---
product_id: 96042450
title: "The Ray Tracer Challenge: A Test-Driven Guide to Your First 3D Renderer (Pragmatic Bookshelf)"
brand: "jamis buck"
price: "$66.19"
currency: USD
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.us/products/96042450-the-ray-tracer-challenge-a-test-driven-guide-to-your
store_origin: US
region: United States of America
---

# The Ray Tracer Challenge: A Test-Driven Guide to Your First 3D Renderer (Pragmatic Bookshelf)

**Brand:** jamis buck
**Price:** $66.19
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Ray Tracer Challenge: A Test-Driven Guide to Your First 3D Renderer (Pragmatic Bookshelf) by jamis buck
- **How much does it cost?** $66.19 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.us](https://www.desertcart.us/products/96042450-the-ray-tracer-challenge-a-test-driven-guide-to-your)

## Best For

- jamis buck enthusiasts

## Why This Product

- Trusted jamis buck brand quality
- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Description

The Ray Tracer Challenge: A Test-Driven Guide to Your First 3D Renderer (Pragmatic Bookshelf)

## Images

![The Ray Tracer Challenge: A Test-Driven Guide to Your First 3D Renderer (Pragmatic Bookshelf) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/818jjwHg4WL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Challenging but so rewarding
  

*by G***R on Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2021*

Highly recommended, this is most educational book I have read in the last...  5-10 years?A typical chapter will include some descriptions of a ray tracer concept, pseudo code illustrating core parts of the algorithm, a minimal test case example, and then a bunch of test cases assigned for you to finish. These test cases you have to write and then implement are where you prove you really understand what's going on with each ray tracer concept. I suggest you stick with it no matter how long it takes and don't skip ahead, this experience was invaluable.I learned a lot about ray tracing while going through this and came out with a really cool library I can use to render graphics in lots of different ways. It took me at least a year, some parts were very challenging beyond the ray tracing (like how to manage and refactor this growing codebase one chapter at a time), but in the end it all worked out nicely :)This book sets the bar very high for other Pragmatic Bookshelf titles to live up to.I was stuck at least twice and browsing through the forums for this book gave invaluable clues, I recommend to check it out. There are also interesting discussions there for ways to optimize the raytracing logic and implement cool new features.Another review claims that Cucumber test suite is required to use this book, it is certainly not. Examples for test cases are given as short pseudocode Cucumber files, which you can translate into other languages or test frameworks.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    This book is a lot of fun!
  

*by O***R on Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2020*

The book is awesome! It starts with the basic stuff, gets you to render images quickly and, mostly importantly, explains why you're spending time on implementing a particular piece of code.The book's tests-first approach pays off quickly. It keeps the bug count low and gives you the confidence that the math, shading and intersection code is solid and you can continue to build on top of it.The book's code is mostly pseudocode that is trivial to translate into whatever implementation language you pick. The language really doesn't matter. I used JavaScript and added multi-process rendering to speed things up. I might go back to this book in the future and use C. There are no rendering libraries, no OpenGL/DirectX/Vulkan code and custom book library code to deal with. You write everything from first principles. The images are by default rendered into a memory object and saved to disk in PPM format. I added PNG support because it was easy after implementing the book's PPM functionality.One thing the author does well is he guides you through the details until the point where he can take the training wheels off and you can implement features by yourself.I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in computer graphics. It really is an excellent book!

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Perfect for those looking to practice programming in a new language
  

*by W***M on Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2020*

I previously bought Jamis' book on Mazes and enjoyed that, so this seemed like a great idea -- I was starting a new job, and needed a project to force myself to learn a new programming language as a result.This book isn't programming language specific -- don't expect guidance setting up your editor or IDE of choice here.What you do get, however -- a guided tour thru the process, background, and math involved in building a ray tracing application with the added bonus of being able to incorporate unit tests into your development following the examples given in the book.I've gone thru the book once so far using Python ( a language I was already familiar with ) -- now I'm working my way thru again using C#.I'd recommend this to anyone looking for practice programming projects (either in a familiar language, or as a tool to help master a new one. )

## Frequently Bought Together

- The Ray Tracer Challenge: A Test-Driven Guide to Your First 3D Renderer (Pragmatic Bookshelf)
- Mazes for Programmers: Code Your Own Twisty Little Passages
- Crafting Interpreters

---

## Why Shop on Desertcart?

- 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016
- 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories
- 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price
- 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members)
- 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection
- ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews

**Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.us/products/96042450-the-ray-tracer-challenge-a-test-driven-guide-to-your](https://www.desertcart.us/products/96042450-the-ray-tracer-challenge-a-test-driven-guide-to-your)

---

*Product available on Desertcart United States of America*
*Store origin: US*
*Last updated: 2026-01-23*