OpenGL® SuperBible, Third Edition

Appendix B. Glossary

Aliasing

Technically, the loss of signal information in an image reproduced at some finite resolution. It is most often characterized by the appearance of sharp jagged edges along points, lines, or polygons due to the nature of having a limited number of fixed-sized pixels.

Alpha

A fourth color value added to provide a degree of transparency to the color of an object. An alpha value of 0.0 means complete transparency; 1.0 denotes no transparency (opaque).

Ambient light

Light in a scene that doesn't come from any specific point source or direction. Ambient light illuminates all surfaces evenly and on all sides.

Antialiasing

A rendering method used to smooth lines and curves and polygon edges. This technique averages the color of pixels ...