Michael Jones (mtj++at++babar)
Fri, 15 Mar 1996 09:22:58 -0800
IRIS Performer 2.0.1
The release of IRIX 6.2 will include the IRIS Performer run-time
environment for all graphics types. This release, which has already
happened from the Performer team's point of view but which is not yet
out of the factory and into customer's hands, is known as IRIS
Performer 2.0.1 eoe. The new IRIX release will be widely distributed
(all modern machines) and the inclusion of the Performer DSOs means
that the convenience of portability will be much greater than was
previously possible (just copy your shared executable -- the loaders
and libraries will already be there -- no need to link statically for
portability).
The bugs that we know of (bugs reported in the mailing list, by email
to the team, or through SGI GCS) in Performer 2.0 (database paging,
etc.) have been fixed in the 2.0.1 release. This means that when you
get the new IRIX, you'll have a binary compatible better Performer.
Check the online release notes to learn about the bug fixes in detail.
Also, if you know of a program or documentation error and did not
report it yet, then shame on you! If you had, we'd likely have it
fixed by now and you would have gotten the new version in the mail
just like magic. Please send bug reports to us if you uncover any
problem or defect, and include comments about documentation as well.
The sooner we know, the sooner it gets fixed.
IRIS Performer 2.1
We are releasing IRIS Performer 2.1 to support the advanced features of
the recently announced Onyx/InfiniteReality graphics system. There is
almost no change of existing 2.0 API -- it's new features rather than
changes to existing ones -- so the port should be a quick one for
anyone using the 2.0 release. (Proven by customers visiting the
InfiniteReality Porting Palace here in Mountain View.)
While IRIS Performer 2.0 and 2.0.1 work well on (and recognize the
hardware type of ;-) the InfiniteReality, they do not know about
several key new hardware and software features. The Performer 2.1
release enhances Performer 2.0 and 2.0.1 to support new OpenGL and
hardware features, as well as adding a number of important Performer
features. It is nearly ready for release, which is why we've been so
quiet on the mailing list -- we've been in a heads-down completion mode
to make sure IRIS Performer 2.1 is ready for its partner, the new
InfiniteReality graphics system. IRIS Performer 2.0 and 2.0.1
applications run well on IR, but you need to upgrade to Performer 2.1
to open the door to these features:
o Support for MIP-mapped textures up to 32k x 32k in size. This
allows geo-specific textures for large areas to be used and is
a beautiful thing to see. Note: that's 1 billion texels!
o Dynamic Resolution to solve pixel-fill overload automatically.
Are you ever had a fill-limited application that dropped frames?
Want to make a simple function call to solve it, even in multi-
pipe, multi-channel applications?
o Dynamic Surfaces for accurate model and terrain simulation. Nice
hierarchical surfaces with flexible morphing under user control.
Many people saw this at the I/ITSEC show in November.
o Hardware pipeline statistics gathering/reporting. Get details
about bottlenecks deep within the hardware. (Used by Performer
to control Dynamic Resolution as mentioned above)
o Several additional features not to be mentioned until release.
(Australians take heart!)
o Bug fixes WRT 2.0.1: these include fixes to bugs that have been
reported here in the mailing list (these are also fixed in Performer
2.0.1 as described above) as well as a few subtle and minor fixes
made after the cutoff point for 2.0.1 was passed.
By the way, I've seen rates of more than 4 million polygons per second
using Performer 2.1 on an Infinite/Reality system (i.e., 75,000
tris/frame at 60 Hz) drawing a customer-supplied database.
More details will be shared once we start to ship 2.0.1 and 2.1 out
of the factory. Full information will be posted here first!
Michael Jones
RE: Current Performer Releases
Be seeing you, Phone:415.933.1455 Fax:415.965.2658 M/S:8U-590
Michael T. Jones Silicon Graphics, Advanced Systems Division
mtj++at++sgi.com 2011 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mtn. View, CA 94039-7311
"Du musst Amboss oder Hammer sein" -- Goethe
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