Patent ID: 7719538

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for rasterizing an image into a pixel array, the method comprising: generating, by a computer, a plurality of assignments, each assignment specifying one or more graphics objects and a region of the pixel array into which the specified graphics objects are to be rasterized, wherein assignments are generated based on an estimated workload for each region; establishing, by the computer, a plurality of processes for rasterizing objects into the pixel array, each process being operable to receive an assignment and to rasterize the objects of the assignment into the region of the assignment; selecting assignments for concurrent execution by the processes, the assignments being selected so that no two concurrently executing assignments have overlapping regions; and concurrently executing the selected assignments by separate processes to rasterize the respective objects of the assignments into their respective regions; and wherein generating a plurality of assignments includes generating an assignment queue; and the assignments are ordered in the assignment queue based at least in part on a paint order of objects specified in the assignments.