This is not a theoretical course; it is a very practical, hands-on course. To learn the stuff I expect you to learn, you must spend a lot of time on the computer trying things. Every time you read about a new API feature, or hear me describe one in lecture, try it in a program. Invent new ways to use it, beyond what I or the textbook have described. Play with it. Although I'll assign at least half a dozen specific graphics programs to write and turn in, I expect you to have written, debugged, run many more than that by the end of the semester, since that's the only way to check how much you really understand.