Comment Re:pixel/vertex shaders (Score 1) 118
I am not a graphics programmer, so this might not be 100% accurate. But I have worked closely with graphics programmers. This is a simple explanation, without hard details:
Shaders are small (the first versions had an 8 instruction limit, now they can be much more complex, but they are still in the order of hundreds of bytes), domain-specific programs that the gpu executes on each pixel and vertex. They are coded to achieve different effects like normal mapping or blurs. The name comes from the fact that they were intended to just manipulate the colour of the pixels, I guess, but I think now they can also modify the geometry.
Shaders are small (the first versions had an 8 instruction limit, now they can be much more complex, but they are still in the order of hundreds of bytes), domain-specific programs that the gpu executes on each pixel and vertex. They are coded to achieve different effects like normal mapping or blurs. The name comes from the fact that they were intended to just manipulate the colour of the pixels, I guess, but I think now they can also modify the geometry.
