Buffers for display acceleration

• US 8,477,143 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2009
• Issued: 07/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Harper, John, Dyke, Kenneth C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tung, Kee M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cain, II, Leon T
• Application Number:
  US12/397,334
• Publication Number:
  US 20090225093A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,582 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 345/522
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/544 Buffers; Shared memory; Pipes
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/20 Processor architectures; Processor configuration, e.g. pipelining
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/60 Memory management
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/363 Graphics controllers
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/377 for mixing or overlaying two or more graphic patterns G09G5/02, G09G5/397 take precedence

Abstract

Embodiments enable a graphics processor to more efficiently process graphics and compositing processing commands. In certain embodiments, a client application submits client graphics commands to a graphics driver. The client in certain embodiments can notify a window server that client graphics commands have been submitted. In response, the window server can generate compositing processing commands and provide these commands to the graphics driver. Advantageously, a graphics processor can execute the client graphics commands while the window server generates compositing processing commands. As a result, processing resource can be used more efficiently.

Claims

1. A system for managing a display, the system comprising:

a first processor configured to receive client graphics commands from a client application and store the client graphics commands in a command buffer, wherein the client graphics commands comprise commands for generating a first image layer;

a compositing module configured to;

generate compositing processing commands in response to determining that at least a second image layer is to be composited within the first image layer; and

store the compositing processing commands in a compositing buffer; and

a second processor configured to execute the client graphics commands from the command buffer, wherein the second processor executes the client graphics commands in parallel with the compositing module generating the compositing processing commands.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the compositing module comprises a window server.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the client graphics commands comprise graphics library routine calls.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the graphics library is selected from a group consisting of OpenGL, OpenGL ES, and DirectX.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the second image layer comprises an image of a second client application.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the display comprises a display of a mobile device.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the display comprises a display of a mobile phone.

8. The system claim 1, wherein the first processor comprises a central processing unit (CPU) and the second processor comprises a graphics processing unit (CPU).

9. A method of managing a display, the method comprising:

providing client graphics commands from a first client application to a processor, the client graphics commands comprising commands for generating a first image layer;

determining whether at least a second image layer of a second client application is to be composited with the first image layer from the first client application;

in response to said determination, generating compositing processing commands while, in parallel with the generating compositing processing commands, the processor executes the client graphics commands; and

providing the compositing processing commands to the processor, wherein the compositing processing commands are configured to be executed by the processor after the client graphics commands are executed by the processor, such that a composited image is configured to be provided to a display.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein compositing processing commands are generated by a window server.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the client graphics commands comprise graphics library routine calls.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the compositing processing commands comprise graphics library routine calls.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the display comprises a display of a mobile device.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the display comprises a display of a mobile phone.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the first client application generates graphics commands using a graphics API and the second client application generates graphics commands using a window server.

16. A system for managing a display, the system comprising:

a graphics driver comprising one or more command buffers, the one or more command buffers configured to receive client graphics commands from a client application, the client graphics commands comprising commands for generating a first image layer; and

a window server in communication with the graphics driver and with the client application, the window server comprising one or more compositing buffers;

wherein the window server is configured to;

generate compositing processing commands in response to determining that at least a second image layer is to be composited with the first image layer;

store the compositing processing commands in a compositing buffer; and

flush the compositing processing commands to the one or more command buffers of the graphics driver;

wherein the graphics driver is configured to provide the client graphics commands to a processor, such that the processor is configured to execute the client graphics commands from the command buffer, wherein the processor executes the client graphics commands in parallel with the window server generating the compositing processing commands.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the graphics driver is further configured to provide the compositing processing commands to the processor such that the processor is configured to execute the compositing commands after executing the client graphics commands.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the second image layer comprises an image of a second client application.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the processor comprises a graphics processor configured to process the client graphics commands in parallel with a central processor configured to generate the compositing processing commands.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the display comprises a display of a mobile device.

21. The system of claim 16, wherein the client comprises a third-party application.

22. A machine readable non-transitory storage medium storing executable instructions which when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform operations for managing a display, the operation comprising:

providing client graphics commands from a first client application to a processor, the client graphics commands comprising commands for generating a first image layer;

determining whether at least a second image layer of a second client application is to be composited with the first image layer from the first client application;

in response to said determination, generating compositing processing commands while, in parallel with generating compositing processing commands, the processor executes the client graphics commands; and

providing the compositing processing commands to the processor, wherein the compositing processing commands are configured to be executed by the processor after the client graphics commands are executed by the processor, such that a composited image is configured to be provided to a display.

23. The machine readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 22, wherein compositing processing commands are generated by a window server.

24. The machine readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 22, wherein the client graphics commands comprise graphics library routine calls.

25. The machine readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 22, wherein the compositing processing commands comprise graphics library routine calls.

26. The machine readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 22, wherein the display comprises a display of a mobile device.

27. The machine readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 22, wherein the display comprises a display of a mobile phone.

28. The machine readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 22, wherein the first client application generates graphics commands using a graphics API and the second client application generates graphics commands using a window server.

29. A data processing system comprising:

a processor coupled to a bus;

a memory coupled to the processor through the bus;

a display coupled to the bus;

instructions executed by the processor from the memory to cause the processor to;

receive client graphics commands from a first client application the client graphics commands comprising commands for generating a first image layer;

determine whether at least a second image layer of a second client application is to be composited with the first image layer from the first client application;

generate, in response to said determination, compositing processing commands while, in parallel with generating compositing processing commands, executing the client graphics commands; and

provide the compositing processing commands to the memory, wherein the compositing processing commands are configured to execute after the client graphics commands are executed, such that a composited image is configured to be provided to the display.

30. A machine readable non-transitory storage medium storing executable instructions which when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform operations for managing a display, the operations comprising:

configuring a first processor to receive client graphics commands from a client application and storing the client graphics commands in a command buffer, wherein the client graphics commands comprise commands for generating a first image layer;

generating compositing processing commands in response to determining that at least a second image layer is to be composited within the first image layer;

storing the compositing processing commands in a compositing buffer;

configuring a second processor to execute the client graphics commands from the command buffer, wherein the second processor executes the client graphics commands in parallel with a compositing module generating the compositing processing commands.

31. The machine readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 30, wherein the compositing processing commands are generated by a window server.

32. The machine readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 30, wherein the client graphics commands comprise graphics library routine calls.

33. The machine readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 32, wherein the graphics library is selected from a group consisting of OpenGL, OpenGL ES, and DirectX.

34. The machine readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 30, wherein the second image layer comprises an image of a second client application.

35. The machine readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 30, wherein the display comprises a display of a mobile device.

36. The machine readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 30, wherein the display comprises a display of a mobile phone.

37. The machine readable non-transitory storage medium claim 30, wherein the first processor comprises a central processing unit (CPU) and the second processor comprises a graphics processing unit (CPU).