COMPUTER REPRESENTATION, GENERATION, AND MANIPULATION OF GRAPHICAL INFORMATION,
Abstract
The thesis describes a computer, called a picture generator, especially designed for processing graphic information. The machine language is a form of compiled LISP with data and program therefore represented as LISP tree-structures. The topology and picture information occur in the same structure, and intermediate forms usually found in graphic systems are not necessary. Recursion and nesting required for LISP are implemented with instructions whose operands are push-down stack pointers. The picture generator is designed with microprogrammed control and interfaces to a primary memory which is shared with other processors. Included in the processor are analog circuits for generating lines and symbols on cathode ray tube displays, and graphic input devices such as RAND Tablets or lightpens provide input. With a 100 nanosecond read-only memory (ROM) for the microprogram, a 12-bit multiply or divide is performed in 4 microseconds and symbols are generated from data stored in the ROM in 7 microseconds. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 22, 1967
- Accession Number
- AD0707352
Entities
People
- Gary D. Hornbuckle
Organizations
- University of California, Berkeley