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Summary
From movies to video games, computer-rendered images are pervasive today. Physically Based Rendering introduces the concepts and theory of photorealistic rendering hand in hand with the source code for a sophisticated renderer. By coupling the discussion of rendering algorithms with their implementations, Matt Pharr and Greg Humphreys are able to reveal many of the details and subtleties of these algorithms. But this book goes further; it also describes the design strategies involved with building real systems-there is much more to writing a good renderer than stringing together a set of fast algorithms. For example, techniques for high-quality antialiasing must be considered from the start, as they have implications throughout the system. The rendering system described in this book is itself highly readable, written in a style called literate programming that mixes text describing the system with the code that implements it. Literate programming gives a gentle introduction to working with programs of this size. This lucid pairing of text and code offers the most complete and in-depth book available for understanding, designing, and building physically realistic rendering systems.

• The companion CD-ROM includes the source code for a complete rendering system for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux—with many of the features found in high-quality commercial systems.
• The system is written in the literate programming style that describes concepts in a natural progression, and its plug-in architecture makes the system's basic structure transparent and allows for new features to be added easily.
• The rendering system implements a number of newer or difficult-to-implement algorithms and techniques, including subdivision surfaces, Monte Carlo light transport, and volumetric scattering.