These days I am working on both simulation and visualization. For visualization, I use VTK and for simulation, I use, opengl.
After started worked on visualization, my mind is more confused about visualization and graphics. So I have two questions.
1. What is the difference between Visualization and Graphics
2. What is the difference between Geometry and topology.
Visualization vs Graphics
visualisation 'uses' graphics to convey information.
topology and geometry are different fields of mathematics. geometry about the properties of points, and lines and curves etc. topology about properties invariant under continuous transformations (not necessarly geometrical transformations nor of geometry)
topology and geometry are different fields of mathematics. geometry about the properties of points, and lines and curves etc. topology about properties invariant under continuous transformations (not necessarly geometrical transformations nor of geometry)
I'd agree with luca. Here's my spin:
When I hear "visualization," I think of graphs, plots, and other tools for looking at data. If someone says that they study visualization, I assume that they're concerned with how to wrap your head around large amounts of data, though I suppose this doesn't always have to be the case.
When I hear "graphics," I think of images that either attempt to more closely mimic reality (or a stylization thereof), or that have more artistic content. My first thought here is of photorealistic and real-time rendering like you see in games and animated films, but I'd say this category really also includes such things as the vector art used in brochures and advertising documents, and the like. As with all things in language, context matters, of course.
The distinction between geometry and topology is a little more clear-cut. Geometry is the study of lengths and angles. Topology is the study of how things are connected. The old joke is that, to a geometer, a donut and a coffee cup are two very different things, but to a topologist they're the same. The joke here is that, topologically, the coffee cup and the donut are the same, in that there is a homeomorphism -- a continuous back-and-forth mapping -- from one to the other. By contrast, a donut is not the same, topologically, as a dinner plate, because the plate has no holes, so no mapping from one to the other could be continuous. The "donut, coffee-cup" example gets used often enough that I see Wikipedia has a nice animation of it.
When I hear "visualization," I think of graphs, plots, and other tools for looking at data. If someone says that they study visualization, I assume that they're concerned with how to wrap your head around large amounts of data, though I suppose this doesn't always have to be the case.
When I hear "graphics," I think of images that either attempt to more closely mimic reality (or a stylization thereof), or that have more artistic content. My first thought here is of photorealistic and real-time rendering like you see in games and animated films, but I'd say this category really also includes such things as the vector art used in brochures and advertising documents, and the like. As with all things in language, context matters, of course.
The distinction between geometry and topology is a little more clear-cut. Geometry is the study of lengths and angles. Topology is the study of how things are connected. The old joke is that, to a geometer, a donut and a coffee cup are two very different things, but to a topologist they're the same. The joke here is that, topologically, the coffee cup and the donut are the same, in that there is a homeomorphism -- a continuous back-and-forth mapping -- from one to the other. By contrast, a donut is not the same, topologically, as a dinner plate, because the plate has no holes, so no mapping from one to the other could be continuous. The "donut, coffee-cup" example gets used often enough that I see Wikipedia has a nice animation of it.
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