The Ray Tracer Challenge

Cones

Okay. Next you’re going to add cones to your ray tracer, and it turns out that cones are remarkably similar to cylinders. A true cone has these features:

• It is infinite in length, just like a cylinder.
• It can be truncated, just like a cylinder.
• It can be closed, just like a cylinder.

And I really do mean just like a cylinder. You may be able to reuse a fair bit of the code you just wrote for cylinders.

Here’s where the challenge ramps up, though—I’m going to take the training wheels off. No hand-holding. No safety nets. Just a bit of explanation, a few tests, and a whole heap of confidence in your ability to do just about anything you put your mind to.

You’re going to implement what is called a double-napped cone, which most folks would ...