System and method for high-speed execution of graphics application programs including shading language instructions
US6578197B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 8, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jun 10, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 29, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T17/005
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A system and method for high-speed execution of graphics application programs, including shading language instructions, that utilize 3D graphics hardware. The method involves expressing a graphics computation in a platform-independent procedural shading expression, converting the expression (i.e., user application program) into an intermediate representation such as a tree, and then translating it into a sequence of parametric shading expressions. The method can alternatively processes the intermediate tree representation using a cost-based, tree-grammar recognizer such as iburg. The result is a platform-specific and least-cost, in terms of the underlying hardware, sequence of parametric shading expressions that realizes the graphics computation. The system and method is useful in translating platform-independent RenderMan™ Shading Language programs into fast-executing, platform-specific OpenGL™ or Direct3D™ executable code.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.