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Generic Information

Programming Guide is the recommended reading for developers new to Equalizer (order a hardcopy).
API Documentation, automatically generated from the source code usyng doxygen. Covers only partially the API.
Parallel Graphics Programming is a presentation explaining the concepts and scope of the Equalizer API, pdf or html.
Equalizer for GLUT Developers provides a mapping of commonly used GLUT functions to their Equalizer counterparts
File Format is the documentation for the server configuration files.
Environment Variables lists the variables used by Equalizer.
Task Methods lists all task methods ('callbacks') and explains their purpose.
Config Initialization Sequence shows the order in which the init and exit task methods are executed during initialization and exit.
Distributed Objects provides an overview on how to implement static and versioned objects, which can be instanciated on multiple nodes.
codingStyle.png illustrates the C++ coding style used in Equalizer, to ensure a consistent appearance for better readability.
Threads is a description of the individual threads in Equalizer and explains some thread synchronization concepts.

Design Documentation

The design documentation is technical documentation, specifications or other information, typically for a specific, isolated feature. It is intended for software developers, and generally not understandable without a technical background of Equalizer. They are often moving targets, and the actual implementation will diverge from the version-specific specification over time.

The documents are listed in the version they were last updated. For the version they were first implemented please refer to the Feature List.

SVN 'trunk' version

This information contains specification for features currently under development in the subversion source code repository. Most likely, these features will be release in the next version.

Statistics Overlay explains the statistics overlay rendered in debug builds.

Version 0.5

PBuffer Support adds the capability for off-screen rendering buffers.
OpenGL Extension Handling explains how GLEW is used for OpenGL extensions.
Pixel Compounds divide the screen-space column-wise to all sources, and therefore have a near-perfect load-balancing for fill-rate-bound applications.
Event Handling explains the event handling model and implementation.

Version 0.4

Volume Rendering application overview.
Fixed Aspect Ratio adds support for keeping the aspect ratio during channel resizing.
Data Transmission provides a simple way to send data to all render client nodes.
Transparency and sort-last (DB) compounds explores the options for better transparent geometry support.
Nonthreaded Rendering allows an easier porting path for existing, non-threadsafe software.

Version 0.3

Anaglyphic Stereo specifies the implementation and changes for anaglyphic stereo rendering.
InfiniBand describes how to setup and use IB hardware with Equalizer.
Resident Render Clients describes how to implement and configure pre-started, resident render client nodes.
Depth Buffer Pixel Transfer Optimization using the GL_EXT_packed_depth_stencil or GL_NV_packed_depth_stencil extension.
Standalone Application Support allows applications to run without a resource server.
Node Connection Setup explains the initial connection handshake between two nodes.
OpenGL Object Manager allows the allocation and sharing of OpenGL objects, e.g., textures, in multipipe applications.

Version 0.2

Compounds is the initial design documentation on the API and config file interface for the configuration of scalable rendering.
Stereo and Head Tracking gives an overview how stereo rendering, head tracking and eye compounds are implemented.
Dynamic Near and Far Plane Support explains the API for adjusting the near and far plane from the channel's rendering methods.
Image Compression is used to compress output frames for network transfers.
Statistics Interface is the initial design documentation on the API and config file interface for statistics gathering.

Version 0.1

Packet Handling explains the basic concept and mechanism of the Equalizer networking layer.

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