Partial display updates in a windowing system using a programmable graphics processing unit
AssigneeApple Computer, Inc.
InventorsRALPH BRUNNER, John Harper
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Abstract
Techniques to generate partial display updates in a buffered window system in which arbitrary visual effects are permitted to any one or more windows (e.g., application-specific window buffers) are described. Once a display output region is identified for updating, the buffered window system is interrogated to determine which regions within each window, if any, may effect the identified output region. Such determination considers the consequences any filters associated with a window impose on the region needed to make the output update.
Claims12
A method to generate a display-wide visual effect, comprising:
- copying an image buffer's contents into a second buffer;
- causing the second buffer's contents to be filtered back into the image buffer through an application programming interface function to generate a specified visual effect, the second buffer associated with a system frame buffer, the application programming interface function using a graphics processing unit;
- and
- compositing an application-specific window buffer into the image buffer, wherein the act of compositing is performed by the graphics processing unit after the act of filtering.
A method to generate a display-wide visual effect, comprising:
- causing the contents of an application specific window buffer and an image buffer to be filtered into a second buffer through an application programming interface function to generate a specified visual effect, the application programming interface function using a graphics processing unit;
- and
- transferring, using the graphics processing unit, contents of the second buffer into the image buffer, the image buffer associated with a system frame buffer.
A method to generate a display-wide visual effect, comprising:
- compositing an application specific window buffer into an image buffer, the image buffer associated with a system frame buffer;
- copying contents of the image buffer into a second buffer;
- and
- causing the second buffer's contents to be filtered back into the image buffer through an application programming interface function to generate a specified visual effect, the application programming interface function using a graphics processing unit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.