Birthing a Ray Tracer

Ray tracing as an image synthesis technique has enjoyed immense success. Learning about the algorithms is much easier through implementation for any technique, in the case of ray tracing one aspect learned is that it is simple to implement. Moreover, implementing a ray tracer goes a long way as a learning aid for much of computer graphics. I will discuss the very basics of implementing a ray tracer, my own personal biases will be expressed but no unaccepted methods will be taught. The one message I wish to convey is to keep it simple.