Vector Math for 3D Computer Graphics - An Interactive Tutorial

Author(s): Bradley Kjell, Central Connecticut State University
Publication Date: July 2003

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Books excerpts:

This is a tutorial on vector algebra and matrix algebra from the viewpoint of computer graphics. It covers most vector and matrix topics needed for college-level computer graphics text books. Most graphics texts cover these subjects in an appendix, but it is often too short. This tutorial covers the same material at greater length, and with many examples.

This tutorial is useful for more than computer graphics. Vectors and matrices are used in all scientific and engineering fields, and any other field that uses computers. In many fields, the vocabulary used for vectors and matrices does not match that used in computer graphics. But the ideas are the same, and reading these notes will take only a slight mental adjustment.

Intended Audience:

Although primarily aimed at computer science students, this tutorial is useful to all programmers interested in 3D computer graphics or 3D computer game programming. In spite of their appealing blood-and-gore covers, mass trade books on game programming require the same understanding of vectors and matrices as college text books (and usually defer these topics to the same mathematical appendix).

These notes assume that you have studied plane geometry and trigonometry sometime in the past. Notions such as point, line, plane, and angle should be familiar to you. Other notions such as sine, cosine, determinant, real number, and the common trig identities should at least be a distant memory.

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