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Method and system in display device interface for managing surface memory
| Details |
Inventors: Engstrom, G. Eric; Eisler, Craig G.;
Assignee: Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, WA)
Primary Examiner: Tung; Kee M.
Assistant Examiner:
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Klarquist Sparkman Campbell Leigh and Whinston LLP
A display device interface creates surface structures to represent regions in system or video memory. These surface structures enable application programs to access video memory directly. A flipping structure includes a front buffer and one or more back buffers. In response to an application's request to flip a flipping structure, a flipping function changes the reference to underlying surface memory, but the flipping structure remains unchanged with respect to the application. Surface structures are implemented using surface objects that represent pixmaps, Z buffers, or alpha buffers stored in video or system memory. Complex surface structures including two or more surfaces are implemented by attaching surface objects to each other. |
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION The invention provides a display device interface and associated methods for managing surface memory.
Surface memory refers generally to a region in system or video memory that holds a "surface.
" A surface includes a pixmap image, or other two-dimensional image data such as an array of depth values (z), or an array of transparency values (alpha).
One aspect of the invention is a method for managing surface memory using surface structures.
By invoking a function in the display device interface, applications can create a surface structure that represents one or more surfaces.
A flipping surface structure represents a front buffer, and one or more back buffers.
The display interface controls double and multiple buffering by performing a flip operation on a flipping structure.
In response to a request to "flip" a flipping structure, the flip operation swaps the underlying surface memory, but the flipping structure remains constant from the perspective of the application.
As a result, the application can always write to the same surface in the surface structure, such as the back buffer for example, without having to keep track of the addresses of the underlying surface memory.
The display interface enables applications to create off screen surfaces as well as complex surface structures including two or more surfaces.
Examples of complex structures include a surface structure with a front and back buffer, and a surface structure with a front buffer and two or more back buffers.
Alpha or Z buffers can be attached to an off screen surface and to back buffers, for example.
Surface structures can be implemented using surface objects.
In an object architecture, the display device interface is represented by a display device object.
The display device object owns the display device and includes member functions to create other objects, including the surface object.
To create complex structures or flipping structures, an application invokes a create surface member function of the display object and specifies the type of surface or surfaces that it wants to create
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