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Pixel buffer

Term

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
1 min read
Source updated March 29, 2021

Pixel buffer or pBuffer is a feature in OpenGL and OpenGL ES platform interfaces which allows for off-screen rendering. It is specified as an extension to WGL API, and a core feature of GLX & EGL.

When using pBuffers, a user can bind an OpenGL context to offscreen surfaces, effectively allowing for off-screen rendering to a default framebuffer, allocated by OpenGL itself.

The pBuffer functionality has been superseded by the usage of FBOs (Framebuffer Objects). However, pBuffers can be still used with modern OpenGL drivers.

pBuffers should not be confused with Pixel buffer objects (also named PBOs), which are non-renderable buffers containing raw pixel data.

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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Pixel buffer”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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Related topics

Framebuffer object

The framebuffer object is an extension to OpenGL for flexibly rendering to off-screen buffers, including rendering to a texture buffer. It can be used to implement a large variety of image filters and post-processing effects, by rendering images to the off-screen buffer first, applying the effects, before sending them to the on-screen buffer.

Pixel buffer

Pixel buffer or pBuffer is a feature in OpenGL and OpenGL ES platform interfaces which allows for off-screen rendering. It is specified as an extension to WGL API, and a core feature of GLX & EGL. When using pBuffers, a user can bind an OpenGL context to offscreen surfaces, effectively allowing for off-screen rendering to a default framebuffer, allocated by OpenGL itself.