Vertex pipeline
Encyclopedia
The function of the vertex pipeline in any GPU
is to take geometry data (usually supplied as vector points), work with it if needed with either fixed function processes (earlier DirectX
), or a vertex shader program (later DirectX), and create all of the 3D data points in a scene to a 2D plane for display on a computer
monitor
.
It is possible to eliminate unneeded data from going through the rendering pipeline to cut out extraneous work (called view volume clipping and backface culling). After the vertex engine is done working with the geometry, all the 2D calculated data is sent to the pixel engine for further processing such as texturing and fragment shading.
As of DirectX 9c, the vertex processor is able to do the following by programming the vertex processing under the Direct X API:
Graphics processing unit
A graphics processing unit or GPU is a specialized circuit designed to rapidly manipulate and alter memory in such a way so as to accelerate the building of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display...
is to take geometry data (usually supplied as vector points), work with it if needed with either fixed function processes (earlier DirectX
DirectX
Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with Direct, such as Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectMusic, DirectPlay,...
), or a vertex shader program (later DirectX), and create all of the 3D data points in a scene to a 2D plane for display on a computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
monitor
Computer display
A monitor or display is an electronic visual display for computers. The monitor comprises the display device, circuitry, and an enclosure...
.
It is possible to eliminate unneeded data from going through the rendering pipeline to cut out extraneous work (called view volume clipping and backface culling). After the vertex engine is done working with the geometry, all the 2D calculated data is sent to the pixel engine for further processing such as texturing and fragment shading.
As of DirectX 9c, the vertex processor is able to do the following by programming the vertex processing under the Direct X API:
- TessellationTessellationA tessellation or tiling of the plane is a pattern of plane figures that fills the plane with no overlaps and no gaps. One may also speak of tessellations of parts of the plane or of other surfaces. Generalizations to higher dimensions are also possible. Tessellations frequently appeared in the art...
- Displacement mappingDisplacement mappingDisplacement mapping is an alternative computer graphics technique in contrast to bump mapping, normal mapping, and parallax mapping, using a texture- or height map to cause an effect where the actual geometric position of points over the textured surface are displaced, often along the local...
- Geometry blending
- Higher-order primitives
- Point sprites
- Matrix stacks