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'''OpenGL extension NV.vertex_array_range
This module customises the behaviour of the
OpenGL.raw.GL.NV.vertex_array_range to provide a more
Python-friendly API
Overview (from the spec)
The goal of this extension is to permit extremely high vertex
processing rates via OpenGL vertex arrays even when the CPU lacks
the necessary data movement bandwidth to keep up with the rate
at which the vertex engine can consume vertices. CPUs can keep
up if they can just pass vertex indices to the hardware and
let the hardware "pull" the actual vertex data via Direct Memory
Access (DMA). Unfortunately, the current OpenGL 1.1 vertex array
functionality has semantic constraints that make such an approach
hard. Hence, the vertex array range extension.
This extension provides a mechanism for deferring the pulling of
vertex array elements to facilitate DMAed pulling of vertices for
fast, efficient vertex array transfers. The OpenGL client need only
pass vertex indices to the hardware which can DMA the actual index's
vertex data directly out of the client address space.
The OpenGL 1.1 vertex array functionality specifies a fairly strict
coherency model for when OpenGL extracts vertex data from a vertex
array and when the application can update the in memory
vertex array data. The OpenGL 1.1 specification says "Changes
made to array data between the execution of Begin and the
corresponding execution of End may affect calls to ArrayElement
that are made within the same Begin/End period in non-sequential
ways. That is, a call to ArrayElement that precedes a change to
array data may access the changed data, and a call that follows
a change to array data may access the original data."
This means that by the time End returns (and DrawArrays and
DrawElements return since they have implicit Ends), the actual vertex
array data must be transferred to OpenGL. This strict coherency model
prevents us from simply passing vertex element indices to the hardware
and having the hardware "pull" the vertex data out (which is often
long after the End for the primitive has returned to the application).
Relaxing this coherency model and bounding the range from which
vertex array data can be pulled is key to making OpenGL vertex
array transfers faster and more efficient.
The first task of the vertex array range extension is to relax
the coherency model so that hardware can indeed "pull" vertex
data from the OpenGL client's address space long after the application
has completed sending the geometry primitives requiring the vertex
data.
The second problem with the OpenGL 1.1 vertex array functionality is
the lack of any guidance from the API about what region of memory
vertices can be pulled from. There is no size limit for OpenGL 1.1
vertex arrays. Any vertex index that points to valid data in all
enabled arrays is fair game. This makes it hard for a vertex DMA
engine to pull vertices since they can be potentially pulled from
anywhere in the OpenGL client address space.
The vertex array range extension specifies a range of the OpenGL
client's address space where vertices can be pulled. Vertex indices
that access any array elements outside the vertex array range
are specified to be undefined. This permits hardware to DMA from
finite regions of OpenGL client address space, making DMA engine
implementation tractable.
The extension is specified such that an (error free) OpenGL client
using the vertex array range functionality could no-op its vertex
array range commands and operate equivalently to using (if slower
than) the vertex array range functionality.
Because different memory types (local graphics memory, AGP memory)
have different DMA bandwidths and caching behavior, this extension
includes a window system dependent memory allocator to allocate
cleanly the most appropriate memory for constructing a vertex array
range. The memory allocator provided allows the application to
tradeoff the desired CPU read frequency, CPU write frequency, and
memory priority while still leaving it up to OpenGL implementation
the exact memory type to be allocated.
The official definition of this extension is available here:
http://www.opengl.org/registry/specs/NV/vertex_array_range.txt
'''
from OpenGL import platform, constants, constant, arrays
from OpenGL import extensions, wrapper
from OpenGL.GL import glget
import ctypes
from OpenGL.raw.GL.NV.vertex_array_range import *
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