Method for ascertaining and filling of bounded areas of a colored raster display

Claim 3

In a system comprising a raster display, an input device, a buffer for periodically refreshing the display, and a processor coupling said display device and buffer; the processor being responsive to the input device for altering the buffer contents; the buffer containing a raster color-coded n×m pel domain embedded with at least one closed polygon formed from contiguous raster runs, each run being selected from one of q rows of a first color-coded q×r pel subarray; each run being a rational number multiple of r pels in length, q and r>1; a method for ascertaining the polygon shape and for filling the ascertained shape with contiguous raster runs selected from q rows of a second color-coded q×r pel subarray; comprising the steps of: (a) identifying the first subarray; (b) ascertaining contiguous raster runs in the domain by matching selected ones of the q rows in said first q×r pel subarray in either a recursively descending or nonrecursive manner by comparing domain color-coded pels in a raster scan line direction with q pels of a given row in the first subarray and continuing the comparison of q pels at a time if equal, and upon mismatch, continuing the comparison on a one-pel-at-a-time basis to determine the extent of the match, a pel mismatch being indicative of the end of a run, and forming a list identifying each run by domain location and length; and (c) filling in at least a portion of the domain with contiguous raster runs formed from a rational number of multiples of r pels of a predetermined one of q rows of the second q×r pel subarray, the replication and positioning of the runs constituting the fill in the domain being made according to the list location and length.

Claim 4

In a system comprising a raster display, an input device, a buffer for periodically refreshing the display, and a processor coupling said display device and buffer; the processor being responsive to the input device for altering the buffer contents; the buffer containing a raster color-coded n×m pel domain embedded with at least one closed polygon formed from contiguous raster runs, each run being selected from one of q rows of a first color-coded q×r pel subarray; each run being a rational number multiple of r pels in length, q and r>1; a method for ascertaining the polygon shape and for filling the ascertained shape with contiguous raster runs selected from q rows of a second color-coded q×r pel subarray; comprising the steps of: (a) identifying the first subarray; (b) ascertaining contiguous raster runs in the domain by matching selected ones of the q rows in said first q×r pel subarray in either a recursively descending or nonrecursive manner by comparing domain color-coded pels in a raster scan line direction with q pels of a given row in the first subarray and continuing the comparison of q pels at a time if equal, and upon mismatch, continuing the comparison on a one-pel-at-a-time basis to determine the extent of the match, a pel mismatch being indicative of the end of a run, and forming a list identifying each run by domain location and length; and (c) filling in at least a portion of the domain with contiguous raster runs formed from a rational number of multiples of r pels of a predetermined one of q rows of the second q×r pel subarray, the replication and positioning of the runs constituting the fill in the domain being made according to the list location and length.

Claim 5

The method according to claim 2, wherein the first and second pel subarrays each comprise a q×r array in which each one of q rows contains r pels of selectably distinguishable color value.