JEP submitted: Update Java2D to use the Marlin Renderer as the default Graphics Rasterizer

[gerard ziemski]

hi Laurent,

>> #2 What is the expected CPU usage allowed when scaling up in a
>> multi-threaded environment - 2 threads probably do not mean 2x performance?
>> Is Merlin allowed to use all threads, or does it have a limit on how many
>> will be used? Can/should this be controlled via some sort of a runtime flag
>> available to developers?
>>
>
> Marlin has a very low memory footprint (low GC overhead) and uses a
> rendering context per thread => it does perform any thread management but
> is purely thread safe (ThreadLocal storage).
> MT support means that Marlin supports well parallel rendering requests like
> in a map web server: each server thread can perform Graphics2D rendering
> (using Marlin) on its own BufferedImage at maximum performance.

Are we saying that the way Merlin uses threads is only for offscreen rendering (ie. BufferedImages)? So an app that 
renders directly to the screen will not see any performance improvement?

Do we create a rendering thread per offscreen? Is there any cap on how many of those threads we are allowed to create? 
Are we aware of any use cases where this approach results in lowered performance (an app creating new BufferedImage 
every frame - old good Plasma benchmark)?



>> #6 In the "Alternatives" section, shouldn't we at least mention a GPU
>> based 2D rendering?
>>
>
> Probably.
> However, I do not know any RenderingEngine implementation based on GPU yet.

There is a rich history of people trying to use GPUs in order to accelerate Java2D. Back in around 2000 while I was at 
Apple, John Burkey and I implemented OpenGL based renderer that successfully worked for specific use cases: apps using 
lots of static images, non path based primitives and text using cached bitmapped for Apple's own JDK implementation, 
which we shipped.

Later, Chris Campbell, back then at Sun Microsystems, did a similar implementation (which also used Windows D3D) for 
Sun's own JDK, which also shipped.

5 years ago, I along with Chris Oliver, Ken Russell, Anthony Rogers and Sven Goethel (of jogl fame) implemented 
SlimShady - a 2D resolution independent renderer leveraging GPU for JavaFX, which was later replaced by Prism, by Chris 
Campbell, Kevin Rushford, Jim Graham, Morris Mayer and others including myself.

So yeah, lots of people tried, with some success, to do Java2D on GPU :-)


cheers