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Chapter 1
1. Getting Started with Cosmo 3D
Cosmo 3D is a scene graph API that brings 3D graphics programming to desktop
applications. Cosmo 3D speeds up and facilitates the process of creating complex
graphics applications. It allows applications to use a higher-level interface than the
lower-level OpenGL language that it is based on. Developers interact with C++ objects
that are arranged in an object hierarchy.
With its scene graph architecture and features such as culling, level of detail (LOD), 2D
texture mapping, and audio, Cosmo 3D enables you to develop complex graphic
applications, for example, professional character animations and gaming applications.
After creating a scene graph using Cosmo 3D objects, developers can use the OpenGL
Optimizer API to improve performance. See the manual OpenGL Optimizer Programmer’s
Guide: An Open API for Large-Model Visualization for more information.
This chapter gives an overview of the base classes of a Cosmo 3D scene graph.
Understanding how each class contributes to the scene graph is essential for making
optimal use of the API. These are the sections in this chapter:
•“Understanding a Cosmo 3D Scene Graph” on page 2.
•“Scene Graph Base Classes” on page 2.
•“Scene Graph Construction Classes” on page 7.
•“Classes That Determine How Things Are Drawn” on page 12.
•“Classes defining Geometric Objects” on page 13.
•“Steps for Creating and Displaying a Simple Scene Graph” on page 13.
