Review of "Geometric principles and procedures for computer graphic applications" by Sylvan H. Chasen. Prentice Hall 1978.
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This book contains three chapters, an appendix, and an excellent up to date bibliography. Chapter 1 is very short and has a few words to say about computer drawing of curves. Chapter 2 comprises llalf the book and discusses two dimensional geometric construction, for example, determining a circle tangent to two lines and passing through a point. Chap-tar 3 includes space curves, surfaces formed by blending space curves, and a section on surface intersection that unintentionally communicates the difficulties often encountered. There is no new mathematics here, nor any recent mathematics either. The emphasis is on the tried and true. Meticulous care has evidently been devoted in each algorithm to ensure that all special cases are handled correctly. For example, in deriving a circle tangent to a line and passing through two points, there are at least six different conditions that, if overlooked, will lead to division by zero or taking the square root of a nega.o tive number. They are all accounted for in the book. The style of the book is conversational, sometimes oppressively so. The text appears to have been dictated, or transcribed from audio recordings. The English is excellent and has been carefully edited. But, the reviewer frequently found himself buried under an incessant stream ol words~ with no hope of a logical breakpoint. The author and publisher are to be heartily commended for the remarkable lack of typographical errors. Because the book's innumerable formulae are presented in a cookbook fashion, many readers will undoubtedly trans!ate them literally into their favorite 199