[padator]

99% of the computer graphics you see on your screen everyday are made of simple lines, circles, curves, and text in 2D. 3D is useful mostly for games, movies, and CAD software. I don't understand this over focus on 3D. I think the latest edition of "Computer Graphics: principles and practice" does not even teach bresenham anymore. This seems wrong to me.

[jacobolus]

Our current CPU-based 2D vector graphics rendering pipelines are completely unmatched to modern hardware. They’re lumbering decades-old dinosaurs with poor render quality (full of nasty visual artifacts) and ridiculously slow speed compared to the possibilities on a GPU (or even compared to better-cache-optimized CPU algorithms, frankly).

I really wish everyone would move toward something like this instead: http://w3.impa.br/~diego/projects/GanEtAl14/

[dahart]

I'm only arguing for fun, and because I love 3d graphics, don't take this personally. I'm upvoting your comment to offset my argumentative reply. :)

You say 'games and movies' like those are niche markets. You can't watch any TV without seeing 3d graphics. And chances are you see a lot more 3d on your computer than you think while you work. Windows, Mac OSX, & Linux all have 3d hardware accelerated windowing features for task switching, virtual desktops, and lots of other fun tidbits. Plus, you might not be playing enough games, if you play games less than 1% of your time.

I'm not sure who's over focused on 3d, but it'd be pretty weird to put together a site like scratchapixel.com without 3d.

Finally, Bresenham's algorithm has historical significance, but is no longer generally useful, even for line drawing. Maybe if it's gone from CGP&P, that's a clue? Aliased, single pixel wide lines are almost never used. If you want soft edges or thick lines or curves or texture, you're a lot better off focusing on polygons from the start.