Interview: Rui Wang, author of OpenSceneGraph 3.0: Beginner's Guide.

Rui is the author of our recently published OpenSceneGraph 3.0: Beginner's Guide which helps you create high-performance virtual reality applications with OpenSceneGraph, one of the best 3D graphics engines.

Rui Wang is a software engineer at Beijing Geo-Vision Technology Co. Ltd. He received his Bachelor of Engineering degree from Tsinghua University in 2006. At the same time, he fell in love with computer graphics and then became the manager of the largest OpenSceneGraph discussion website in China (bbs.osgchina.org) in 2008.

Now he is one of the most active members of the official OpenSceneGraph community, who contributes the serialization I/O, improved particles, BVH, and animated GIF plugins, and other key functionalities to the OpenSceneGraph source code. He is also a novel writer and guitar lover in his spare time.

Packt: Your book is published now. How is the feeling of being a published author?

Rui: It’s a fantastic experience! You know, not everybody gets the chance to write a book, and even though you get one, you may run out of energy and patience during the painful process of writing. But when bitterness is finished, sweetness begins. Now I’m enjoying the fruit of my work and the surprise and praise of others.

Packt: What benefits did writing a book bring to your specialist area?

Rui: The more you learned, the more you need to learn. While writing this ‘Beginner’s Guide’ book, I sometimes felt that I’m just a beginner too, especially in the face of certain problems or knowledge points. Solving them always brought me more happiness and confidence.

Packt: Our authors usually have full-time jobs whilst writing for us. Was this the case for you and how did you approach managing your time?

Rui: Yes, it is difficult to manage time while juggling with writing and developing the book, as well as some more personal interests. I would like to thank my company members for understanding my situation. It is also important to have a daily schedule when you are working on such a long and high-quality book.

Packt: Whilst writing your book, did you find that it overshadowed personal life in any way? How did you deal with this?

Rui: To be honest, I would say yes. My girlfriend and I had a hard time. During the six months, I had to always work till midnight and thus we seldom traveled or saw a movie together. I must express my deep gratitude and love for her constant support. And again, it is more important to consider your beloved in your daily schedule, too.

Packt: Do you have any advice for other authors who may be interested in writing for Packt, but are still unsure?

Rui: It is always a valuable life experience to write a book and contribute it to people all over the world. Your thoughts and ideas will be spread and shared among others, rather than kept as a secret in the bottom of the heart. So, rise to the challenge now!

Packt: Do you have any tips for other authors, or tricks that you learnt whilst writing, that you'd like to share?

Rui: Rome was not built in a day. Design an outline for yourself first, which had better include level I, II and III titles, names and briefs of all examples. After that, you may easily divide your book into small pieces of texts or codes for daily work. A good plan is always required, as well as a long term commitment and perseverance.

Packt: How did you find the overall experience of writing your book for Packt?

Rui: Live and learn. That is what I really gained during the writing process. I have seen a really great improvement in me in the past few months, both in skill and in manners.

Packt: During the writing process, did you come across any issues/ difficulties that affected your writing and how did you overcome these?

Rui: It was a tense time for me, with stress from my company, family and even the developer community expecting me to work out a nice book. But nothing could stop me from working on such an exciting project. Just keep a peaceful mind and work hard!

Packt: Was there anything interesting that happened during the writing of the book?

Rui: My love story finally bears fruit when the book is nearly finished! We got engaged at the beginning of the year. That may not be interesting, but it is another important experience in my life.

Packt: How did Packt’s Acquisition Editors help you - what kind of things did they help you with and how did they support you throughout the writing process?

Rui: They carried out their duties whole-heartedly. It is my honor to work with such a professional publishing team, who helped me solve all kinds of problems and managed the entire writing time reasonably.

Packt: What projects, if any, are you working on at the moment?

Rui: I’m a regular contributor to the OpenSceneGraph project, and now I’m working on Flash and physics integration interface. I’m also the manager of the osgChina forum, and leader of a third-party project named osgXI on SourceForge. Join the OpenSceneGraph community, and join me for interests, and for fun!

Would you like to be an author yourself? >Click here to contact us.