ISSIGraph: An Open Source Multi-platform C++ Tool for Rapid 2D/3D Wireframe Sketching

Abstract

Rapid sketch modelling and Computer-Aided Design (CAD) initiation are increasingly demanded activities in the creative and educational areas. For this reason, this paper presents a cross-platform C++ toolkit with the aim to facilitate the illustration of technical concepts in a fast way using basic quadric objects, Bézier and NURBS surfaces with a wireframe representation. This tool was designed using Software Engineering principles guided by a basic Rational Unified Process (RUP) methodology with the application of the Unified Modelling Language (UML). This tool perfectly works in all computers with very elemental 3D graphics hardware and with OpenGL support. The resulting benchmarks demonstrate that ISSIGraph has a very small CPU footprint that make it suitable for any platform. As a consequence, this application is well suited for rapid 2D/3D project sketching in the creative and engineering fields, as well as an initiation to CAD techniques for students and computer fans.