Swap chain: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 02:17, 23 May 2011

Revision as of 09:44, 14 August 2013

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==Function==

[[File:swap chain depiction.svg|thumb|alt=Swap Chain|A graphical depiction of a triple-buffered swap chain.]]

In every swap chain there are at least two buffers. The first framebuffer, the screenbuffer, is the buffer that is [[Rendering (computer graphics)|rendered]] to the [[output]] of the [[video card]]. The remaining buffers are known as backbuffers. Each time a new [[Film frame|frame]] is displayed, the first back bufferbackbuffer in the swap chain takes the place of the screenbuffer, this is called ''presentation'' or ''swapping''. A variety of other actions may be taken on the previous screenbuffer and other backbuffers (if they exist). The screenbuffer may be simply [[Overwriting (Computer Science)|overwritten]] or returned to the back of the swap chain for further processing. The action taken is decided by the [[client (computing)|client]] application and is API dependent.

===Direct3D===