Using PostScript Programming Language in an Undergraduate Computer Graphics Course
Thomas Walter Rauber, Aura Conci · 2008
We report about the experiences of using the PostScript program- ming language in an undergraduate computer science and computer engineering course as a complementary tool besides OpenGL to teach basic concepts of com- puter graphics, especially affine transformations and hierarchical modeling using a transformation matrix stack mechanism. We can conclude that once the some- what cryptic syntax of this stack-oriented language has been overcome, a natu- ral computer graphics programming interface is available which permits a rapid understanding of essential concepts in graphics which can then easily be extrap- olated to a 3-D interface like OpenGL. We would like to emphasize that the use of PostScript is not intended as an alternative to the standard graphics program- ming languages, but as an enrichment of the students programming skills in a completely distinct programming paradigm.