Patent ID: 7142214

Claim:
A method of performing graphics processing operations on a pixel, comprising: for at least one graphics function to be performed on a pixel, identifying scalar arithmetic operations that may be performed on pixel packets to implement said at least one graphics function; generating at least one row of pixel packets for said pixel to be processed, each pixel packet including at least one field for a subset of pixel attributes to be processed as operands, said at least one row having an associated instruction sequence; in each of a plurality of arithmetic logic units (ALUs), reading assigned operands, at least one of the operands corresponding to an operand read from a pixel packet within a row of pixel packets; in each of said plurality of ALUs, performing a scalar arithmetic calculation on said assigned operands according to said instruction sequence; wherein for a selected scalar arithmetic operation requiring a result in the range of [0,1], formatting corresponding operands of pixel packets in an S1.8 format corresponding to a base two representation of operands in range of [−2, +2) with an 8 bit fractional component and clamping a result of said selected scalar arithmetic operation to the range of [0,1]; and for at least one other scalar arithmetic operation, formatting corresponding pixel packets in a different data format.