We describe a representation for multiresolution images---images that have different resolutions in different places---and methods for creating such images using painting and compositing operations. These methods are very easy to implement, and they are efficient in both memory and speed. Only the detail present at a particular resolution is stored, and the most common painting operations, "over" and "erase," require time proportional only to the number of pixels displayed. We also show how fractional-level zooming can be implemented in order to allow a user to display and edit portions of a multiresolution image at any arbitrary size. CR Categories and Subject Descriptors: I.3.2 [Computer Graphics]: Picture/Image Generation --- Display Algorithms; I.3.6 [Computer Graphics]: Methodology and Techniques --- Interaction Techniques. Additional Key Words: compositing, infinite-resolution, multiresolution images, painting, wavelets, zooming. 1 Introduction When editing images, it is impor...

The electronic encyclopedia exploratorium (E/sup 3/) is a vision of a future computer system-an electronic book describing how thing work. Typical articles in E/sup 3/ will describe such mechanisms as compression refrigerators, engines, telescopes, and mechanical linkages. Each article will provide simulations, three-dimensional animated graphics that the user can manipulate, laboratory areas that allow a user to modify the device or experiment with related artifacts, and a facility for asking questions and receiving customized, computer-generated English-language explanations. Some of the foundational technology is discussed, focusing on topics in artificial intelligence, graphics, and user interfaces. The initial prototype system and the technical lessons learned from it, as well as the second prototype currently under construction, are described.>