Welcome to Unit I

Unit I lays the bedrock of Computer Graphics. We begin with what graphics actually means to a computer (a grid of pixels driven by mathematics) and then progress through display hardware, sampling artifacts, and the very first algorithms that turn ideal mathematical primitives like lines and circles into a finite array of glowing dots.

Why Computer Graphics?

Computer graphics is the discipline of generating images from models. It powers GUIs, CAD/CAM, scientific visualization, gaming, AR/VR, medical imaging, simulators, animation, and data dashboards. A single GPU today schedules billions of fragment operations per second, but the algorithmic core - turning shapes into pixels - was largely settled between 1965 and 1985, and it is exactly that core that this unit teaches.

Learning Objectives

• Distinguish interactive vs non-interactive graphics and describe the conceptual framework (application model, application program, graphics system, display, user).
• Compare raster and random scan displays.
• Define resolution, refresh rate, persistence, aspect ratio, and color depth.
• Explain why aliasing occurs and how supersampling, area sampling, prefiltering, and postfiltering reduce it.
• Describe LED, OLED, and curved LED panels.
• Derive and trace DDA, Bresenham line, and midpoint circle algorithms.

What You Will Build Mentally

By the end of Unit I you should be able to look at a slanted line on screen and answer: which pixels lit up, why those, and how the staircase could be smoothed.