diff -r f3840de881bd -r 915436ff64ab misc/libfreetype/docs/raster.txt --- a/misc/libfreetype/docs/raster.txt Thu Jul 25 23:16:06 2013 +0200 +++ /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000 @@ -1,635 +0,0 @@ - - How FreeType's rasterizer work - - by David Turner - - Revised 2007-Feb-01 - - -This file is an attempt to explain the internals of the FreeType -rasterizer. The rasterizer is of quite general purpose and could -easily be integrated into other programs. - - - I. Introduction - - II. Rendering Technology - 1. Requirements - 2. Profiles and Spans - a. Sweeping the Shape - b. Decomposing Outlines into Profiles - c. The Render Pool - d. Computing Profiles Extents - e. Computing Profiles Coordinates - f. Sweeping and Sorting the Spans - - -I. Introduction -=============== - - A rasterizer is a library in charge of converting a vectorial - representation of a shape into a bitmap. The FreeType rasterizer - has been originally developed to render the glyphs found in - TrueType files, made up of segments and second-order Béziers. - Meanwhile it has been extended to render third-order Bézier curves - also. This document is an explanation of its design and - implementation. - - While these explanations start from the basics, a knowledge of - common rasterization techniques is assumed. - - -II. Rendering Technology -======================== - -1. Requirements ---------------- - - We assume that all scaling, rotating, hinting, etc., has been - already done. The glyph is thus described by a list of points in - the device space. - - - All point coordinates are in the 26.6 fixed float format. The - used orientation is: - - - ^ y - | reference orientation - | - *----> x - 0 - - - `26.6' means that 26 bits are used for the integer part of a - value and 6 bits are used for the fractional part. - Consequently, the `distance' between two neighbouring pixels is - 64 `units' (1 unit = 1/64th of a pixel). - - Note that, for the rasterizer, pixel centers are located at - integer coordinates. The TrueType bytecode interpreter, - however, assumes that the lower left edge of a pixel (which is - taken to be a square with a length of 1 unit) has integer - coordinates. - - - ^ y ^ y - | | - | (1,1) | (0.5,0.5) - +-----------+ +-----+-----+ - | | | | | - | | | | | - | | | o-----+-----> x - | | | (0,0) | - | | | | - o-----------+-----> x +-----------+ - (0,0) (-0.5,-0.5) - - TrueType bytecode interpreter FreeType rasterizer - - - A pixel line in the target bitmap is called a `scanline'. - - - A glyph is usually made of several contours, also called - `outlines'. A contour is simply a closed curve that delimits an - outer or inner region of the glyph. It is described by a series - of successive points of the points table. - - Each point of the glyph has an associated flag that indicates - whether it is `on' or `off' the curve. Two successive `on' - points indicate a line segment joining the two points. - - One `off' point amidst two `on' points indicates a second-degree - (conic) Bézier parametric arc, defined by these three points - (the `off' point being the control point, and the `on' ones the - start and end points). Similarly, a third-degree (cubic) Bézier - curve is described by four points (two `off' control points - between two `on' points). - - Finally, for second-order curves only, two successive `off' - points forces the rasterizer to create, during rendering, an - `on' point amidst them, at their exact middle. This greatly - facilitates the definition of successive Bézier arcs. - - The parametric form of a second-order Bézier curve is: - - P(t) = (1-t)^2*P1 + 2*t*(1-t)*P2 + t^2*P3 - - (P1 and P3 are the end points, P2 the control point.) - - The parametric form of a third-order Bézier curve is: - - P(t) = (1-t)^3*P1 + 3*t*(1-t)^2*P2 + 3*t^2*(1-t)*P3 + t^3*P4 - - (P1 and P4 are the end points, P2 and P3 the control points.) - - For both formulae, t is a real number in the range [0..1]. - - Note that the rasterizer does not use these formulae directly. - They exhibit, however, one very useful property of Bézier arcs: - Each point of the curve is a weighted average of the control - points. - - As all weights are positive and always sum up to 1, whatever the - value of t, each arc point lies within the triangle (polygon) - defined by the arc's three (four) control points. - - In the following, only second-order curves are discussed since - rasterization of third-order curves is completely identical. - - Here some samples for second-order curves. - - - * # on curve - * off curve - __---__ - #-__ _-- -_ - --__ _- - - --__ # \ - --__ # - -# - Two `on' points - Two `on' points and one `off' point - between them - - * - # __ Two `on' points with two `off' - \ - - points between them. The point - \ / \ marked `0' is the middle of the - - 0 \ `off' points, and is a `virtual - -_ _- # on' point where the curve passes. - -- It does not appear in the point - * list. - - -2. Profiles and Spans ---------------------- - - The following is a basic explanation of the _kind_ of computations - made by the rasterizer to build a bitmap from a vector - representation. Note that the actual implementation is slightly - different, due to performance tuning and other factors. - - However, the following ideas remain in the same category, and are - more convenient to understand. - - - a. Sweeping the Shape - - The best way to fill a shape is to decompose it into a number of - simple horizontal segments, then turn them on in the target - bitmap. These segments are called `spans'. - - __---__ - _-- -_ - _- - - - \ - / \ - / \ - | \ - - __---__ Example: filling a shape - _----------_ with spans. - _-------------- - ----------------\ - /-----------------\ This is typically done from the top - / \ to the bottom of the shape, in a - | | \ movement called a `sweep'. - V - - __---__ - _----------_ - _-------------- - ----------------\ - /-----------------\ - /-------------------\ - |---------------------\ - - - In order to draw a span, the rasterizer must compute its - coordinates, which are simply the x coordinates of the shape's - contours, taken on the y scanlines. - - - /---/ |---| Note that there are usually - /---/ |---| several spans per scanline. - | /---/ |---| - | /---/_______|---| When rendering this shape to the - V /----------------| current scanline y, we must - /-----------------| compute the x values of the - a /----| |---| points a, b, c, and d. - - - - * * - - - - * * - - y - - / / b c| |d - - - /---/ |---| - /---/ |---| And then turn on the spans a-b - /---/ |---| and c-d. - /---/_______|---| - /----------------| - /-----------------| - a /----| |---| - - - - ####### - - - - ##### - - y - - / / b c| |d - - - b. Decomposing Outlines into Profiles - - For each scanline during the sweep, we need the following - information: - - o The number of spans on the current scanline, given by the - number of shape points intersecting the scanline (these are - the points a, b, c, and d in the above example). - - o The x coordinates of these points. - - x coordinates are computed before the sweep, in a phase called - `decomposition' which converts the glyph into *profiles*. - - Put it simply, a `profile' is a contour's portion that can only - be either ascending or descending, i.e., it is monotonic in the - vertical direction (we also say y-monotonic). There is no such - thing as a horizontal profile, as we shall see. - - Here are a few examples: - - - this square - 1 2 - ---->---- is made of two - | | | | - | | profiles | | - ^ v ^ + v - | | | | - | | | | - ----<---- - - up down - - - this triangle - - P2 1 2 - - |\ is made of two | \ - ^ | \ \ | \ - | | \ \ profiles | \ | - | | \ v ^ | \ | - | \ | | + \ v - | \ | | \ - P1 ---___ \ ---___ \ - ---_\ ---_ \ - <--__ P3 up down - - - - A more general contour can be made of more than two profiles: - - __ ^ - / | / ___ / | - / | / | / | / | - | | / / => | v / / - | | | | | | ^ | - ^ | |___| | | ^ + | + | + v - | | | v | | - | | | up | - |___________| | down | - - <-- up down - - - Successive profiles are always joined by horizontal segments - that are not part of the profiles themselves. - - For the rasterizer, a profile is simply an *array* that - associates one horizontal *pixel* coordinate to each bitmap - *scanline* crossed by the contour's section containing the - profile. Note that profiles are *oriented* up or down along the - glyph's original flow orientation. - - In other graphics libraries, profiles are also called `edges' or - `edgelists'. - - - c. The Render Pool - - FreeType has been designed to be able to run well on _very_ - light systems, including embedded systems with very few memory. - - A render pool will be allocated once; the rasterizer uses this - pool for all its needs by managing this memory directly in it. - The algorithms that are used for profile computation make it - possible to use the pool as a simple growing heap. This means - that this memory management is actually quite easy and faster - than any kind of malloc()/free() combination. - - Moreover, we'll see later that the rasterizer is able, when - dealing with profiles too large and numerous to lie all at once - in the render pool, to immediately decompose recursively the - rendering process into independent sub-tasks, each taking less - memory to be performed (see `sub-banding' below). - - The render pool doesn't need to be large. A 4KByte pool is - enough for nearly all renditions, though nearly 100% slower than - a more comfortable 16KByte or 32KByte pool (that was tested with - complex glyphs at sizes over 500 pixels). - - - d. Computing Profiles Extents - - Remember that a profile is an array, associating a _scanline_ to - the x pixel coordinate of its intersection with a contour. - - Though it's not exactly how the FreeType rasterizer works, it is - convenient to think that we need a profile's height before - allocating it in the pool and computing its coordinates. - - The profile's height is the number of scanlines crossed by the - y-monotonic section of a contour. We thus need to compute these - sections from the vectorial description. In order to do that, - we are obliged to compute all (local and global) y extrema of - the glyph (minima and maxima). - - - P2 For instance, this triangle has only - two y-extrema, which are simply - |\ - | \ P2.y as a vertical maximum - | \ P3.y as a vertical minimum - | \ - | \ P1.y is not a vertical extremum (though - | \ it is a horizontal minimum, which we - P1 ---___ \ don't need). - ---_\ - P3 - - - Note that the extrema are expressed in pixel units, not in - scanlines. The triangle's height is certainly (P3.y-P2.y+1) - pixel units, but its profiles' heights are computed in - scanlines. The exact conversion is simple: - - - min scanline = FLOOR ( min y ) - - max scanline = CEILING( max y ) - - A problem arises with Bézier Arcs. While a segment is always - necessarily y-monotonic (i.e., flat, ascending, or descending), - which makes extrema computations easy, the ascent of an arc can - vary between its control points. - - - P2 - * - # on curve - * off curve - __-x--_ - _-- -_ - P1 _- - A non y-monotonic Bézier arc. - # \ - - The arc goes from P1 to P3. - \ - \ P3 - # - - - We first need to be able to easily detect non-monotonic arcs, - according to their control points. I will state here, without - proof, that the monotony condition can be expressed as: - - P1.y <= P2.y <= P3.y for an ever-ascending arc - - P1.y >= P2.y >= P3.y for an ever-descending arc - - with the special case of - - P1.y = P2.y = P3.y where the arc is said to be `flat'. - - As you can see, these conditions can be very easily tested. - They are, however, extremely important, as any arc that does not - satisfy them necessarily contains an extremum. - - Note also that a monotonic arc can contain an extremum too, - which is then one of its `on' points: - - - P1 P2 - #---__ * P1P2P3 is ever-descending, but P1 - -_ is an y-extremum. - - - ---_ \ - -> \ - \ P3 - # - - - Let's go back to our previous example: - - - P2 - * - # on curve - * off curve - __-x--_ - _-- -_ - P1 _- - A non-y-monotonic Bézier arc. - # \ - - Here we have - \ P2.y >= P1.y && - \ P3 P2.y >= P3.y (!) - # - - - We need to compute the vertical maximum of this arc to be able - to compute a profile's height (the point marked by an `x'). The - arc's equation indicates that a direct computation is possible, - but we rely on a different technique, which use will become - apparent soon. - - Bézier arcs have the special property of being very easily - decomposed into two sub-arcs, which are themselves Bézier arcs. - Moreover, it is easy to prove that there is at most one vertical - extremum on each Bézier arc (for second-degree curves; similar - conditions can be found for third-order arcs). - - For instance, the following arc P1P2P3 can be decomposed into - two sub-arcs Q1Q2Q3 and R1R2R3: - - - P2 - * - # on curve - * off curve - - - original Bézier arc P1P2P3. - __---__ - _-- --_ - _- -_ - - - - / \ - / \ - # # - P1 P3 - - - - P2 - * - - - - Q3 Decomposed into two subarcs - Q2 R2 Q1Q2Q3 and R1R2R3 - * __-#-__ * - _-- --_ - _- R1 -_ Q1 = P1 R3 = P3 - - - Q2 = (P1+P2)/2 R2 = (P2+P3)/2 - / \ - / \ Q3 = R1 = (Q2+R2)/2 - # # - Q1 R3 Note that Q2, R2, and Q3=R1 - are on a single line which is - tangent to the curve. - - - We have then decomposed a non-y-monotonic Bézier curve into two - smaller sub-arcs. Note that in the above drawing, both sub-arcs - are monotonic, and that the extremum is then Q3=R1. However, in - a more general case, only one sub-arc is guaranteed to be - monotonic. Getting back to our former example: - - - Q2 - * - - __-x--_ R1 - _-- #_ - Q1 _- Q3 - R2 - # \ * - - - \ - \ R3 - # - - - Here, we see that, though Q1Q2Q3 is still non-monotonic, R1R2R3 - is ever descending: We thus know that it doesn't contain the - extremum. We can then re-subdivide Q1Q2Q3 into two sub-arcs and - go on recursively, stopping when we encounter two monotonic - subarcs, or when the subarcs become simply too small. - - We will finally find the vertical extremum. Note that the - iterative process of finding an extremum is called `flattening'. - - - e. Computing Profiles Coordinates - - Once we have the height of each profile, we are able to allocate - it in the render pool. The next task is to compute coordinates - for each scanline. - - In the case of segments, the computation is straightforward, - using the Euclidean algorithm (also known as Bresenham). - However, for Bézier arcs, the job is a little more complicated. - - We assume that all Béziers that are part of a profile are the - result of flattening the curve, which means that they are all - y-monotonic (ascending or descending, and never flat). We now - have to compute the intersections of arcs with the profile's - scanlines. One way is to use a similar scheme to flattening - called `stepping'. - - - Consider this arc, going from P1 to - --------------------- P3. Suppose that we need to - compute its intersections with the - drawn scanlines. As already - --------------------- mentioned this can be done - directly, but the involved - * P2 _---# P3 algorithm is far too slow. - ------------- _-- -- - _- - _/ Instead, it is still possible to - ---------/----------- use the decomposition property in - / the same recursive way, i.e., - | subdivide the arc into subarcs - ------|-------------- until these get too small to cross - | more than one scanline! - | - -----|--------------- This is very easily done using a - | rasterizer-managed stack of - | subarcs. - # P1 - - - f. Sweeping and Sorting the Spans - - Once all our profiles have been computed, we begin the sweep to - build (and fill) the spans. - - As both the TrueType and Type 1 specifications use the winding - fill rule (but with opposite directions), we place, on each - scanline, the present profiles in two separate lists. - - One list, called the `left' one, only contains ascending - profiles, while the other `right' list contains the descending - profiles. - - As each glyph is made of closed curves, a simple geometric - property ensures that the two lists contain the same number of - elements. - - Creating spans is thus straightforward: - - 1. We sort each list in increasing horizontal order. - - 2. We pair each value of the left list with its corresponding - value in the right list. - - - / / | | For example, we have here - / / | | four profiles. Two of - >/ / | | | them are ascending (1 & - 1// / ^ | | | 2 3), while the two others - // // 3| | | v are descending (2 & 4). - / //4 | | | On the given scanline, - a / /< | | the left list is (1,3), - - - - *-----* - - - - *---* - - y - and the right one is - / / b c| |d (4,2) (sorted). - - There are then two spans, joining - 1 to 4 (i.e. a-b) and 3 to 2 - (i.e. c-d)! - - - Sorting doesn't necessarily take much time, as in 99 cases out - of 100, the lists' order is kept from one scanline to the next. - We can thus implement it with two simple singly-linked lists, - sorted by a classic bubble-sort, which takes a minimum amount of - time when the lists are already sorted. - - A previous version of the rasterizer used more elaborate - structures, like arrays to perform `faster' sorting. It turned - out that this old scheme is not faster than the one described - above. - - Once the spans have been `created', we can simply draw them in - the target bitmap. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -Copyright 2003, 2007 by -David Turner, Robert Wilhelm, and Werner Lemberg. - -This file is part of the FreeType project, and may only be used, -modified, and distributed under the terms of the FreeType project -license, LICENSE.TXT. By continuing to use, modify, or distribute this -file you indicate that you have read the license and understand and -accept it fully. - - ---- end of raster.txt --- - -Local Variables: -coding: utf-8 -End: