Software rendering: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:00, 1 February 2023

Revision as of 16:57, 11 February 2023

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[[File:Software renderer embedded.gif|thumb|right|Software renderer running on a device without a [[Graphics processing unit|GPU]].]]

'''Software rendering''' is the process of generating an image from a model by means of computer software. In the context of [[rendering (computer graphics)|computer graphics rendering]], software rendering refers to a rendering process that is not dependent upon [[graphics hardware]] [[Application-specific integrated circuit|ASICs]], such as a [[graphics card]]. The rendering takes place entirely in the [[Central processing unit|CPU]]. Rendering everything with the (general-purpose) CPU has the main advantage that it is not restricted to the (limited) capabilities of graphics hardware, but the disadvantage is that more semiconductorstransistors are needed to obtain the same speed.

Rendering is used in architecture, simulators, video games, movies and television visual effects and design visualization. Rendering is the last step in an animation process, and gives the final appearance to the models and animation with visual effects such as shading, texture-mapping, shadows, [[reflection (computer graphics)|reflection]]s and motion blur.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=LIVE Design - Interactive Visualizations {{!}} Autodesk|url=http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?id=17940930&siteID=123112|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221045119/http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?id=17940930&siteID=123112|archive-date=February 21, 2014|access-date=2016-08-20|website=}}</ref> Rendering can be split into two main categories: [[real-time computer graphics|real-time rendering]] (also known as online rendering), and pre-rendering (also called offline rendering). Real-time rendering is used to interactively render a scene, like in [[3D computer game]]s, and generally each frame must be rendered in a few milliseconds. Offline rendering is used to create realistic images and movies, where each frame can take hours or days to complete, or for debugging of complex graphics code by programmers.