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Scanline-Rendering

Scanline Rendering

Scanline Rendering is a fundamental technique in computer graphics used for rendering two-dimensional images from three-dimensional scenes. This method involves processing one line of pixels at a time from the top of the image to the bottom, which is why it's called "scanline."

History and Development

How Scanline Rendering Works

The process of scanline rendering can be broken down into several steps:

  1. Scene Preparation: Objects in the 3D scene are transformed into a 2D view plane using perspective projection or orthographic projection.
  2. Scan Conversion: Each polygon (usually triangles) in the scene is converted into pixel coordinates. This step involves determining which pixels on the screen are part of each polygon.
  3. Edge List Creation: An edge list is created for each scanline, detailing where polygons begin and end along that line.
  4. Active Edge Table (AET): As the scanline progresses, an Active Edge Table is maintained to keep track of edges that intersect the current scanline. This table helps in determining the intersection points where polygons start and end.
  5. Coloring and Shading: For each pixel within the polygon boundaries, attributes like color, texture, and shading are computed. This might involve flat shading, Gouraud shading, or Phong shading, depending on the desired quality and computational resources.
  6. Depth Sorting: To handle transparency and ensure correct visibility, depth sorting or the painter's algorithm can be employed.

Advantages and Limitations

Applications

Scanline rendering is still used in various fields:

External Links

See Also

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