Re: [Openexr-devel] usage of integer formats?

[Ken McGaugh]

Hi J.C,

From the OpenEXR technical introduction pdf:

   UINT    32-bit unsigned integers; for discrete per-pixel data such 
as object identifiers

The most common use of the UINT data type is for storing an identifier 
which uniquely identifies the objects in an image.  This is particularly 
useful when rendering crowds of CG characters as you often need to be 
able to point at a character in a beauty image and be able to determine 
which CG object it refers to.

--Ken

J.C. Roberts wrote:
> Though I realize there are probably many people using OpenEXR in
> various proprietary and/or trade secreted ways, I'm very curious about
> the integer format.
>
> Can anyone tell me generalized areas where the integer format is the
> most effective solution?  and why?
>
> I can grasp the basics of the low-level hardware details, and the
> speed-up one could achieve, but without knowing where the integer
> format is actually used, it's tough to understand why.
>
> If you'll forgive the corporate lingo on a technical list, what was the
> "business reason" for the integer format?
>
>