Immediate mode
Encyclopedia
Immediate mode rendering is a style for application programming interface
s of graphics libraries, in which client calls directly cause rendering
of graphics objects to the display. It does not preclude the use of double-buffering. In contrast to retained mode
, lists of objects to be rendered are not saved by the API library. Instead, the application must re-issue all drawing commands required to describe the entire scene each time a new frame is required, regardless of actual changes. This method provides the maximum amount of control and flexibility to the application program.
Although drawing commands have to be re-issued for each new frame, modern systems using this method are generally able to avoid the unnecessary duplication of more memory-intensive display data by referring to that unchanging data in the relatively short drawing commands.
Application programming interface
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
s of graphics libraries, in which client calls directly cause rendering
Rendering (computer graphics)
Rendering is the process of generating an image from a model , by means of computer programs. A scene file contains objects in a strictly defined language or data structure; it would contain geometry, viewpoint, texture, lighting, and shading information as a description of the virtual scene...
of graphics objects to the display. It does not preclude the use of double-buffering. In contrast to retained mode
Retained mode
In computing, retained mode rendering is a style for application programming interfaces of graphics libraries, in which the libraries retain a complete model of the objects to be rendered.-Overview:...
, lists of objects to be rendered are not saved by the API library. Instead, the application must re-issue all drawing commands required to describe the entire scene each time a new frame is required, regardless of actual changes. This method provides the maximum amount of control and flexibility to the application program.
Although drawing commands have to be re-issued for each new frame, modern systems using this method are generally able to avoid the unnecessary duplication of more memory-intensive display data by referring to that unchanging data in the relatively short drawing commands.
See also
- Display listDisplay listA display list is a series of graphics commands that define an output image. The image is created by executing the commands....
- Retained modeRetained modeIn computing, retained mode rendering is a style for application programming interfaces of graphics libraries, in which the libraries retain a complete model of the objects to be rendered.-Overview:...
, the opposite of immediate mode - Scene graphScene graphA scene graph is a general data structure commonly used by vector-based graphics editing applications and modern computer games. Examples of such programs include Acrobat 3D, Adobe Illustrator, AutoCAD, CorelDRAW, OpenSceneGraph, OpenSG, VRML97, and X3D....