Towards a new shape description paradigm using the generative modeling language

A procedural description of a three-dimensional shape has undeniable advantages over conventional descriptions that are all based on the exhaustive enumeration paradigm. Although it is a true generalization, a procedural description of a given shape class is not always easy to obtain. The main problem is that procedural descriptions are typically Turing-complete, which makes 3D shape design formally (and practically) a programming task. We describe an approach that circumvents this problem, is efficient, extensible, and conceptually simple. We demonstrate the broad applicability with a number of examples from different domains and sketch possible future applications. But we also discuss some practical and theoretical limitations of the generative paradigm.