Shader

Shader

In computer graphics, a shader is a type of computer program originally used for shading in 3D scenes (the production of appropriate levels of light, darkness, and color in a rendered image). They now perform a variety of specialized functions in various fields within the category of computer graphics special effects, or else do video post-processing unrelated to shading, or even perform functions unrelated to graphics. Traditional shaders calculate rendering effects on graphics hardware with a high degree of flexibility. Most shaders are coded for (and run on) a graphics processing unit (GPU), though this is not a strict requirement. Shading languages are used to program the GPU's rendering pipeline, which has mostly superseded the fixed-function pipeline of the past that only allowed for common geometry transforming and pixel-shading functions; with shaders, customized effects can be used. The position and color (hue, saturation, brightness, and contrast) of all pixels, vertices, and/or textures used to construct a final rendered image can be altered using algorithms defined in a shader, and can be modified by external variables or textures introduced by the computer program calling the shader.Shaders are used widely in cinema post-processing, computer-generated imagery, and video games to produce a range of effects. Beyond simple lighting models, more complex uses of shaders include: altering the hue, saturation, brightness (HSL/HSV) or contrast of an image; producing blur, light bloom, volumetric lighting, normal mapping (for depth effects), bokeh, cel shading, posterization, bump mapping, distortion, chroma keying (for so-called "bluescreen/greenscreen" effects), edge and motion detection, as well as psychedelic effects such as those seen in the demoscene.

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