Fast variable validation for state management of a graphics pipeline

• US 8,954,947 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2006
• Issued: 02/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Markovic, Relja, Srinivasan, Ramanujan, Glassenberg, Samuel
• Primary Examiner(s): CHAVIS, JOHN Q
• Application Number:
  US11/478,285
• Publication Number:
  US 20080005731A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,148 Days
• Field of Search: 717/162, 717/126
• US Class Current: 717/162
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44521 Dynamic linking or loading; Link editing at or after load time, e.g. Java class loading
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4491 Optimising based on receiver type
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/005 General purpose rendering architectures

Abstract

In a state management system of an effects system implemented in a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), techniques and technologies are provided for setting a value to particular variables at application run-time without validating the variables. For example, a compiled effects file comprising a number of variables can be loaded at application load time, and a generic, variable interface pointer for a particular variable of the effects file can be retrieved. A specialized variable interface pointer can then be generated which is associated with the particular variable by specifying a desired type of access that will be performed on the particular variable. At application run-time, the specialized variable interface can be used to set a value to each of the particular variables without validating the particular variables at application run-time.

Claims

1. In a state management system, a method comprising:

generating at load time a specialized variable interface pointer associated with a variable comprised in a loaded compiled effects file by specifying a desired type of access that will be performed on the variable, where a generic variable interface pointer has been retrieved for the variable; and

using a specialized variable interface to set a value to the variable at application run-time without validating the variable at application run-time.

2. The method in the state management system of claim 1, wherein using a specialized variable interface to set a value to the variable at application run-time without validating the variable at application run-time comprises:

setting a value to the variable having a set time format at application run-time by fast copying the variable to memory without validating the variable at application run-time.

3. The method in the state management system of claim 1, wherein using a specialized variable interface to set a value to the variable at application run-time without validating the variable at application run-time comprises:

automatically performing an operation on other variables having a different format than a set time format to convert the other variables to the set time format; and

setting a value to the converted variables at application run-time without validating the converted variables at application run-time.

4. The method in the state management system of claim 3, wherein the operation comprises a run-time conversion.

5. The method in the state management system of claim 4, wherein the run-time conversion comprises at least one of:

conversion from integer value-to-floating point value,

conversion from floating point value-to-integer value,

transposing a matrix,

packing and unpacking array data, or

performing additional checks on object variables.

6. The method in the state management system of claim 1, wherein the specialized variable interface pointer specifies a set time format an application expects for the variable.

7. The method in the state management system of claim 6, wherein the set time format comprises a format used by the application to perform at least one of getting or setting values to the variable.

8. The method in the state management system of claim 1, wherein the specialized variable interface pointer specifies a variable type an application expects for the variable.

9. The method in the state management system of claim 1, wherein the variable comprises an effect variable.

10. A hardware computer storage memory, comprising an application programming interface (API) for instructing a graphics processing unit to:

generate at load time a specialized variable interface pointer associated with a variable comprised in a loaded compiled effects file by specifying a desired type of access that will be performed on the variable, where a generic variable interface pointer has been retrieved for the variable; and

use a specialized variable interface to set a value to the variable at application run-time without validating the variable at application run-time.

11. The hardware computer storage memory of claim 10, the API instructing the graphics processing unit to:

set a value to the variable having a set time format at application run-time by fast copying the variable to memory without validating the variable at application run-time.

12. The hardware computer storage memory of claim 10, the API instructing the graphics processing unit to:

perform an operation on other variables having a different format than a set time format to convert the other variables to the set time format; and

set a value to at least one of the converted variables at application run-time without validating the converted variables at application run-time.

13. The hardware computer storage memory of claim 12, wherein the operation comprises a run-time conversion.

14. The hardware computer storage memory of claim 13, wherein the run-time conversion comprises at least one of:

conversion from integer value-to-floating point value,

conversion from floating point value-to-integer value,

transposing a matrix,

packing and unpacking array data, or

performing additional checks on object variables.

15. The hardware computer storage memory of claim 10, wherein the specialized variable interface pointer specifies a set time format an application associated with the API expects for the variable.

16. The hardware computer storage memory of claim 15, wherein the set time format comprises a format used by the application to perform at least one of getting or setting values to the variable.

17. The hardware computer storage memory of claim 10, wherein the specialized variable interface pointer specifies a variable type an application associated with the API expects for the variable.

18. The hardware computer storage memory of claim 10, wherein the variable comprises an effect variable.

19. A method, implemented at least in part via a processing unit, comprising:

generating at load time a specialized variable interface pointer associated with a variable comprised in a loaded compiled effects file by specifying a desired type of access that will be performed on the variable, where a generic variable interface pointer has been retrieved for the variable; and

using a specialized variable interface to set a value to the variable at application run-time without validating the variable at application run-time.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein using a specialized variable interface to set a value to the variable at application run-time without validating the variable at application run-time comprises:

setting a value to the variable having a set time format at application run-time by fast copying the variable to memory without validating the variable at application run-time.