I have been having a discussion with a bunch of science types. Now conceptually I think of y as being up. So in 3d graphics, when you look at a scene you are looking down the z axis and y is up and x is right (or left).
Looking down the z is not the problem. The mathy-sciency types can see that. But they are used to using the z as up.
So, that got me (translate as some arrogant sciency-mathy type ) thinking that maybe my way was “abnormal”.
It all depends on your perspective ( no pun it depended) , in the real world most users would look at Z being up, that’s why most 3d Real-time simulation programs and higher level API’s use Z as up and not Y.
I work a lot with API’s like Vega, Performer and Vega Prime and they all present Z as up vector, but in the world of real-time simulation this can also get very complicated and compounded with the issue of having to use different coordinate systems like flat earth, round earth,Geodetic, Geocentric, UTM, Trapezoidal, Lambert, Longitude and latitude etc.
Personally I think with Z as up and when I have to drop down to Opengl I have to remember Y.
So in Opengl up is Y, but in the way up is generally presented to the end user Z is up ( in my experience )
[This message has been edited by UrbanLedgend (edited 02-27-2003).]