System and method for computing a desktop picture

• US 20070085854A1
• Filed: 10/14/2005
• Published: 04/19/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Computer Incorporated (Apple Inc.)
• Inventors: Chaudhri, Imran, Zimmer, Mark, Brunner, Ralph
• Granted Patent: US 8,793,576 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/582
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/20 Processor architectures; Processor configuration, e.g. pipelining
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/001 Texturing; Colouring; Generation of texture or colour inpainting G06T5/77
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/363 Graphics controllers

Abstract

Disclosed are a system and method for computing a desktop picture. Instead of loading a file that contains the desktop image from memory, the present invention provides for a system and method for opening and retaining a procedural recipe and a small set of instructions that can be executed to compute a desktop picture. The desktop picture can be computed very quickly using a GPU (graphics processing unit), and can be made to move on demand. When a part of the desktop image is needed to composite, that part is computed using a fragment program on the GPU using the procedural recipe and a specially written fragment program into a temporary VRAM buffer. After it is computed and composited, the buffer containing the result of the fragment program may be discarded.

Claims

1. A method of computing a multicolor desktop background for display on a display device, the method comprising:

loading a set of instructions and a first procedural description for computing a first image;

executing the set of instructions using the first procedural description as parameters to generate the first image;

wherein the first image is used as the desktop background.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a fragment program executes the set of instructions inside a graphics processing unit.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a portion of the first image is computed.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

loading a second procedural description for computing a second image;

executing the set of instructions using the second procedural description as parameters to generate the second image;

wherein the second image is used as the desktop background.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising interpolating between the first procedural description and the second procedural description.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the second procedural description is loaded after a predetermined period of time.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the second procedural description is loaded upon occurrence of logging in of a user.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the second procedural description is loaded upon occurrence of logging out of a user.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein the second procedural description is loaded upon occurrence of launching of a predetermined application.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the predetermined application comprises a screen saver program.

11. The method of claim 4, wherein the second procedural description is loaded upon occurrence of exiting of a predetermined application.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the predetermined application comprises a screen saver program.

13. The method of claim 4, wherein the second procedural description is loaded upon occurrence of change in a user state.

16. A computer-readable medium having computer executable instructions and procedural descriptions for performing the method recited in any one of claims 1 or 14.

14. A method of computing a desktop background for display on a display device, the method comprising:

loading into a graphics processing unit a set of instructions and a first procedural description for computing a first image;

executing inside the graphics processing unit the set of instructions using the first procedural description as parameters to generate the first image;

wherein the first image is used as the desktop background.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

loading into the graphics processing unit a second procedural description for computing a second image;

executing inside the graphics processing unit the set of instructions and the second procedural description as parameters to generate the second image;

wherein the second image is used as the desktop background.

17. A system for computing a desktop background for display onto a display device, the system comprising:

a microprocessor; and

a GPU coupled to said microprocessor;

wherein a set of instructions and a first procedural description for computing a first image is loaded into the GPU; and

wherein the GPU executes the set of instructions using the first procedural description as parameters to generate the first image; and

wherein the first image is used as the desktop background.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein a second procedural description for computing a second image is loaded into the GPU;

and

wherein the GPU executes the set of instructions using the second procedural description as parameters to generate the second image; and

wherein the second image is used as the desktop background.