Signed distance functions are a really cool method of 3D rendering! But they unfortunately have a reputation for being difficult to understand. It makes sense why—they usually get shown off in beautiful, but complicated ShaderToy examples written in GLSL, an unfamiliar language for most programmers. But at their core, SDFs are a really simple idea. I’m going to prove that by walking you through a program that raymarches an animated SDF donut in only 46 lines of Python.
But while Franklin’s computers may have been clones, the Franklin manuals were definitely original. They were more than just user-friendly. They were written with a lot of creativity and humor.
Platypus is a developer tool that creates native Mac applications from command line scripts such as shell scripts or Python, Perl, Ruby, Tcl, JavaScript and PHP programs. This is done by wrapping the script in a macOS application bundle along with an app binary that runs the script.
They clearly had all the makings of accuracy right there; the OS screenshots, icons, mouse pointer, even the block cursor. When it’s that close, fumbling with the details is somehow more annoying than just phoning it in completely. If there was a reason for it, it completely escapes me. Would Topaz and standard window titles have been terribly boring? Would C, BASIC or Assembly code look less appealing than HTML? We may never know.
Luckily, I believe in being constructive. Hence, I hereby offer my services to any television and movie producers in need of them. For a very reasonable fee, I’m available as a Computer Accuracy Consultant on any forthcoming projects. And if it’s going to feature an Amiga, I’ll even write the necessary programs myself.
Of course, there’s a lesson here. And it’s not just for books. You could also apply it to music, newspapers, films, and a host of other media.
But I almost hate to say it, because the lesson is so simple.
If you want to sell music, you must love those songs. If you want to succeed in journalism, you must love those newspapers. If you want to succeed in movies, you must love the cinema.
So true, and something Apple (or at least, Steve Jobs) said for a long time. I feel like Apple is losing their way here too. But I’m glad to see B&N do things right and not just scramble for the cash.