Run-Time Code Generation for Materials
Stephan Reiter
Abstract:
Typical material systems are based on a collection of properties
that are set on a per-object or per-surface basis usually by
evaluation of a description file at run-time. Shading of hit points is then
implemented by interpreting these properties. In order to be able
to support a large feature set, different code paths need to be
created, e.g. for reflection and refraction effects. Conditions for the
branches associated with these fragments of functionality need to
be evaluated for each shaded ray, which may degrade performance
considerably. Material specific optimization opportunities are also
missed out by having a generic function for all material
configurations. We propose the use of run-time code generation for materials.
Download: