bRenderer: A Flexible Basis for a Modern Computer Graphics Curriculum

Abstract

In this article, we present bRenderer, a basic educational 3D rendering framework that has resulted from four years of experience in teaching an introductory-level computer graphics course at the University of Zurich. Our renderer is based on the observation that teaching a single basic but comprehensive computer graphics course often means to face the choice between students learning a low-level graphics API bottom-up on one side, or a powerful (game) engine on the other. Solutions between these two extremes tend to be either too rudimentary to easily allow advanced visual effects in student projects, or too abstract to facilitate learning about the underlying principles of computer graphics. Our platform-independent framework abstracts the functionality of its underlying graphics API and libraries to an extent that still preserves the main concepts taught in a computer graphics course. Consequently, bRenderer can be used in student projects, as well as in exercises. It helps students to easily understand how a renderer is implemented without getting distracted by the particular implementation of the framework or platform-specific characteristics.