System for Emulating Graphics Operations

• US 20110074810A1
• Filed: 10/15/2010
• Published: 03/31/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Harper, John
• Granted Patent: US 8,040,359 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/619
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/20 Processor architectures; Processor configuration, e.g. pipelining

Abstract

Disclosed is a system for producing images including emulation techniques using multiple processors. The system provides for emulation of graphics processing resources such that a central processing unit may provide graphics support. Disclosed embodiments include emulation of selected graphics calls as well as emulation of a programmable graphics processor for compatibility with systems having no compatible GPU.

Claims

1. A method of using computing resources, the method comprising:

requesting, by a first process executing on a first processor, a task;

determining, by a second process executing on the first processor, resources available for servicing the task, the resources including the first processor and a second processor;

determining, by the second process, capabilities of the second processor;

optimizing, by the second process, the task for execution;

determining, by the second process, if the optimized task is within the determined capabilities of the second processor; and

compiling the task for the second processor if a determination has been made that the second processor has capabilities to execute the compiled task.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising compiling the task for the first processor if the second processor has been determined to have insufficient capabilities to execute the compiled task.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the act of compiling the task for the first processor includes compiling the task for emulation.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising executing the task on the first processor by emulating the second processor on the first processor.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the first process comprises an application program.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the second process is instantiated using libraries from a graphics services resource suite.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein an operating system comprises the second process.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the first processor comprises a central processing unit (CPU).

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the second processor comprises a programmable graphics processing unit (GPU).

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the second processor comprises a programmable graphics processing unit (GPU).

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the second process determines a status of the second processor.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the second process determines a status of at least one memory resource.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising executing the compiled task on the second processor.

22. A computer-readable medium having computer executable instructions stored thereon for performing the method recited in claim 1.

14. A method of creating an image in a computer system, the method comprising:

receiving, by a second process executing in a computer system, a request from a first process to create an image, the request identifying an object representing the image;

determining, by the second process, whether the computer system includes a programmable graphics processing unit (GPU) accessible to the second process; and

optimizing and compiling the object, by the second process, for a GPU if a GPU has been determined to be accessible and for a CPU if a GPU has been determined not to be accessible.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the object comprises a graph representing the image.

16. The method of claim 14 further comprising applying, by the second process, one or more filters to the object.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein the object comprises program instructions including reference to all items necessary for creating the image.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein the GPU is determined to be accessible if the second process may access the functionality of the GPU through a process other than the second process.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein the GPU is determined not to be accessible if there is no GPU in the computer system.

20. The method of claim 14 wherein the GPU is determined not to be accessible if there is a GPU in the computer system but it is busy.

21. The method of claim 14 wherein the GPU is determined not to be accessible if there is a GPU in the computer system but the second process does not have authority to access the GPU.

23. A computer-readable medium having computer executable instructions stored thereon for performing the method recited in claim 14.