to an
audience. As a result the priority with this sort of charting is not
always accuracy of representation. You want charts with strong
colours, an impressive look and special effects. The effect of a
presentation can be enhanced by using 3D graphs, adding pictures to
the graph, or using pictograms. These sorts of charts are rarely
produced in isolation but as part of a general presentation.
Therefore, some presentation packages also have their own charting
module for this purpose. Word and PowerPoint use a module called
Microsoft Graph and Excel’s charting module has some very
powerful presentation graphics features. Origin and Gsharp, both
dedicated charting packages, also provide professional presentation
charting facilities on the PC systems. Gsharp is also available on the
UNIX systems.

3
In scientific charting you want to display data as accurately as
possible in order to analyse it graphically or demonstrate clearly your
comparisons and results. As this sort of charting is done mainly for
analysis, it is rarely an isolated activity but is often done alongside
detailed numerical analysis of your data. Two of the most powerful
packages available are Origin on the PC network and Gsharp on the
PC and UNIX systems. Also, many numerical and statistical
packages have their own charting modules integrated with the rest of
the package.
It is clear that your choice of charting program will depend very much
on what purpose you want the chart to fulfil, and also what other
programs you are already using. On the whole, if you are already
using a program that has its own charting module, use that. The
table below gives some rough guidelines on your choice of charting PC
package, with the packages increasing in facilities and complexity
going down the table.

Requirement Choice
Simple bar, column, line or pie charts to Microsoft Graph in Word, Charting
integrate in a word processor Module in Excel

Charts for use in a presentation Microsoft Graph in Word or PowerPoint,

Charting Module in Excel, Origin

Raw data requiring good quality scientific Origin, Gsharp

charting

Data requiring simple mathematical or Charting Module in Excel, Origin, Gsharp

statistical analysis

Complicated statistical analysis and good Graphics module in SPSS

quality scientific charts

If you want to do charting on UNIX you are recommended to use the

Uniras software and in particular Gsharp.

4
4 Presentations
Presentation software (also known as desktop presentation software)
is used to create material used in presentations, such as OHP
transparencies and 35mm slides. The term is also commonly used
when a presentation is given using the output from a computer
screen.
The use of presentation software is becoming of increasing
importance as higher standards become expected in courses and
presentations. This will often include making use of colour, graphics
and the University logo.
Course materials produced using presentation packages can be
delivered in a number of ways. The simplest way is to print the
material on a laser printer and then use a photocopier to produce
overhead projector (OHP) acetates (first making sure that the
photocopier can accept acetates). You can also use the output
services produced by Information Systems Services and University
Media Services to produce colour output or output on 35mm slides.
Alternatively you can give a desktop presentation using a system
which projects the output from a computer system directly.
The simplest presentation software is a word processor. Word
processing packages such as Word, which can produce text in a
variety of sizes, can be used to create OHP transparencies.
Specialist presentation packages, such as PowerPoint, provide a
wider range of facilities than word processors and, in general, are
easier to use for the production of presentation materials.
PowerPoint is a presentation software program that helps you
quickly and easily create professional quality presentations.
Presentations can be transferred onto paper, overheads or 35mm
slides, or they can be shown on a video screen or computer monitor.
PowerPoint’s printing options include formats ranging from audience
handouts to speaker’s notes.

5
5 Drawing, Painting and Design
Drawing and painting software is available on most platforms at the
University. However, there are many differences between software
intended primarily for drawing and that intended for painting.
Drawing software will provide the user with a set of ‘entities’ used to
construct the drawing (an entity is a drawing element such as a line,
circle, or text string). Drawing entities can range from simple lines,
points and curves in 2D to their equivalents in 3D and may include
3D surfaces. Advanced versions of drawing packages used for design
are referred to as Computer Aided Design (CAD) systems.
Painting software tends to work on a conceptually lower layer. Whilst
it may provide some entities for constructing geometric shapes (these
tend to be 2D geometric shapes), a painting package will also provide
control over individual pixels in the image, i.e. it provides direct
control over the bitmap. It is worth remembering that opening any
image in a painting package causes it to become pixelated.
See Types of Graphic File Formats in Appendix 4 for a more detailed
discussion of the differences between drawing and painting packages
and advice on which to use.
The following packages are available on the ISS NT Cluster Desktop:
Paint Very basic painting program. Can create
simple pictures and edit bitmaps. Only
possible to read in and save files in a BMP
format.
Picture Publisher Painting package used to edit and create
pictures. Can read in and save files in a
number of different formats.
Paint Shop Pro Recommended as the main painting
package on the desktop. Used to edit and
create pictures. Can read in and save files
in a number of different formats.
CorelDRAW Recommended as the main drawing
package on the desktop. Useful for editing
vector graphics. Can read in and save files
in both vector and bitmap formats.
Micrografx Designer Drawing package used for technical
drawing.
The following software is available on the Suns:
Island Paint Painting program that provides tools for
creating and editing images formed by
monochrome and colour bitmaps. Several
painting tools can be used to create
geometric and freehand shapes. Scanned
images and clip art can also be imported.
Island Draw 2D drawing package.
AutoCAD General purpose CAD system in use in
engineering, and allows 3D solid modelling
as well as 2D/3D draughting. An
extension, AEC, for architectural and
construction applications, is also available.

6
6 Image Processing
Graphic enhancement software includes packages for rectifying and improving
graphics files such as photographic images as well as packages for more scientific
image processing.
Paint Shop Pro and Picture Publisher are available on the ISS NT Cluster Desktop.
Pictures can be edited, cropped, rotated, have colours changed and have special
effects added. Changes can be made to the whole picture or to individual pixels.
Within Paint Shop Pro there is also the ability to capture data from a screen shot.
XV is available under UNIX for performing similar operations.
A more scientific image processing package is Visilog, available on the Sun
Workstations. It is typically used in the areas of medical and bio-medical research,
microscopy, geography, non-destructive testing and quality control. Visilog comes
with a comprehensive set of image processing libraries, including: grey and binary
morphology, point operations, convolution and spatial filters, edge detection, linking
and approximation, frequency domain and filtering, geometric correction and global
and individual analysis through labelling. It also has many advanced extensions

7
7 Scientific Visualisation
Scientific visualisation is concerned with exploring data and
information graphically – as a means of gaining insight into and
understanding the data. By displaying multi-dimensional data in an
easily-understandable form on a 2D screen, it enables insights into
3D and higher dimensional data that were not formerly possible.
The difference between scientific visualisation and presentation
graphics is that the latter is primarily concerned with the
communication of information and results that are already
understood. In scientific visualisation we are seeking to understand
the data.
The recent upsurge of interest in scientific visualisation has been
brought about principally by the provision of powerful and high-level
tools coupled with the availability of powerful workstations, excellent
colour graphics and access to supercomputers if required. This
symbiosis provides a powerful and flexible environment for visualising
all kinds and quantities of data.
This was once regarded as the exclusive domain of expert system and
application programmers who could write the large programs
required, incorporate the algorithms for the graphics, get rid of the
bugs in the resulting program (a non-trivial and time-consuming
task) and then process the data. Most of this now comes already
available ‘off the shelf’ – all the users have to do is activate it and plug
in their data sets.
Visualisation tools range from lower-level presentation packages,
through turnkey graphics packages and libraries, to higher-level
application builders. The former are used for simple and modest
requirements on small to medium sized data sets and are often used
on PCs. The second take larger and more complex data sets and have
a variety of facilities for analysis and presentation of the data in two
and three dimensions. The latter enable users to specify their
requirements in terms of their application and ‘build’ a customised
system out of pre-defined components supplied by the software. This
can usually be done visually on the screen and then the data can be
read in, processed and viewed. You can interact with it by changing
parameters or altering values.
Presentation Packages
Many spreadsheet packages for the PC have the facilities for doing
elementary 2D graphics, i.e. to take a table of X, Y data and show it in
visual form on X, Y axes. This enables us to see the overall form of
the data much more easily than looking at the table of numbers. It
also enables us to identify any kinks or unusual features and even
missing or incorrect data. These facilities are also available in PC
graphics packages such as Origin – this is menu-driven and allows
users to read in data and select the options required without any
programming knowledge.
Turnkey Graphics Packages and Libraries
Turnkey graphics packages include the Uniras interactive modules
Unigraph, Unimap and Gsharp. Unigraph is used for scientific
graphing and charting in two and three dimensions. Unimap is used
for mapping, contouring and surface drawing. Gsharp is used for
both. All these programs contain advanced facilities for processing

8
data and for the selection of curve and surface requirements. No
programming knowledge or experience is required; the user interacts
with the modules via menus on the screen.
Examples of libraries which contain graphics subroutines are the
Uniras and OpenGL libraries – see section 9 for further details.
Application Builders
These are large systems which contain a wide variety of pre-defined
functions and facilities. Building an application consists of visually
selecting the iconised functions on the screen, connecting them
together by ‘pipes’ and then activating the network to read in the data
and feed it through the interconnected modules. Many state-of-the-
art functions for graphics, imaging, rendering, interfacing and
displaying are contained in the system. Users can extend the
functions available by writing their own modules and adding them to
the system.
Examples of visualisation application builders are AVS/Express and
IRIS Explorer.
AVS/Express is an advanced interactive visualisation environment
for scientists and engineers. AVS/Express supports geometric, image
and volume datasets. Modules can be dynamically added, connected
and deleted. Modules have control panels for interactive control of
input parameters in the form of on-screen sliders, file browsers, dials
and buttons. AVS/Express has a wide range of data input, filter,
mapper and renderer modules. Examples of mappers include
isosurfaces of a 3D field, 2D slices of a 3D data volume and 3D
meshes from 2D elevation datasets. Multiple visualisation techniques
can be selected to suit the problem being studied. User-written
programs or subroutines in FORTRAN or C can be easily converted
into AVS/Express modules which can then be integrated into
networks using the network editor.
IRIS Explorer provides similar visualisation and analysis
functionality. With IRIS Explorer, users view data and create
applications by visually connecting software modules into flow chart
configurations called module maps. Modules, the building blocks of
IRIS Explorer, perform specific program functions such as data
reading, data analysis, image processing, geometric and volume
rendering and many other tasks.

9
8 Desktop Mapping and GIS
Graphs which are maps, or have a cartographic component, are a
special case of a 2D graph which requires some special techniques.
Many people who are not geographers require this form of graph.
Mapping and GIS are two areas that benefit greatly from computer
processing of images.
It has been estimated that 85% of all the information used by private
and public sector organisations contains some sort of geographic
element such as street addresses, cities, states, postcodes or even
telephone numbers with area codes. Any of these geographic
components can be used to help visualise and summarise the data on
a map display, enabling you to see patterns and relationships in the
data quickly and easily.
MapInfo Professional is a comprehensive desktop mapping tool,
available on the PC network, that enables you to create maps, create
thematic maps, integrate tabular data with maps, perform complex
geographic analysis such as redistricting and buffering, link to your
remote data, drag and drop map objects into your applications, and
much more.
A GIS (Geographical Information System) is a system for sorting,
manipulating, analysing and displaying information with a significant
spatial (map-related) content. ArcView and ArcInfo are the two
packages available in this category.
ArcView is a leading software package for GIS and mapping. It gives
you the power to visualise, explore, query and analyse data
geographically. ArcView also has three add-on packages – Spatial,
Network and 3D Analyst – for more complicated queries. ArcView is
available on the NT Cluster Desktop and on the Sun workstations.
ArcInfo is an advanced GIS that gives users of geographic data one of
the best geoprocessing systems available at present. It integrates the
modern principles of software engineering, database management and
cartographic theory. Users are advised that this is a very
comprehensive GIS package and requires familiarity with and
understanding of GIS concepts. ArcInfo is available on the Sun
workstations.
For users of Ordnance Survey data, Map Manager and NTF2MIF are
provided on the NT Cluster Desktop for conversion of data into
formats acceptable by ArcView and MapInfo respectively.

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9 Subroutine Libraries for Graphics
Uniras and OpenGL are subroutine libraries which are available at
Leeds. The former is available on both the Sun and the Silicon
Graphics workstations whilst the latter is only available on the Silicon
Graphics workstations. Both libraries have at least FORTRAN and C
bindings. This means that users have to embed their graphics
requirements into their own application programs and write their own
program code to do this. In contrast, the interactive modules of
Uniras (e.g. Gsharp or Unigraph) work entirely off data sets – you do
not need to write a program.
If you have a pre-existing application program for which you require
graphical output, it may be easier just to produce a data file from the
execution of this program and then read this data file into a software
package.
It only becomes necessary to write your own program (or extend your
existing program to include calls to graphics library routines) if you
have to embed your graphics requirements to make them an integral
part of your application environment, or (in the case of Uniras) you
need the more advanced library functions which are not available in
the interactive modules.
Uniras Libraries
Brief details of the Uniras subroutine libraries are given in the
Information Sheet Uniras Subroutine Libraries (INF 9).
OpenGL Library
The OpenGL graphics library is a set of routines providing high- and
low-level support for 3D graphics. It has C, FORTRAN and Pascal
bindings. It can be used for 2D, 3D and animated graphics.

11
10 Multimedia
There is joint provision for networked colour printing, graphics, slides
and video by Information Systems Services and Media Services. This
section describes the facilities available.

On-line Services: Printers, Slide Makers and Scanners

A4 monochrome (black and white) and colour postscript printers are
available on the network. Users can send electronic picture and text
information for direct output on to paper or OHP foil. Additional
printing facilities are provided by Media Services where users can also
discuss converting draft electronic information into pre-designed
images with design staff.
Users can also send information to an existing unit in Media Services
for output as 35mm slides.
Colour scanners are available on the network and in Media Services.

Computer-Based Video Production

Facilities for generating videos are available in Media Services where
they have hardware and software interfaces to video recorders.
They offer facilities for video production and post-production and
enable users of computing in the University to utilise the expertise in
Media Services for the production of videos.
Data can be displayed or animated in real-time on a high-powered
workstation. However, the audience is clearly limited to those who
can sit at the workstation. For research seminars, conference
presentations, and grant proposals it is often more useful to be able
to record the real-time image sequences on video tape and present
them to the audience via a video player or video projector. To ensure
such presentations are effective, they have to be at a professional
standard of presentation. All of us have become unconsciously
accustomed to a high quality of presentation from watching
programmes on television. Anything less than this immediately looks
inferior and can often reflect on the content of what is being
presented.

12
11 Further Information
Documentation
Several documents are available from Information Systems Services
which provide information on the use of graphical software mentioned
in this document. At the time of writing the following documents are
available.
Getting Started with Microcal Origin (BEG 29)
An introduction to Microcal Origin 4.1, a scientific charting package.
Getting Started with Microcal Origin 6 for Windows NT (TUT 77)
An introduction to Microcal Origin 6, a scientific charting package.
Introductory Exercises in Gsharp (TUT 63)
An introduction to Gsharp, a scientific charting package.
Overview of Spreadsheets (OVE 4)
An overview of spreadsheet software including the charting
capabilities of Microsoft Excel, As-Easy-As and Microsoft Works.
Charting in Microsoft Excel (TUT 81 and TUT 49)
A tutorial workbook on the charting facilities of the Microsoft Excel
spreadsheet software (versions 97 and 2000 respectively).
Introduction to PowerPoint: Exercises (TUT 100 and TUT 89)
An introduction to PowerPoint (versions XP and 97 respectively).
Micrografx Designer Workbook (TUT 8)
A tutorial workbook which gives an introduction to Micrografx
Designer.
Uniras Subroutine Libraries (INF 9)
A summary of the Uniras subroutine libraries.
How to Access the University Logo (HOW 7)
Describes how to access the University logo on the campus network.
Obtaining Hardcopy from UNIX Graphical Applications (FUR 4)
Describes how to obtain graphical output from UNIX applications
such as Uniras.
Reference Guide to Academic Services (REF 1)
A summary of the hardware and software facilities provided by
Information Systems Services.
The Documentation Reference Guide (REF 4) gives a complete list of
documentation. The information is also available on the World Wide
Web at:
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/iss/documentation/index.html

On-line Information
On-line help is available for many of the graphics packages
mentioned in this document. Most software packages have Help
menus available and a wide range of information is available on the
World Wide Web.
UNIX Systems
In addition, on UNIX systems, many of the software packages have
help files (known as man files) which are available on the systems on

13
which the software is available. To access the help file type in man
followed by the name of the software package:
e.g. man uniras
The following help files provide more general information:
man software A list of software available on UNIX
systems.
printers Gives information on printers available
in cluster areas.

14
Appendix 1 Software Summary
The following table gives a summary of the different types of software
with graphics capabilities available on ISS platforms.
Area Package Comments
Charting Software Excel Powerful Windows-based spreadsheet
software with charting capabilities.

Presentation Software PowerPoint Windows Presentation package.

Word Word processing package.
Drawing, Painting and CorelDRAW Drawing package.
Design Software Designer Powerful drawing package.

Image Processing Paint Shop Graphic enhancement.

Software Pro

Scientific Visualisation OpenGL Graphics Library.

Software and Libraries
Uniras Suite of graphical software and
subroutines.
Desktop Mapping and GIS ArcInfo Comprehensive GIS package.
Software ArcView GIS software.

Numerical and Statistical Maple Computer algebra.

Software SAS Statistical package with graphical
capabilities.
SPSS Statistical package with graphical
capabilities.

Note This table gives a summary of the provision of software with graphics
capabilities. Before using any of the packages listed above you
should check any restrictions governing the use of the software.
The range of software available varies from time to time. Information
Systems Services reserves the right to withdraw software listed in the
table above.

For a full list of supported packages see the ISS Service Level Agreement document,
available from the ISS Help Desk.

15
Appendix 2 Peripheral Devices
Output Facilities: Printers, Slides, OHPs and Video
A wide variety of printers are available on campus, and OHPs, slides,
and videos are available via Media Services.

Printers Available to Users

Information Systems Services make a variety of printers available to
users of its Novell and UNIX networks. Most of the printers available
in the clusters are black and white laser printers, but a number of
colour laser printers are also available.
A full list of all public ISS printers is available from the ISS Help Desk
or online at: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/iss/printers/

16
Appendix 3 Graphical File Formats
Arguably, in an ideal world, there would only be one format available
for storing graphic images – the best. Unfortunately this is not the
case. In the PC world especially, the user has a plethora of different
formats with which to contend, with almost every major software
developer having developed their own format for storing images.
Examples of these are Corel's CDR, Microsoft's PCX, Micrografx's
DRW and WordPerfect's WPG. Fortunately, recognising that people
use different packages and in order to make their products more
attractive, software manufacturers have also built into their products
the ability to save images in many formats and to import images
created by other packages. Nowadays, many graphics packages are
capable of saving and loading images in a multitude of formats and
most state-of-the-art word processing packages, such as Word for
Windows, are also capable of importing various image types.
Information Systems Services recommends that members of the
University use Word for Windows for their word processing needs. To
this end, we provide access to the package on all ISS-maintained
Novell servers. One of the reasons for making this our choice was
partly due to its ability to embed graphs and diagrams within
documents. Word for Windows comes with some auxiliary
applications, called applets, which enable the user to create various
graphs (Microsoft Chart) and to do simple line drawings (Microsoft
Draw). These programs can be called from within the main
application and their images edited without leaving Word for
Windows. Where possible you are advised to use these applets.
However, if you wish to create a type of graph which is not supported
by Chart or a diagram which is too complex for a simple package like
Draw then you will need to use a more powerful package.
However, you should bear a number of points in mind. The success
with which Word for Windows, for example, imports a particular
image format depends on how well its graphic import filter has been
written. These formats do change over time as they are enhanced by
the vendor so there is no guarantee that an import will always be
entirely successful – although most are. You should always check,
early on in the development of your document, that you are able to
obtain satisfactory printouts. It is not unknown for images to appear
perfect on screen and produce perfect printouts on dot matrix
printers only to find that lines are missing when the job is sent to a
laser printer. You should also heed the warning below concerning
bitmap images.

Types of Graphic File Formats

There are two basic types of graphic file formats. The first class are
known as bitmaps. Paint packages such as Paint or Paint Shop Pro
produce bitmap images. Such packages record the image on the
screen as an array of dots of various colours or grey-scale intensities.
Having created a line, for example, it is not possible with Paint
packages to then extend the line or move it on the page. All you can
do is erase it and re-paint it. Paint packages are therefore normally
unsuitable for doing diagrams. They are mainly used for retouching
or editing scanned images or photographic-type images obtained by
other means.

17
 If you are using a bitmap image you should be aware of a number of
limitations inherent in the format. The first is that resizing bitmaps
can produce distortions both on screen and in printouts and the
second is that some bitmap formats also reflect, in the quality of the
image they store, the resolution and pixel-depth of the screen on
which they were created. It is therefore not always possible to exploit
the capabilities of high-resolution and/or colour printing devices
when obtaining a hard copy of a bitmap image. Common bitmap
formats are Microsoft Windows Bitmap (BMP), Microsoft Windows
PaintBrush (PCX), Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) and Graphic
Interchange Format (GIF).
The second class of graphical file formats are known as vector-based
formats. Drawing packages such as Micrografx Designer, Microsoft
Draw and CorelDRAW use these. Images stored in these formats can
be resized on screen without distortion and can take advantage of the
high resolution capabilities of laser printers. Common vector-based
formats are Encapsulated PostScript (EPS), Computer Graphics
Metafile (CGM), Micrografx Drawing (DRW), AutoCAD (DXF), Hewlett
Packard Graphics Language (HPGL), Macintosh (PICT & PICT2),
Windows Metafile (WMF) and CorelDRAW (CDR).
When deciding which format to use it is often worth considering the
type of printer you will use. If you intend to use a PostScript device
such as a LaserWriter or a Tektronix Phaser III you could use
Encapsulated PostScript (EPS). This will allow you to exploit the
capabilities of these printers to the full. It does have the
disadvantage, however, that any proofs printed on a non-PostScript
printer will contain distorted images.

CGM files
Most proprietary graphics packages which operate directly on data
sets to produce pictures also have the capability of producing CGM
files as an intermediate format between the data and picture
displayed on the screen. However, you need to be careful with CGM
files and you should note that there are different levels of
implementation. It is quite common for graphics software to have full
implementation of the CGM functionality but for Desk Top
Publication (DTP) software to only implement a subset of the
standard. Thus you can find that when you try and read in a CGM
file generated from graphics software into DTP software it doesn't
work. Unfortunately this is a common problem. Standards are
intended to overcome this, but unfortunately vendors don't have to
implement full definitions of the standard.
Thus it may be better to use a proprietary format such as PostScript
(PS), Encapsulated PostScript (EPS), Micrografx Drawing (DRW),
AutoCAD (DXF) or Hewlett Packard Graphics Language (HPGL).
These are known to be much more successful for sending graphics
files between different packages. If you wish to use graphics files in
the same software package (e.g. Word for Windows) then any of the
documented formats for Word for Windows should work – since it is
being read into the same software again. The vendor will have
ensured that it works.

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Appendix 4 Graphics Terminology
Computer Graphics is a field which uses a lot of specific terminology.
Although most users will not have any requirement for this, I include
a short alphabetical list of some of the more common terms for your
reference.
8/16/24 Bit Colour Indicates the number of colours per pixel. 8 bits give 256
colours, 24 bits give 16.7 million colours per pixel (also known
as True Colour - as that is how many colours the human eye
can distinguish).
3D Graphics The creation and display of 3D models.
Anti-aliasing Removing unwanted jagged lines.
Application Builder A software environment for building new software systems.
Arrow Plots The use of arrow icons to represent the magnitude and
direction of a vector in a vector field.
Aspect Ratio Height-to-width ratio of an image (640x480 = 4:3,
1024x768=4:3)
Axis (a) A line used to construct a system of axes for plotting
graphs as in Cartesian notation.
(b) An arbitrary 2D or 3D line about which operations such as
reflections and rotations are performed.
B-spline A parametric curve (or surface) whose shape is governed by a
series of control points.
C / C++ High-level programming languages often used in visualisation
software.
CAD/CAM Acronyms for Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided
Manufacturing.
Cartesian A reference system by which a point in 2D or 3D space is
Co-ordinates represented by 2 or 3 offset measurements, respectively.
Clipboard A temporary storage location where Cut or Copy commands
put data.
Colour Separation The separation of an image into the colours used for colour
printing (CMYK).
Compositing Merging of two or more images digitally.
Compression A means of reducing the amount of data required to store a
computer file.
Computational Fluid A mathematical technique for modelling the dynamic flow of
Dynamics (CFD) gases and fluids.
Computer Method of scanning the human body to create 2D or 3D
Tomography (CT) computer images.
Constructive Solid Describes a 3D model as a collection of solid graphic
Geometry (CSG) primitives.
Contouring Using isolines to depict a dataset.
CMYK The four colours used for colour printing: Cyan, Magenta,
Yellow and Black.
Digitising Converting analog information into digital format (e.g.
scanning).

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Dithering Simulating many colours with only a few. When a limited
number of colours are placed close together, the eye blends
them into a new colour.
DPI (Dots Per Inch) Resolution for scanning and printing devices.
Extruding A modelling technique for forming a 3D volume from a 2D
cross-section.
Finite Element A mathematical technique for computing stress levels in an
Analysis (FEA) object.
Flat Shading Basic shading method used to fill 3D objects with a colour.
Fractal Graphics Mathematical methods to model irregular natural shapes (e.g.
clouds, mountains and plants).
Gouraud Shading Method of shading 3D objects by interpolating colour across
polygons.
Grey-scale An image that contains continuous tones from white to black.
HSB An acronym for Hue, Saturation and Brightness – a method of
defining colour.
Icon A graphic symbol representing an action or a thing.
Image Processing The capture and manipulation of images in order to enhance
them or extract information.
Interactive The ability to work with computer graphics in real time.
Computer Graphics
Interpolation Computation of intermediate values between known values.
Isoline A line in a dataset which arises from fixing a parameter.
Isosurface A 3D surface in a dataset which arises from fixing a
parameter.
Kriging An interpolation method that produces both an interpolated
estimate and a standard deviation of the interpolation.
Monochrome Implies the use of one colour, the presence and absence of
which depict a picture, as in black and white photography.
Morphing Distorting one image into another.
Motion Blur Simulation of a motion trail.
Motion Capture Capture of 2D or 3D motions for use in computer animation.
NURBS Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline.
Opacity A surface attribute describing its ability to absorb light.
Orthogonal At right angles to a particular surface.
Parameter A variable associated with a function (usually a mathematical
function).
Phong Shading 3D surface shading method giving accurate reflection and
shading.
Photo-realism Very realistic computer generated scenes.
Pixel Smallest element of an image or the display device.
Polygon A shape formed from straight edges, such as a pentagon.
Primitive A simple shape or object such as a circle or sphere.

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Radiosity Realistic rendering method that allows for the diffuse
exchange of colour between objects.
Raster Graphics Images are stored as groups of pixels.
Ray Tracing Realistic rendering method that simulates highly reflective
surfaces.
Render Create a shaded synthetic image based upon 3D geometric
descriptions, surface attributes and an illumination model.
Resolution A measure of a system’s ability to record fine detail.
RGB A method of defining colour using Red, Green and Blue.
Scanner A hardware device for converting light from a source picture or
transparency into a digital format.
Scientific Involves the use of computer graphics to visualise
Visualisation multidimensional data associated with scientific projects; used
as an aid to understanding and interpretation of the data.
Shading The process of colouring the surfaces of an object.
Spline Interpolation method that creates a smooth curve or surface.
Curve/Surface
Surface Mesh A system of triangles or polygons defining a 3D surface.
Surface of A 3D surface formed by rotating a contour about an axis.
Revolution
Texture Mapping 2D image mapping onto a 3D object (similar to wrapping
wallpaper around the object).
Transformation A mathematical operation performed upon a set of co-
ordinates.
Transparency A surface attribute that determines its light transmissive
qualities.
Triangulation Conversion of a shape into a triangular mesh.
Vector Graphics Graphics objects defined in terms of start and end points (e.g.
centre and radius for a circle).
Virtual Reality A computer system that can create a real-time experience of a
virtual environment.
Wireframe A see-through view of a 3D object.

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