Z-buffering

In computer graphics, z-buffering, also known as depth buffering, is the management of image depth coordinates in 3D graphics, usually done in hardware, sometimes in software. It is one solution to the visibility problem, which is the problem of deciding which elements of a rendered scene are visible, and which are hidden. Z-buffering has first been described in 1974 by Wolfgang Straßer in Chapter 6 (page 6-1) of his PhD thesis. The painter's algorithm is another common solution which, though less efficient, can also handle non-opaque scene elements. The z-buffer uses the Image space method for hidden surface detection. A z-buffer can refer to a data structure or to the method used to perform operations on that structure. In computer graphics, z-buffering, also known as depth buffering, is the management of image depth coordinates in 3D graphics, usually done in hardware, sometimes in software. It is one solution to the visibility problem, which is the problem of deciding which elements of a rendered scene are visible, and which are hidden. Z-buffering has first been described in 1974 by Wolfgang Straßer in Chapter 6 (page 6-1) of his PhD thesis. The painter's algorithm is another common solution which, though less efficient, can also handle non-opaque scene elements. The z-buffer uses the Image space method for hidden surface detection. A z-buffer can refer to a data structure or to the method used to perform operations on that structure. In a 3d-rendering engine, when an object is projected on the screen, the depth (z-value) of a generated pixel in the projected screen image is stored in a buffer (the z-buffer or depth buffer). A z-value is the measure of the perpendicular distance from a pixel on the projection plane to its corresponding 3d-coordinate on a polygon in world-space.