Go Ray Tracer

This is a simple ray tracer implemented in Go that showcases the use of a factory pattern for object creation and YAML files for scene configurations.

Features

• Ray tracing implementation in Go.
• Factory pattern for creating scene objects.
• Scene configurations defined in YAML files.

Prerequisites

Make sure you have Go installed on your machine. If not, you can download it here.

Getting Started

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/chrispotter/gotrace.git

2. Change into the project directory:

   cd gotrace

3. Build and run the ray tracer:

   go run cmd/trace/main.go -scene test_scenes/material.yaml -output material

You should find png files prefixed with material in a folder called output in the main directory

Configuration

Modify the scene configuration by editing the scene.yaml file. This YAML file defines the camera, lights, and objects in the scene.

Example scene.yaml:

cameras:  
  camera1:
    position: 
      - 0.0
      - 0.0
      - 35.0
    ratio: 
      - 1280.0
      - 720.0
colors:
  lakersPurple:
    color:
      - 253.0
      - 185.0
      - 39.0
  lakersYellow:
    color:
      - 85.0
      - 37.0
      - 130.0
  lightWhite:
    color:
      - 255.0
      - 255.0
      - 255.0
  outlineBlue:
    color:
      - 0.0
      - 0.0
      - 255.0
materials:
  lambert1:
    type: lambert
    color: 
      - lakersPurple 
      - lakersYellow
  cartoon1:
    type: cartoon
    segments: 10
    color: 
      - lakersPurple 
      - lakersYellow
      - lightWhite
      - outlineBlue
shapes:
  sphere1:
    type: sphere
    position:
      - 0.0
      - 0.0
      - 0.0
    radius: 2.0
    material: lambert1
  sphere2:
    type: sphere
    position:
      - -6.0
      - 0.0
      - 0.0
    radius: 2.0
    material: cartoon1
lights:
  dir1:
    type: directional
    view:
      - -1.0
      - -1.5
      - 0.0
    color: lightWhite

Feel free to experiment with different camera settings, lights, and objects to create your custom scenes.

Factory Pattern

The factory pattern is used to create objects dynamically based on their types. Each scene object (e.g., sphere, plane) is created using a factory method, allowing for easy extension with new object types.

Acknowledgments The smallfish/simpleyaml package is used for parsing YAML files.