Abstract: A method including storing a plurality of page elements. Each of the page elements includes i) a drawing command to render a page on a rendering device, and ii) a plurality of segments, in which each of the segments includes a drawing command for a scanline. The page elements are non-overlapping, and the segments are non-overlapping. The method further includes receiving a first page element and merging the first page element into the plurality of page elements by reducing the first page element into a first set of segments and by merging one of the first set of segments into the plurality of segments. Merging the one of the first set of segments into the plurality of segments includes selectively shrinking one of the plurality of segments.

Abstract: A method including storing a plurality of segments. Each of the segments includes a first drawing command to render a scanline on a rendering device. The segments are non-overlapping. The method further includes receiving a page element. The page element includes a second drawing command to render a page on the rendering device. The page element includes a first segment. The method further includes merging the first segment into the plurality of segments. Merging the first segment into the plurality of segments includes selectively shrinking one of the plurality of segments.

Abstract: A raster image processing system and method accepts a digital page description as a series of page elements (text, graphics, images, etc.) and creates output video-ready (“flattened”) raster without allocating large amounts of raster memory (arrays of pixels) and without creating a display list of all page elements. This technique improves performance (greater speed with fewer resources consumed) in the typical output process: rendering, image processing, compression, and transmission. The method records each page element in memory in a manner that largely retains the inherent compression of the element description, and fully retains the positional relationships with its neighboring elements. Where an incoming page element overlaps an existing one, the intersections are calculated on the fly, and elements underneath are immediately split, merged, shrunken, or deleted. Each incoming page element is immediately processed and recorded as described above, and then discarded.

Abstract: A raster image processing system and method accepts a digital page description as a series of page elements (text, graphics, images, etc.) and creates output video-ready (“flattened”) raster without allocating large amounts of raster memory (arrays of pixels) and without creating a display list of all page elements. This technique improves performance (greater speed with fewer resources consumed) in the typical output process: rendering, image processing, compression, and transmission. The method records each page element in memory in a manner that largely retains the inherent compression of the element description, and fully retains the positional relationships with its neighboring elements. Where an incoming page element overlaps an existing one, the intersections are calculated on the fly, and elements underneath are immediately split, merged, shrunken, or deleted. Each incoming page element is immediately processed and recorded as described above, and then discarded.