Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice
Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice by Foley and van Damby Foley and van Dam
Ranked 4 of 4 computer graphics books by recommenders
Recommended as a classic, comprehensive graphics text, especially for software rendering. One critic finds it more encyclopedic than practical, with mainly historical importance.
Recommended as a classic, comprehensive graphics text, especially for software rendering. One critic finds it more encyclopedic than practical, with mainly historical importance.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 4
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 67%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 4 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Classic, comprehensive graphics reference
“The bible of graphics programming, everything with software rendering”
Comment from 4 Mar 2026 in “Graphics Programming Resources” “Back in the day, it was The Book for computer graphics.”
Comment from 23 Jul 2026 in “Software rendering in 500 lines of bare C++”
Other computer graphics books people recommend
The three most recommended other computer graphics books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physically Based Renderingby Pharr, Jakob and Humphreys | 7 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Computer Graphics from Scratchby Gabriel Gambetta | 6 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Real-Time Renderingby Akenine-Möller, Haines and Hoffman | 5 | 1 | 83% | 5 | — | — |
| Computer Graphics: Principles and Practiceby Foley and van DamThis page | 4 | 2 | 67% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
6 of the 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“To me, the book is a peculiar encyclopedia with some historical importance.”
“I would assert it has quite valuable content”
“Back in the day, it was The Book for computer graphics.”
“Amazing website, so many useful articles.”
“The bible of graphics programming, everything with software rendering”
“Get Foley & Van Dam from the library”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.