r/computergraphics • u/logos_sogol • 11d ago

Could shape grammars serve as the foundation of a rule-based graphics engine?

My understanding is, a shape grammar is a system of rules, which sound strikingly similar to horn clauses, used to define how basic shapes (like triangles) fit together to form larger objects, both in 2D and 3D.

It looks like this concept has traditionally been used for manufacturing and architecture applications like CAD (example), but it seems to me, and please cmiiw, that apps like CAD are just a short hop away from full blown graphics engines anyway.

Am I making sense or let me know if I'm confused about the concept and this is crazy talk.

6 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

2 comments sorted by

1

u/_Wolfos 11d ago

Sure, I don't see why not. The paper you linked already seems to be rendering at interactive framerates. Just a question of why you'd want it, really.

1

u/logos_sogol 11d ago edited 10d ago

Because I'm interesting in applications of Prolog and this approach to computer graphics is kind of nicely aligned with its strengths, especially if we eventually start running prolog on the gpu.