Computer Graphics

Computer Graphics refers to the field of visual computing that involves generating and
manipulating visual content using computers. This includes everything from creating digital
images and animations to developing complex visual effects and simulations. This includes:

 2D Graphics: Drawing flat images like icons or digital paintings.

 3D Graphics: Creating and animating 3D objects, like in video games or movies.
 Animation: Making things move in a sequence, like in cartoons or special effects.

Image Processing

Image Processing is the technique of manipulating and analyzing images to enhance their quality
or extract useful information. It involves a range of techniques to modify or analyze digital images,
and it can be applied to both still images and video. Key aspects of image processing include:

 Enhancing Images: Making an image look better by adjusting colors or removing noise.
 Restoring Images: Fixing damaged or blurred images.
 Compressing Images: Reducing the file size of an image so it’s easier to store or share.
 Analyzing Images: Identifying objects or patterns in an image, like detecting faces or
finding specific features.

Visualization

In computer graphics, visualization refers to the process of creating visual representations of data
or concepts to make complex information easier to understand and analyze. It's often used to turn
abstract data into graphical forms that can reveal patterns, trends, and insights.

Basic Elements of Computer Graphics

Polyline

 Definition: A polyline is a connected sequence of straight lines. A polyline need not form
a closed figure, but if the first and last points are connected by an edge the polyline is a
polygon. If in addition no two edges cross, the polygon is called simple.
  Application: Used in vector graphics to represent shapes, lines, and paths. Common in
CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software, map graphics, and vector-based illustrations.

Text

 Definition: Text refers to characters and strings of characters that are displayed within an
image or graphic.

 Application: Essential in creating user interfaces, adding labels to charts, and including
descriptive information in images and diagrams.

Filled Region

 Definition: The filled region (sometimes called “fill area”) primitive is a shape filled with
some color or pattern. The boundary of a filled region is often a polygon.
 
 Application: Used in vector graphics to represent filled shapes like rectangles, circles, and
polygons. Also important in designing interfaces and visualizations.

Raster Image

 Definition: A raster image is a type of digital image that is made up of a grid of individual
cells. The individual cells are often called “pixels” (short for “picture elements”). Normally
our eye can’t see the individual cells; it blends them together and synthesizes an overall
picture.


 Application: Found in digital photography, web images, and any application requiring
detailed color and texture. Formats include JPEG, PNG, and GIF.

Types of Images

There are three types of images. They are as following:

1. Binary Images

It is the simplest type of image. It takes only two values i.e, Black and White or 0 and 1. The binary
image consists of a 1-bit image and it takes only 1 binary digit to represent a pixel. Binary images
are mostly used for general shape or outline.

For Example: Optical Character Recognition (OCR).

2. Gray-scale images

Grayscale images are monochrome images, Means they have only one color. Grayscale images do
not contain any information about color. Each pixel determines available different grey levels.

A normal grayscale image contains 8 bits/pixel data, which has 256 different grey levels. In
medical images and astronomy, 12 or 16 bits/pixel images are used.

3. Colour images

Colour images are three band monochrome images in which, each band contains a different color
and the actual information is stored in the digital image. The color images contain gray level
information in each spectral band.

The images are represented as red, green and blue (RGB images). And each color image has 24
bits/pixel means 8 bits for each of the three color band(RGB).

Indexed Color and the LUT

Some systems are built using an alternative method of associating pixel values with colors. They
use a color lookup table (or LUT), which offers a programmable association between pixel value
and final color. Figure 1.40 shows a simple example. The color depth is again six, but the six bits
stored in each pixel go through an intermediate step before they drive the CRT. They are used as
an index into a table of 64 values, say LUT[0]...LUT[63]. For instance, if a pixel value is 39, the
values stored in LUT[39] are used to drive the DAC’s, as opposed to having the bits in the value
39 itself drive them. As shown LUT[39] contains the 15 bit value 01010 11001 10010. Five of
these bits (01010) are routed to drive the “red DAC”, five others drive the “green DAC”, and the
last five drive the “blue DAC”.
Each of the LUT[ ] entries can be set under program control, using some system routine.

In more general terms, suppose that a raster display system has a color depth of b bits (so there are
b bit planes in its frame buffer), and that each LUT entry is w bits wide. Then we have that:
Modern Raster Display Architecture

Two Processor

 CPU
 Display Processor
Three Memory

 System Memory
 Display Processor Memory
 Frame Buffer
CPU perform all types of arithmetic and logic operation. Input for performing the operation of
CPU is stored on the system memory.
The purpose of the display processor is to free the CPU from the graphics chores.

A fixed area of the display processor memory is reserved for the frame buffer and the video
controller is given direct access to the frame buffer memory. Frame buffer holds the set of intensity
values for all the screen points. The video controller retrieves the stored intensity values from the
frame buffer and display them on the screen one row at a time, typically 50 times per second.
Video controller is also used to control the operation of the display device.
Types of Input Graphics Primitives
Each device transmits a particular kind of data (e.g. a number, a string of characters, or a position)
to the program. The different types of data are called input primitives.

String. Produce a string of characters and thus modeling the action of a keyboard. Application:
Text input.

Choice. A choice device reports a selection from a fixed number of choices. Application:
Interactive menu selection.

Valuator. A valuator produces a real value between 0.0 and 1.0, which can be used to fix the
length of a line, the speed of an action, or perhaps the size of a picture. Application: Games, process
simulation, graphics representation of analog values.
Locator. Allows the user to point to a position on the display. Application: Interactive drawing
and editing.

Pick. The pick input device is used to identify a portion of a picture for further processing.
Application: Interactive editing and positioning.