Abstract: A user mode device driver interface (UMDDI) is disclosed. The UMDDI is preferably implemented in Windows® NT® version 5.0 and similar systems. The UMDDI allows a device driver to execute in user-mode while the graphics engine (GRE) remains in kernel-mode. The UMDDI exists as a layer between the user-mode driver and GRE; from the perspective of GRE, it encapsulates the user-mode driver and makes it appear to be a normal kernel-mode driver. The UMDDI layer handles the kernel-to-user and user-to-kernel transitions, parameter validation, and management of the kernel-mode and user-mode data and objects.

Abstract: An image storage and processing method constructs, clips, fills, and combines arbitrary 2-dimensional shapes in an advanced graphics system. The method supports processing of anti-aliased images by compressing the image into a novel AlphaRegion data structure. AlphaRegion encodes into the data structure both the partially transparent as well as the fully opaque alpha values of an image according to rectangular bands. A band is a contiguous series of scan lines that have the same pattern of alpha values in a single direction. AlphaRegion encoding results in a more compact representation than possible in a conventional bitmap, but without losing the anti-aliasing features. AlphaRegion can be constructed either by supersampling sub-scan lines of an image, from the scan lines of a gray-scale image, from an existing conventional 1-bit Region or alpha mask buffer, or directly from a scan-line conversion of a geometric shape. AlphaRegion stores image data into three arrays, yInfo, xInfo and alphaData.

Abstract: A user mode device driver interface (UMDDI) is disclosed. The UMDDI is preferably implemented in Windows® NT® version 5.0 and similar systems. The UMDDI allows a device driver to execute in user-mode while the graphics engine (GRE) remains in kernel-mode. The UMDDI exists as a layer between the user-mode driver and GRE; from the perspective of GRE, it encapsulates the user-mode driver and makes it appear to be a normal kernel-mode driver. The UMDDI layer handles the kernel-to-user and user-to-kernel transitions, parameter validation, and management of the kernel-mode and user-mode data and objects.

Abstract: A user mode device driver interface (UMDDI) is disclosed. The UMDDI is preferably implemented in Windows® NT® version 5.0 and similar systems. The UMDDI allows a device driver to execute in user-mode while the graphics engine (GRE) remains in kernel-mode. The UMDDI exists as a layer between the user-mode driver and GRE; from the perspective of GRE, it encapsulates the user-mode driver and makes it appear to be a normal kernel-mode driver. The UMDDI layer handles the kernel-to-user and user-to-kernel transitions, parameter validation, and management of the kernel-mode and user-mode data and objects.

Abstract: An image storage and processing method constructs, clips, fills, and combines arbitrary 2-dimensional shapes in an advanced graphics system. The method supports processing of anti-aliased images by compressing the image into a novel AlphaRegion data structure. AlphaRegion encodes into the data structure both the partially transparent as well as the fully opaque alpha values of an image according to rectangular bands. A band is a contiguous series of scan lines that have the same pattern of alpha values in a single direction. AlphaRegion encoding results in a more compact representation than possible in a conventional bitmap, but without losing the anti-aliasing features. AlphaRegion can be constructed either by supersampling sub-scan lines of an image, from the scan lines of a gray-scale image, from an existing conventional 1-bit Region or alpha mask buffer, or directly from a scan-line conversion of a geometric shape. AlphaRegion stores image data into three arrays, yInfo, xInfo and alphaData.

Abstract: An image storage and processing method constructs, clips, fills, and combines arbitrary 2-dimensional shapes in an advanced graphics system. The method supports processing of anti-aliased images by compressing the image into a novel AlphaRegion data structure. AlphaRegion encodes into the data structure both the partially transparent as well as the fully opaque alpha values of an image according to rectangular bands. A band is a contiguous series of scan lines that have the same pattern of alpha values in a single direction. AlphaRegion encoding results in a more compact representation than possible in a conventional bitmap, but without losing the anti-aliasing features. AlphaRegion can be constructed either by supersampling sub-scan lines of an image, from the scan lines of a gray-scale image, from an existing conventional 1-bit Region or alpha mask buffer, or directly from a scan-line conversion of a geometric shape. AlphaRegion stores image data into three arrays, yInfo, xInfo and alphaData.

Abstract: An image storage and processing method constructs, clips, fills, and combines arbitrary 2-dimensional shapes in an advanced graphics system. The method supports processing of anti-aliased images by compressing the image into a novel AlphaRegion data structure. AlphaRegion encodes into the data structure both the partially transparent as well as the fully opaque alpha values of an image according to rectangular bands. A band is a contiguous series of scan lines that have the same pattern of alpha values in a single direction. AlphaRegion encoding results in a more compact representation than possible in a conventional bitmap, but without losing the anti-aliasing features. AlphaRegion can be constructed either by supersampling sub-scan lines of an image, from the scan lines of a gray-scale image, from an existing conventional 1-bit Region or alpha mask buffer, or directly from a scan-line conversion of a geometric shape. AlphaRegion stores image data into three arrays, yInfo, xInfo and alphaData.

Abstract: A user mode device driver interface (UMDDI) is disclosed. The UMDDI is preferably implemented in Windows® NT® version 5.0 and similar systems. The UMDDI allows a device driver to execute in user-mode while the graphics engine (GRE) remains in kernel-mode. The UMDDI exists as a layer between the user-mode driver and GRE; from the perspective of GRE, it encapsulates the user-mode driver and makes it appear to be a normal kernel-mode driver. The UMDDI layer handles the kernel-to-user and user-to-kernel transitions, parameter validation, and management of the kernel-mode and user-mode data and objects.