Beyond The Renderer: Software Architecture For Parallel Graphics And Visualization

As numerous implementations have demonstrated, software-based parallel rendering is an effective way to obtain the needed computational power for a variety of challenging applications in computer graphics and scientific visualization. To fully realize their potential, however, parallel renderers need to be integrated into a complete environment for generating, manipulating, and delivering visual data. We examine the structure and components of such an environment, including the programming and user interfaces, rendering engines, and image delivery systems. We consider some of the constraints imposed by real-world applications and discuss the problems and issues involved in bringing parallel rendering out of the lab and into production. This work was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Contract No. NAS1-19480 while the author was in residence at the Institute for Computer Applications in Science and Engineering (ICASE), M/S 403, NASA Langley Research Cen..