A scripting tool for real-time effect programming

Abstract

Writing real-time visual effects for graphics hardware is made difficult by the high degree of dependence between GPU-level shaders and CPU-level orchestration of pipeline settings parameter bindings. This paper presents PyFX, an effect framework embedded in the programming language Python. Compared to existing existing frameworks this language embedding gives the effect programmer greater expressive power. These benefits, together with some imrpoved functional features of the framework, are demonstrated through some illustrative examples.