ABSTRACT
This book describes numerous methods for using (and misusing) existing features in graphics hardware to implement and accelerate advanced shading algorithms. But graphics hardware is a fast-moving area and the features that were available at the time of this writing may be outdated by features available to the reader. This chapter provides some context on both what our assumptions were about the direction shading hardware was going, and how the concepts of the book will apply and adapt to this brave new world: the ever changing present.
