Spring term
Spring term
Section 201
2:30-3:30 M W F
Buchanan B216 (a change from what the Registration guide says)
In this course, I will show how mathematics and computers can be used together to produce graphics of mathematical interest. The programming language to be used is PostScript. It is ideal for my purposes because its imaging model uses affine geometry in a crucial manner. Towards the end of the course, elementary 3D graphics including perspective, and perhaps something of the regular solids, will be discussed. Also, at the end of the course students will have to propose and carry out their own projects in mathematical drawing. Students will be given accounts in the Mathematics Department undergraduate computer laboratory, and will also be able to run PostScript on PC-compatible machines or Macintoshes elsewhere.
The format of the homework to be handed in
My version of the programs in the first homework
These are written especially for this course:
A very simple PostScript program
The drawing environment in PostScript
The following comes from the Net. It seems to be thorough:
Also check out the nice job David Maxwell has done in our own help facility. Look there for the PostScript reference.
Another proof of Pythagoras' Theorem
PostScript routines to find eigenvalues etc. of 2 x 2 matrices (including matrix exponentials)
Drawing parametrized paths with PostScript
The package to draw parametrized paths in 2D
Solutions to the second homework
Using matrix exponentials to animate
linear transformations
Introduction to geometry in 3D
How to draw polygons and parametrized paths in 3D
The package to help you do this