System and method for utilizing semaphores in a graphics pipeline

A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium, comprising:

• a semaphore data structure;
• and
• computer code for operating on the semaphore data structure utilizing at least one graphics processing module of a hardware graphics processor;
• wherein the semaphore is adapted for synchronizing access to graphics data by the graphics processing modules and further providing data access control including controlling access to the graphics data by the graphics processing modules;
• wherein the semaphore includes a time section;
• wherein the time section includes a time stamp representing various times associated with the data access control.

An apparatus, comprising:

• non-transitory computer-readable media for storing executable instructions;
• memory for storing a semaphore data structure;
• and
• a hardware graphics processor in communication with the memory and the non-transitory computer-readable media, the hardware graphics processor including a plurality of graphics processing modules, wherein the hardware graphics processor is operable to execute the executable instructions for causing the plurality of graphics processing modules to operate on the semaphore data structure;
• wherein the semaphore is adapted for synchronizing access to graphics data by the graphics processing modules of the hardware graphics processor, and further providing data access control including controlling access to the graphics data by the graphics processing modules of the hardware graphics processor;
• wherein the semaphore includes a time section;
• wherein the time section includes a time stamp representing various times associated with the data access control.