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Glossary
ELSA ERAZOR II and ELSA VICTORY Erazor LT
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average colors for inserted pixels). Horizontal
interpolation is relatively easy to perform, since
the pixels are drawn to the screen in lines.
Vertical interpolation is more difficult and
requires a complete pixel line to be buffered.
MIP mapping – In MIP mapping a number of
textures are assigned to an object depending
on distance. The representation of the object
becomes more detailed as the observer
approaches the object.
Multifrequency/Multisync monitor – A
monitor that can be operated at various hori-
zontal scan frequencies, or that automatically
adapts itself to different video signals (resolu-
tions).
OpenGL – 3D software interface (3D API).
E.g. implemented in Windows NT and avail-
able for Windows 95. Based on Iris GL from Sil-
icon Graphics and licensed from Microsoft.
Page Flipping – The image generated in the
➞back buffer is displayed
PCI bus – Abbreviation of Peripheral Compo-
nent Interconnect Bus. An advanced bus sys-
tem, i.e. a system of parallel data lines to
transfer information between individual system
components, especially to expansion boards.
Phong shading – ➞ 'Shading'.
Pixel – Picture element. Dot in the image.
Pixel frequency – Pixel clock frequency
(number of pixels drawn per second in MHz).
Primitive – Simple, polygonal geometrical
object, such as a triangle. 3D landscapes are
generally broken down into triangles.
RAM – Abbreviation of Random Access Mem-
ory. Chip memory of a computer or expansion
board that can be read from and written to
(unlike ROM = Read Only Memory).
RAMDAC – The RAMDAC converts the digital
signals to analog signals on a graphics board.
VGA monitors are only capable of processing
analog signals.
RealColor – RealColor normally designates a
15-bpp or 16-bpp (bits per pixel) graphics mode,
i.e. 32,768 or 65,536 colors).
Refresh rate – or image refresh frequency (in
Hz) indicates how many times per second an
image on the monitor is refreshed.
Rendering – Process for calculating the repre-
sentation of a 3D scene, in which the position
and color of each point in space is determined.
The depth information is held in the ➞Z buffer,
the color and size information is held in the
➞frame buffer.
Resolution – The number of pixels in horizon-
tal and vertical direction on the screen, for
example 640 horizontal by 480 vertical pixels
(640 x 480).
RGB – Color information is saved in the Red/
Green/Blue color format.
ROM – Abbreviation of Read Only Memory.
Semiconductor memory that can only be read
and not written to.
Shading – Shading or rendering is a way to
define the colors on curved surfaces in order to
give an object a natural appearance. To
achieve this, the surfaces are subdivided into
many small triangles. The three most impor-
tant 3D shading methods differ in the algorithm
used to apply colors to these triangles:
Flat shading: the triangles are uniformly col-
ored.
Gouraud shading: The color shades on a trian-
gle are calculated by interpolating the vertex
colors, resulting in a smooth appearance of the
surface.
Phong shading: the color shades on a triangle