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A Buffer Method

The A-buffer method addresses the limitations of the Z-buffer method by allowing multiple surfaces to be referenced at each pixel position through a linked list. This enables the display of transparent surfaces and antialiasing of object edges. Each A-buffer position contains a depth field for single surface depth or a negative value indicating multiple surfaces, along with an intensity field for surface color and coverage information.

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Abhishek Nagar
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39 views8 pages

A Buffer Method

The A-buffer method addresses the limitations of the Z-buffer method by allowing multiple surfaces to be referenced at each pixel position through a linked list. This enables the display of transparent surfaces and antialiasing of object edges. Each A-buffer position contains a depth field for single surface depth or a negative value indicating multiple surfaces, along with an intensity field for surface color and coverage information.

Uploaded by

Abhishek Nagar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A-BUFFER METHOD

Drawbacks of Z-buffer Method


❑A drawback of the depth-buffer method is that it can only
find one visible surface at each pixel position.
❑In other words, it deals only with opaque surfaces and
cannot accumulate intensity values for more than one surface,
as is necessary if transparent surfaces are to be displayed.
A-BUFFER METHOD
❑The A-buffer method expands the depth buffer so that each
position in the buffer can reference a linked list of surfaces.
❑Thus, more than one surface intensity can be taken into
consideration at each pixel position, and object edges can be
antialiased.
A-BUFFER METHOD
Each position in the A-buffer has two fields:
1) depth field - stores a positive or negative real number
2) intensity field - stores surface-intensity information or a
pointer value.
A-BUFFER METHOD
❑If the depth field is positive, the number stored at that position is
the depth of a single surface overlapping the corresponding pixel
area. The intensity field then stores the RGB components of the
surface color at that point and the percent of pixel coverage.

❑If the depth field is negative, this indicates multiple-surface


contributions to the pixel intensity. The intensity field then stores a
pointer to a linked Iist of surface data.
A-BUFFER METHOD
Data for each surface in the linked list includes:
❑RGB intensity components
❑opacity parameter (percent of transparency)
❑depth
❑percent of area coverage
❑surface identifier
❑other surface-rendering parameters
❑pointer to next surface

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