The Inventor Mentor: Programming Object-Oriented 3D Graphics with Open Inventor, Release 2

by Josie Wernecke

Book Overview

Silicon Graphics, Inc., has developed two important software standards for graphics programmers. OpenGL is a powerful software interface for graphics hardware that allows graphics programmers to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0201624958
• ISBN13: 9780201624953
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
• Length: 514 Pages
• Weight: 2.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 7.4" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

poor wrapping for shipment

I was surprised when I received the package, because the packing was so poor. The book was actually posted in a plastic bag as the only packing, which is not protecting the book sufficiently.

Useful introduction to Open Inventor

Open Inventor is a C++ object oriented 3D graphics API that allows high level programming for OpenGL. It integrates into Visual Studio. Even though Open Inventor is an old product it is still widely used in various visualization systems around the world. Hollywood, advanced engineering systems, and scientific projects that require superior 3D visualization are still using this product. The Inventor Mentor book allows you to quickly get familiar with Open Inventor. With Open inventor you do not need to worry about rendering or drawing, all you do is define 3D objects and their surface properties (color, texture, ambient light, transparancy, reflective properties, etc.). You define object position/motion and interconnectedness via a scene graph. It is like building with lego. In 1996 I created a product prototype for an industrial robot visualization system. A ported ABB robot controller directly controlled the motion in the 3D simulation. A simulated Arc-Welding robot was created by converting the corresponding CAD drawings for the robots components into VRML. I used kinematic transforms (Sheith-Uicker) to connect the robot links together in the scene graph framework provided by Open Inventor. The result was a very realistic robot simulation that was nicer looking than anything you have seen on XBOX 360. The OS window seemed like a window in a wall through which you could see into a shop floor with a robot in action. With the help of the Inventor Mentor I was able to get a working prototype ready in three weeks. I did not need the Open Inventor C++ Reference Manual or the Open Inventor Toolmaker during these three first weeks (but I used them later). I continued working with this product for four more years, and it was one of the most fun tools I have ever worked with. 10 months ago I contacted TGS about buying Open inventor. Unfortunately they wanted $4,000 for each development license, a $1,000 for each run-time license (one per unit), and $300,000 for a universal (for all units) run-time license. This was too expensive, otherwise I might have used it today as well.

good book

I find that the general concepts presented in this book are still valid, even several years after its publication. Most of the commercial graphics software out there follows similar programming architectures and this book covers these fairly well.However, you need to read the Open Inventor Toolmaker book to extend your Open Inventor Library distribution by adding more nodes/actions/engines, it also gives a much more in depth understanding. The real power of this library is that you can extend it fairly easily.For the reference manual book for detailed specs about functions or callback methods, they are all available in the online manual pages now which are distributed freely by SGI since August of 2000.

I like the Book

I've concluded that I like the Inventor Mentor Book. I've used the book to teach open inventor to Senior University students. I worked with students to demonstrate a comprehensive set of programs viewable at WSU Virtual Worlds. WSU Virtual Worlds illustrates a more comprehensive code explaination. If you have questions on concepts in the book, email me. Heres what we were able to accomplish: Cylinder in trackball with Examiner Widget, Orthographic Camera and explainations of Perspective Camera, Space station w/ Camera and Point Light, Space station w/ Copper Material, Space station w/ Text, Grids (callbacks to OpenGL Code), applying Texture maps, B-Spline, using the Elapsed-Time Engine, Two Time Counters, Keyboard Events (this was very challenging to learn), Sensors, Draggers, nurb surface figure (cool technology), Walking Figure, skeleton and nurb surface skin (the best subject of the book: node kits), Examiner Widget, Water Molecule with Draggers and Timer Sensors.

Strong Buy. Open Inventor is an exciting 3D language

I teach a five week course using this book. Students praise the material as being comprehensible, easy to understand, and creative. After each chapter the student should be able to perform certain open inventor tasks. I assign daily programming variations drived from the book. The accumulative effect is to have a student capable of maintain or developing applications in Open Inventor. The logical extension of the programming language is to develop using SGI tools or TGS tools. I think the Inventor Mentor book is one of the most prized Open Inventor books on the market. I adhere to the book when teaching Open Inventor exclusively. The Open Inventor book sheds a new light on the next five weeks which moves into VRML and Java. Interestingly, the mechanizms for controling nodes in the scene graph using Java are very similar to Open Inventor Node manipulation.