Patent ID: 7233331
Filing Date: 2007-06-19
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A parallel processing method for performing computer graphics shading tasks in parallel on a plurality of processors comprising: (a) identifying at least one shading task area of a large computer graphics rendering task directed to a plurality of computer shading task processes for shading an image frame of a scene that can be grouped together as a shading task space not dependent on passing of control of processing from an external process in order to complete processing of a computational processes of the shading task space; (b) breaking down the shading task space into a plurality of self-contained shading task objects each of which can be executed in one computational step without requiring passing of control to or from another object, wherein each shading task object is defined with a computational step and at least one “data-waiting” slot for receipt of data requested from another shading task object to which the shading task object passes a message for the requested data, and wherein once all the “data-waiting” slots of a shading task object are filled by respective return message(s), the shading task object can perform its defined computational step without waiting for any other input; (c) scheduling the defined shading task objects of said identified shading task space so that each shading task object ready for processing is processed by a next available “unoccupied” one of the plurality of processors, by the sequence of: