Graphics system interface

• US 6,452,600 B1
• Filed: 11/28/2000
• Issued: 09/17/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Cheng, Howard, Moore, Robert, Parikh, Vimal
• Primary Examiner(s): Chauhan, Ulka J.
• Application Number:
  US09/723,336
• Time in Patent Office: 658 Days
• Field of Search: 345/581, 345/582, 345/587, 345/520, 345/522, 345/552, 345/559
• US Class Current: 345/522
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/203 Image generating hardware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0875 with dedicated cache, e.g. instruction or stack
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/005 General purpose rendering architectures
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/04 Texture mapping
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2210/32 Image data format

Abstract

An interface for a graphics system includes simple yet powerful constructs that are easy for an application programmer to use and learn. Features include a unique vertex representation allowing the graphics pipeline to retain vertex state information and to mix indexed and direct vertex values and attributes; a projection matrix value set command; a display list call object command; and an embedded frame buffer clear/set command.

Claims

1. A graphics command stream for use in a graphics system, the command stream being operable upon execution to load vertex attribute registers, the graphics command stream comprising:

a graphics command 0x0880 followed by a 4-byte value including attribute information for a texture 1 coordinate, a texture 2 coordinate, a texture 3 coordinate and a first portion of a texture 4 coordinate, and

a graphics command 0x0890 followed by a 4-byte value including attribute information for a second portion of the texture 4 coordinate, a texture 5 coordinate, a texture 6 coordinate and a texture 7 coordinate,

wherein upon execution of the graphics command stream the vertex attribute registers are loaded.

2. A computer readable storage medium encoded with executable instructions for loading vertex attribute registers, comprising:

a graphics command 0x0880 followed by a 4-byte value including attribute information for a texture 1 coordinate, a texture 2 coordinate, a texture 3 coordinate and a first portion of a texture 4 coordinate, and

a graphics command 0x0890 followed by a 4-byte value including attribute information for a second portion of the texture 4 coordinate, a texture 5 coordinate, a texture 6 coordinate and a texture 7 coordinate,

wherein execution of the encoded instructions loads the vertex attribute registers.

3. A graphics command stream decoder comprising:

a first decoding section decoding a graphics command 0x0880 followed by a 4-byte value including attribute information for a texture 1 coordinate, a texture 2 coordinate, a texture 3 coordinate and a first portion of a texture 4 coordinate, and

a second decoding section decoding a graphics command 0x0890 followed by a 4-byte value including attribute information for a second portion of the texture 4 coordinate, a texture 5 coordinate, a texture 6 coordinate and a texture 7 coordinate.

4. A method of loading a vertex attribute registers in a graphics system using a graphics command stream, the method comprising:

generating a graphics command 0x0880 followed by a 4-byte value including attribute information for a texture 1 coordinate, a texture 2 coordinate, a texture 3 coordinate and a first portion of a texture 4 coordinate, and

generating a graphics command 0x0890 followed by a 4-byte value including attribute information for a second portion of the texture 4 coordinate, a texture 5 coordinate, a texture 6 coordinate and a texture 7 coordinate,

wherein upon execution of the graphics command stream the vertex attribute registers are loaded.