Origins

• Algorithms supporting and facilitating computer graphics have remained active since the very first computer image was developed. The term "computer graphics" was coined in 1960 -- the same year that early algorithms related to computer graphics were developed and tested. These algorithms were initially based on ideas of representing sampled geometric images, which in 1974 were transformed into concepts of image aliasing, visibility definition, and object representation through electronic screen units called pixels.
  
  

Fundamentals

• The fundamentals of computer-graphics algorithms are based on four basic principles: image rendering, vertex representation, scene reduction, and object modeling. The principle of image rendering refers to the concept of "translating" and sampling an image into pixels, while vertex representation deals with illustration and depiction of image boundaries, lines, and peaks. Similarly, the principle of scene reduction employs focusing of an image according to user's point-of-view, and object modeling deals with mapping the entire image with its background and foreground definitions.
  
  

Categories

• There are multiple categories of computer-graphics algorithms, which are used by different image-designing and development software packages. However, some major categories of these algorithms include: quad-based static-rendering algorithm; continuous level of detail -- or CLOD -- rendering algorithm; portal-based rendering algorithm; real-time optimally adapting meshes -- or ROAM; potential visibility sets -- or PVS; and binary space partitioning -- or BSP -- algorithms. All of these categories of algorithms are extensively studied by individuals involved in advanced computer-graphics designing and imaging.
  
  

Applications

• There are countless specific applications of computer-graphics algorithms. In general, this application domain includes software and applications related to object and background designing, engineering schematics and planning, video editing, animation and human/animal/insect modeling, image transforming and lighting, and video noise eliminating. Moreover, all of these software packages and tools run over computer systems, indicating that graphics algorithms working at their back-end communicate directly with microprocessors. For advanced purposes, specially-designed computers with high-processing powers are normally used for running these algorithm-based computer-graphics applications.