[ Previous | Next | Contents | Glossary | Home | Search ]
The graPHIGS Programming Interface : Subroutine Reference

Summary of Amendments

The IBM GDDM/graPHIGS API Programming Interface 2.2.5 and IBM AIXwindows Environment/6000 (1.2.5) 3D Feature (April 1994) offer several new functions which are described in the following locations.

The summary below represents new and enhanced changes for the entire graPHIGS library.

Documented Function Additions/Enhancements include:

Modeling Clipping

Modeling Clipping provides a way to clip geometric entities in World Coordinates (WC) just after the modeling transformation and before any other rendering pipeline operations. Interfaces supporting Modeling Clip are:

Texture Mapping

Texture mapping is a method of filling the interior of area primitives from a collection of colors. The colors are written to the frame buffer as the primitive is rendered, and become the interior of the primitive. Interfaces that support texture mapping are:

Transparency

Additions to existing transparency functions include enhanced transparency support for blending, including alpha blending using alpha planes, and multiple levels of screendoor transparency. Interfaces that support transparency are:

Also affected by transparency support are:

PHIGS PLUS (Lighting and Shading)

PHIGS PLUS defines several new functions to support lighting and shading. The following calls allow additional application control of processing:

Morphing

Morphing is a method of changing the rendering of a primitive without editing the element. It gives you the ability to change the displayed value of primitive coordinates or data mapping values using morphing factors. New interfaces include:

Line-on-Line Highlighting

LOL highlighting is a frame-buffer comparison operation which highlights the intersection of geometry on the screen by drawing the intersection in a highlight color. New/changed interfaces include:

Procopts

You can use procopts to change the way in which the API treats specific devices or to specify workstation-specific default values. New processing options for this release include:

Additional miscellaneous enhancements include:


[ Previous | Next | Contents | Glossary | Home | Search ]