CgFX in Python

This Master's thesis in computer graphics is about combining real-time shaders with scripting languages. This is done using Nvidia's effect format CgFX and the programming language Python. CgFX is an effect format which is a part of the Cg language. An effect contains all rendering conditions needed to render a particular appearance of an object.

CgFX are accessed through an interface provided by Nvidia called ICgFXEffect. This interface cannot be used directly from Pyhton, so a wrapper class is written in C++ to act as a layer between CgFX and Python. This wrapper class is called PyCgFXEffect and is wrapped to a Python module using SWIG.

PyCgFXEffect is used to create the Effect class. This Effect class handles all loading and rendering of effects. It is through this class an application written in Python can access CgFX effects.

Real-time graphics is one of the fastest growing areas in computer graphics today, where modern graphics hardware can produce almost cinematic rendering. Shaders provide a new level of control over the rendering pipeline.

This master’s thesis is about combining real-time graphics programmability with scripting languages. This is accomplished by using Nvidia’s effect format CgFX and the programming language Python. This approach enables high level scene descriptions and geometric abstractions. CgFX is a file format encapsulating rendering conditions to achieve a certain visual appearance.

Python is an interpreted, high-level, object-oriented, open-source programming language, used for scripting and gluing existing components together. The dynamic bindings and semantics of the language significantly simplify connecting the parts of a graphics renderer.

This report describes the result; a Python effect class and the way it can be used in a Python renderer. This thesis has also involved a thorough study of programmable real-time computer graphics, therefore a considerable part of the report is a result of this study.