I❤MESH: A DSL for Mesh Processing

Abstract

Mesh processing algorithms are often communicated via concise mathematical notation (e.g., summation over mesh neighborhoods). However, conversion of notation into working code remains a time consuming and error-prone process which requires arcane knowledge of low-level data structures and libraries—impeding rapid exploration of high-level algorithms. We address this problem by introducing a domain-specific language (DSL) for mesh processing called I❤MESH, which resembles notation commonly used in visual and geometric computing, and automates the process of converting notation into code. The centerpiece of our language is a flexible notation for specifying and manipulating neighborhoods of a cell complex, internally represented via standard operations on sparse boundary matrices. This layered design enables natural expression of algorithms while minimizing demands on a code generation back-end. In particular, by integrating I❤MESH with the linear algebra features of the I❤LA DSL, and adding support for automatic differentiation, we can rapidly implement a rich variety of algorithms on point clouds, surface meshes, and volume meshes.