CS 315 in Fall 2026

Weekly Schedule (Tentative)

Week of Meetings Topics Items of Note
MonWed
Aug 31, 2026 01

Introduction to course, graphics fundamentals
Sep 7, 2026 02

Wiki, exams, more fundamentals

Labour Day
Sep 14, 2026 03 04
Sep 21, 2026 05 06
Sep 28, 2026 07

programming and transformations

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Oct 5, 2026 08 09

matrices, projections, mathematical empathy; matrices, projections, code
Oct 12, 2026 10

Thanksgiving
Oct 19, 2026 11 12
Oct 26, 2026 13 14
Nov 2, 2026 15 16
Nov 9, 2026

Fall Reading Week; Remembrance Day
Nov 16, 2026 17 18
Nov 23, 2026 19 20
Nov 30, 2026 21 22
Dec 7, 2026 23

Review

Office Hours and Semester Schedule

--- layout: default --- # SCHEDULE STUB
TimeMonTueWedThuFri
08:30–09:00
09:00–09:30
09:30–10:00
10:00–10:30 CS-315CL-126 CS-315CL-126
10:30–11:00
11:00–11:30
11:30–12:00Office hoursOffice hoursOffice hours
12:00–12:30
12:30–13:00
13:00–13:30
13:30–14:00
14:00–14:30
14:30–15:00
15:00–15:30
15:30–16:00
16:00–16:30
16:30–17:00
17:00–17:30
  • Class
  • Office hours
  • Research
  • Reserved

Code

The code directory for this offering is available at:

Links

Topics and Learning Outcomes

The Topics and Learning Outcomes below, for the Knowledge Units within each Knowledge Area explored in this course, are drawn from the ACM/IEEE-CS/AAAI Computer Science Curricula (CS2023) .

Reading this section:

  • Items are grouped by coreness. Those above the KA Core divider are CS Core (expected in every accredited program); those below it are KA Core (core to this area, typically covered when the unit is taught in depth).
  • Grey text marks Topics and Learning Outcomes that are not covered in this course offering.
  • Nested sub-points are lettered and roman-numbered by depth; the numbering is generated from the curriculum outline, not authored.

GIT / Fundamental Concepts

Graphics and Interactive Techniques

Computer graphics is the term used to describe the computer generation and manipulation of images and can be viewed as the science of enabling visual communication through computation. Its application domains include animation, Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) and Visual Effects (VFX); engineering; machine learning; medical imaging; scientific, information, and knowledge visualization; simulators; special effects; user interfaces; and video games. Traditionally, graphics at the undergraduate level focused on rendering, linear algebra, physics, the graphics pipeline, interaction, and phenomenological approaches. Today’s graphics courses increasingly include data science, physical computing, animation, and haptics. Thus, the knowledge area (KA) expanded beyond core image-based computer graphics. At the advanced level, undergraduate institutions are more likely to offer one or several courses specializing in a specific graphics knowledge unit (KU) or topic: e.g., gaming, animation, visualization, tangible or physical computing, and immersive courses such as Augmented Reality (AR)/Virtual Reality (VR)/eXtended Reality (XR). There is considerable connection with other computer science knowledge areas (KAs): Algorithmic Foundations, Architecture and Organization, Artificial Intelligence; Human-Computer Interaction; Parallel and Distributed Computing; Specialized Platform Development; Software Engineering; and Society, Ethics, and the Profession. For students to become adept at the use and generation of computer graphics and interactive techniques, many issues must be addressed, such as human perception and cognition, data and image file formats, display specifications and protocols, hardware interfaces, and application program interfaces (APIs). Unlike other knowledge areas, knowledge units within Graphics and Interactive Techniques may be included in a variety of elective courses. Alternatively, graphics topics may be introduced in an applied project in courses primarily covering human computer interaction, embedded systems, web development, introductory programming courses, etc. Undergraduate computer science students who study the knowledge units specified below through a balance of theory and applied instruction will be able to understand, evaluate, and/or implement the related graphics and interactive techniques as users and developers. Because technology changes rapidly, the Graphics and Interactive Techniques subcommittee attempted to avoid being overly prescriptive. Any examples of APIs, programs, and languages should be considered as appropriate examples in 2023. In effect, this is a snapshot in time. Graphics as a knowledge area has expanded and become pervasive since the CS2013 report. AR/VR/XR, artificial intelligence, computer vision, data science, machine learning, and interfaces driven by embedded sensors in everything from cars to coffee makers use graphics and interactive techniques. The now ubiquitous smartphone has made much of the world’s population regular users and creators of graphics, digital images, and the interactive techniques to manipulate them. Animations, games, visualizations, and immersive applications that ran on desktops in 2013, now can run on mobile devices. The amount of stored digital data grew exponentially since 2013, and both data and visualizations are now published by myriad sources including news media and scientific organizations. Revenue from mobile video games now exceeds that of music and movies combined [1]. CGI and VFX are employed in almost all films, animations, TV productions, advertising, and business graphics. The number of people who create graphics has skyrocketed, as have the number of applications and generative tools used to produce graphics. It is critical that students and faculty confront the ethical issues, questions, and conundrums that have arisen and will continue to arise in and because of applications in computer graphics. Today’s headlines unfortunately already provide examples of inequity and/or wrong-doing in autonomous navigation, deepfakes, computational photography, generative images, and facial recognition.

For nearly every computer scientist and software developer, understanding of how humans interact with machines is essential.

Topics
1. Uses of computer graphics and interactive techniques and their potential risks and abuses.
a. Entertainment, business, and scientific applications: e.g., visual effects, generative imagery, computer vision, machine learning, user interfaces, video editing, games and game engines, computer-aided design and manufacturing, data visualization, and virtual/augmented/mixed reality
b. Intellectual property, deep fakes, facial recognition, privacy(see SEP-DEIA, SEP-Privacy, SEP-IP, SEP-Professional-Ethics)
2. Graphic output
a. Displays (e.g., LCD)
b. Printers
c. Analog film
d. Concepts
i. Resolution (e.g., pixels, dots)
ii. Aspect ratio
iii. Frame rate
3. Human vision system
a. Tristimulus reception (RGB)
b. Eye as a camera (projection)
c. Persistence of vision (frame rate, motion blur)
d. Contrast (detection, Mach banding, dithering/aliasing)
e. Non-linear response (dynamic range, tone mapping)
f. Binocular vision (stereo)
g. Accessibility (color deficiency, strobing, monocular vision, etc.)(see SEP-DEIA, HCI-User)
4. Standard image formats
a. Raster
i. Lossless (e.g., TIF)
ii. Lossy (e.g., JPG, GIF, etc.)
b. Vector (e.g., SVG, Adobe Illustrator)
5. Digitization of analog data
a. Rasterization
b. Resolution
c. Sampling and quantization
6. Color models: additive (RGB), subtractive (CMYK), and color perception (HSV)
7. Tradeoffs between storing image data and re-computing image data
8. Spatialization: coordinate systems, absolute and relative positioning
9. Animation as a sequence of still images
KA Core
10. Applied interactive graphics (e.g., processing, python)
11. Display characteristics (protocols and ports)
Learning Outcomes
1. Identify common uses of digital presentation to humans (e.g., computer graphics, sound).
2. Describe how analog signals can be reasonably represented by discrete samples, for example, how images can be represented by pixels.
3. Compute the memory requirement for storing a color image given its resolution.
4. Create a graphic depicting how the limits of human perception affect choices about the digital representation of analog signals.
5. Indicate when and why you should use each of the following common file formats: JPG, PNG, MP3, MP4, and GIF.
6. Describe color models and their use in graphics display devices.
7. Compute the memory requirements for a multi-second movie (lasting n seconds) displaying at a specific framerate (f frames per second) at a specified resolution (r pixels per frame).
8. Compare and contrast digital video to analog video.
9. Describe the basic process of producing continuous motion from a sequence of discrete frames (sometimes called “flicker fusion”).
10. Describe a possible visual misrepresentation that could result from digitally sampling an analog world.
11. Compute memory space requirements based on resolution and color coding.
12. Compute time requirements based on refresh rates and rasterization techniques.
KA Core
13. Design a user interface and an alternative for persons with color perception deficiency.
14. Construct a simple graphical user interface using a graphics library.

GIT / Interaction

Graphics and Interactive Techniques

Computer graphics is the term used to describe the computer generation and manipulation of images and can be viewed as the science of enabling visual communication through computation. Its application domains include animation, Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) and Visual Effects (VFX); engineering; machine learning; medical imaging; scientific, information, and knowledge visualization; simulators; special effects; user interfaces; and video games. Traditionally, graphics at the undergraduate level focused on rendering, linear algebra, physics, the graphics pipeline, interaction, and phenomenological approaches. Today’s graphics courses increasingly include data science, physical computing, animation, and haptics. Thus, the knowledge area (KA) expanded beyond core image-based computer graphics. At the advanced level, undergraduate institutions are more likely to offer one or several courses specializing in a specific graphics knowledge unit (KU) or topic: e.g., gaming, animation, visualization, tangible or physical computing, and immersive courses such as Augmented Reality (AR)/Virtual Reality (VR)/eXtended Reality (XR). There is considerable connection with other computer science knowledge areas (KAs): Algorithmic Foundations, Architecture and Organization, Artificial Intelligence; Human-Computer Interaction; Parallel and Distributed Computing; Specialized Platform Development; Software Engineering; and Society, Ethics, and the Profession. For students to become adept at the use and generation of computer graphics and interactive techniques, many issues must be addressed, such as human perception and cognition, data and image file formats, display specifications and protocols, hardware interfaces, and application program interfaces (APIs). Unlike other knowledge areas, knowledge units within Graphics and Interactive Techniques may be included in a variety of elective courses. Alternatively, graphics topics may be introduced in an applied project in courses primarily covering human computer interaction, embedded systems, web development, introductory programming courses, etc. Undergraduate computer science students who study the knowledge units specified below through a balance of theory and applied instruction will be able to understand, evaluate, and/or implement the related graphics and interactive techniques as users and developers. Because technology changes rapidly, the Graphics and Interactive Techniques subcommittee attempted to avoid being overly prescriptive. Any examples of APIs, programs, and languages should be considered as appropriate examples in 2023. In effect, this is a snapshot in time. Graphics as a knowledge area has expanded and become pervasive since the CS2013 report. AR/VR/XR, artificial intelligence, computer vision, data science, machine learning, and interfaces driven by embedded sensors in everything from cars to coffee makers use graphics and interactive techniques. The now ubiquitous smartphone has made much of the world’s population regular users and creators of graphics, digital images, and the interactive techniques to manipulate them. Animations, games, visualizations, and immersive applications that ran on desktops in 2013, now can run on mobile devices. The amount of stored digital data grew exponentially since 2013, and both data and visualizations are now published by myriad sources including news media and scientific organizations. Revenue from mobile video games now exceeds that of music and movies combined [1]. CGI and VFX are employed in almost all films, animations, TV productions, advertising, and business graphics. The number of people who create graphics has skyrocketed, as have the number of applications and generative tools used to produce graphics. It is critical that students and faculty confront the ethical issues, questions, and conundrums that have arisen and will continue to arise in and because of applications in computer graphics. Today’s headlines unfortunately already provide examples of inequity and/or wrong-doing in autonomous navigation, deepfakes, computational photography, generative images, and facial recognition.

Interactive computer graphics is a requisite part of real-time applications ranging from the utilitarian-like word processors to virtual and/or augmented reality applications.

Topics
1. Event Driven Programming
a. Mouse or touch events
b. Keyboard events
c. Voice input
d. Sensors
e. Message passing communication
f. Network events
2. Graphical User Interface (Single Channel)
a. Window
b. Icons
c. Menus
d. Pointing Devices
3. Accessibility
KA Core
4. Gestural Interfaces
a. Touch screen gestures
b. Hand and body gestures
5. Haptic Interfaces
a. External actuators
b. Gloves
c. Exoskeletons
6. Multimodal Interfaces
7. Head-worn Interfaces
a. Brain-computer interfaces, e.g., Electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes and Multi-Electrode Arrays (MEAs)
b. Headsets with embedded eye tracking
c. AR glasses
8. Natural Language Interfaces
Learning Outcomes
1. Create a simple game that responds to single channel mouse and keyboard events.
2. Create a mobile app that responds to touch events.
3. Design and create an application that responds to different event triggers.
KA Core
4. Assess the consistency or lack of consistency in cross-platform touch screen gestures.
5. Design and create an application that provides haptic feedback.
6. Write a program that is controlled by gestures.

GIT / Geometric Modeling

Graphics and Interactive Techniques

Computer graphics is the term used to describe the computer generation and manipulation of images and can be viewed as the science of enabling visual communication through computation. Its application domains include animation, Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) and Visual Effects (VFX); engineering; machine learning; medical imaging; scientific, information, and knowledge visualization; simulators; special effects; user interfaces; and video games. Traditionally, graphics at the undergraduate level focused on rendering, linear algebra, physics, the graphics pipeline, interaction, and phenomenological approaches. Today’s graphics courses increasingly include data science, physical computing, animation, and haptics. Thus, the knowledge area (KA) expanded beyond core image-based computer graphics. At the advanced level, undergraduate institutions are more likely to offer one or several courses specializing in a specific graphics knowledge unit (KU) or topic: e.g., gaming, animation, visualization, tangible or physical computing, and immersive courses such as Augmented Reality (AR)/Virtual Reality (VR)/eXtended Reality (XR). There is considerable connection with other computer science knowledge areas (KAs): Algorithmic Foundations, Architecture and Organization, Artificial Intelligence; Human-Computer Interaction; Parallel and Distributed Computing; Specialized Platform Development; Software Engineering; and Society, Ethics, and the Profession. For students to become adept at the use and generation of computer graphics and interactive techniques, many issues must be addressed, such as human perception and cognition, data and image file formats, display specifications and protocols, hardware interfaces, and application program interfaces (APIs). Unlike other knowledge areas, knowledge units within Graphics and Interactive Techniques may be included in a variety of elective courses. Alternatively, graphics topics may be introduced in an applied project in courses primarily covering human computer interaction, embedded systems, web development, introductory programming courses, etc. Undergraduate computer science students who study the knowledge units specified below through a balance of theory and applied instruction will be able to understand, evaluate, and/or implement the related graphics and interactive techniques as users and developers. Because technology changes rapidly, the Graphics and Interactive Techniques subcommittee attempted to avoid being overly prescriptive. Any examples of APIs, programs, and languages should be considered as appropriate examples in 2023. In effect, this is a snapshot in time. Graphics as a knowledge area has expanded and become pervasive since the CS2013 report. AR/VR/XR, artificial intelligence, computer vision, data science, machine learning, and interfaces driven by embedded sensors in everything from cars to coffee makers use graphics and interactive techniques. The now ubiquitous smartphone has made much of the world’s population regular users and creators of graphics, digital images, and the interactive techniques to manipulate them. Animations, games, visualizations, and immersive applications that ran on desktops in 2013, now can run on mobile devices. The amount of stored digital data grew exponentially since 2013, and both data and visualizations are now published by myriad sources including news media and scientific organizations. Revenue from mobile video games now exceeds that of music and movies combined [1]. CGI and VFX are employed in almost all films, animations, TV productions, advertising, and business graphics. The number of people who create graphics has skyrocketed, as have the number of applications and generative tools used to produce graphics. It is critical that students and faculty confront the ethical issues, questions, and conundrums that have arisen and will continue to arise in and because of applications in computer graphics. Today’s headlines unfortunately already provide examples of inequity and/or wrong-doing in autonomous navigation, deepfakes, computational photography, generative images, and facial recognition.

Graphics must be encoded in computer memory, often in the form of a mathematical specification of shape and form.

Topics
1. Basic geometric operations such as intersection calculation and proximity tests on 2D objects
2. Surface representation/model
a. Tessellation
b. Mesh representation, mesh fairing, and mesh generation techniques such as Delaunay triangulation, and marching cubes/tetrahedrons
c. Parametric polynomial curves and surfaces
d. Implicit representation of curves and surfaces
e. Spatial subdivision techniques
3. Volumetric representation/model
a. Volumes, voxels, and point-based representations.
b. Signed Distance Fields
c. Sparse Volumes, i.e., VDB
d. Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG) representation
4. Procedural representation/model
a. Fractals
b. L-Systems
5. Multi-resolution modeling
6. Reconstruction, e.g., 3D scanning, photogrammetry
Learning Outcomes
1. Contrast representing curves and surfaces in both implicit and parametric forms.
2. Create simple polyhedral models by surface tessellation.
3. Create a mesh representation from an implicit surface.
4. Create a fractal model or terrain using a procedural method.
5. Create a mesh from data points acquired with a laser scanner.
6. Create CSG models from simple primitives, such as cubes and quadric surfaces.
7. Contrast modeling approaches with respect to space and time complexity and quality of image.

GIT / Applied Rendering and Techniques

Graphics and Interactive Techniques

Computer graphics is the term used to describe the computer generation and manipulation of images and can be viewed as the science of enabling visual communication through computation. Its application domains include animation, Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) and Visual Effects (VFX); engineering; machine learning; medical imaging; scientific, information, and knowledge visualization; simulators; special effects; user interfaces; and video games. Traditionally, graphics at the undergraduate level focused on rendering, linear algebra, physics, the graphics pipeline, interaction, and phenomenological approaches. Today’s graphics courses increasingly include data science, physical computing, animation, and haptics. Thus, the knowledge area (KA) expanded beyond core image-based computer graphics. At the advanced level, undergraduate institutions are more likely to offer one or several courses specializing in a specific graphics knowledge unit (KU) or topic: e.g., gaming, animation, visualization, tangible or physical computing, and immersive courses such as Augmented Reality (AR)/Virtual Reality (VR)/eXtended Reality (XR). There is considerable connection with other computer science knowledge areas (KAs): Algorithmic Foundations, Architecture and Organization, Artificial Intelligence; Human-Computer Interaction; Parallel and Distributed Computing; Specialized Platform Development; Software Engineering; and Society, Ethics, and the Profession. For students to become adept at the use and generation of computer graphics and interactive techniques, many issues must be addressed, such as human perception and cognition, data and image file formats, display specifications and protocols, hardware interfaces, and application program interfaces (APIs). Unlike other knowledge areas, knowledge units within Graphics and Interactive Techniques may be included in a variety of elective courses. Alternatively, graphics topics may be introduced in an applied project in courses primarily covering human computer interaction, embedded systems, web development, introductory programming courses, etc. Undergraduate computer science students who study the knowledge units specified below through a balance of theory and applied instruction will be able to understand, evaluate, and/or implement the related graphics and interactive techniques as users and developers. Because technology changes rapidly, the Graphics and Interactive Techniques subcommittee attempted to avoid being overly prescriptive. Any examples of APIs, programs, and languages should be considered as appropriate examples in 2023. In effect, this is a snapshot in time. Graphics as a knowledge area has expanded and become pervasive since the CS2013 report. AR/VR/XR, artificial intelligence, computer vision, data science, machine learning, and interfaces driven by embedded sensors in everything from cars to coffee makers use graphics and interactive techniques. The now ubiquitous smartphone has made much of the world’s population regular users and creators of graphics, digital images, and the interactive techniques to manipulate them. Animations, games, visualizations, and immersive applications that ran on desktops in 2013, now can run on mobile devices. The amount of stored digital data grew exponentially since 2013, and both data and visualizations are now published by myriad sources including news media and scientific organizations. Revenue from mobile video games now exceeds that of music and movies combined [1]. CGI and VFX are employed in almost all films, animations, TV productions, advertising, and business graphics. The number of people who create graphics has skyrocketed, as have the number of applications and generative tools used to produce graphics. It is critical that students and faculty confront the ethical issues, questions, and conundrums that have arisen and will continue to arise in and because of applications in computer graphics. Today’s headlines unfortunately already provide examples of inequity and/or wrong-doing in autonomous navigation, deepfakes, computational photography, generative images, and facial recognition.

This unit includes basic rendering and fundamental graphics techniques that nearly every undergraduate course in graphics will cover and that are essential for further study in most graphics-related courses.

Topics
1. Object and scene modeling
a. Object representations: polygonal, parametric, etc.
b. Modeling transformations: affine and coordinate-system transformations
c. Scene representations: scene graphs
2. Camera and projection modeling
a. Pinhole cameras, similar triangles, and projection model
b. Camera models
c. Projective geometry
3. Radiometry and light models
a. Radiometry
b. Rendering equation
c. Rendering in nature – emission and scattering, etc.
4. Rendering
a. Simple triangle rasterization
b. Rendering with a shader-based API
c. Visibility and occlusion, including solutions to this problem (e.g., depth buffering, Painter's algorithm, and ray tracing)
d. Texture mapping, including minification and magnification (e.g., trilinear MIP mapping)
e. Application of spatial data structures to rendering.
f. Ray tracing
g. Sampling and anti-aliasing
Learning Outcomes
1. Describe and illustrate the light transport problem (i.e., light is emitted, scatters around the scene, and is measured by the eye).
2. Describe the basic rendering pipeline.
3. Compare and contrast how forward and backwards rendering factor into the graphics pipeline.
4. Create a program to display 2D shapes in a window.
5. Create a program to display 3D models.
6. Produce linear perspective from similar triangles by converting points (x, y, z) to points (x/z, y/z, 1).
7. Compute two-dimensional and 3-dimensional points by applying affine transformations.
8. Indicate the changes required to extend 2D transformation operations to handle transformations in 3D.
9. Define texture mapping, sampling, and anti-aliasing, and describe examples of each.
10. Compare ray tracing and rasterization for the visibility problem.
11. Construct a program that performs transformation and clipping operations on simple two-dimensional shapes.
12. Implement a simple real-time renderer using a rasterization API (e.g., OpenGL, webGL) using vertex buffers and shaders.
13. Compare and contrast the different rendering techniques.
14. Compare and contrast the difference in transforming the camera vs the models.

Exams

Final exam: Wed, Dec 9, 2026 @ 09:00

Previous exams

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