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ps_2_x Registers

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Pixel shaders depend on registers to get vertex data, to output pixel data, to hold temporary results during calculations, and to identify texture sampling stages. There are several types of registers, each with a unique functionality. This section contains reference information for the input and output registers implemented by pixel shader version 2_x.

Input Register Types

Register Name Count R/W # Read ports # Reads/inst Dimension RelAddr Defaults Requires DCL
v# Input Color Register 2 R 1 Unlimited 4 N Partial(0001). See note 4 Y
r# Temporary Register See note 1 R/W 3 Unlimited 4 N None N
c# Constant Float Register 32 R 1 2 4 N 0000 N
i# Constant Integer Register 16 See note 2 1 1 4 N 0000 N
b# Constant Boolean Register 16 See note 2 1 1 1 N FALSE N
p0 Predicate Register 1 See note 2 1 1 1 N None Y
s# Sampler (Direct3D 9 asm-ps) 16 See note 3 1 1 4 N See note 5 Y
t# Texture Coordinate Register 8 R 1 1 4 N None Y

 

Notes:

  1. 12 min/32 max: The number of r# registers is determined by D3DPSHADERCAPS2_0.NumTemps (which ranges from 12 to 32).
  2. Only usable by a flow control instruction.
  3. Only usable by a texture sampling instruction.
  4. partial(x, y, z, w) - If only a subset of channels are updated in the register, the remaining channels will default to specified values (x, y, z, w).
  5. Defaults for sampler lookups exist, but values depend on texture format.

The number of readports is the number of different registers (for each register type) that can be read in a single instruction.

Output Register Types

Register Name Count R/W Dimension RelAddr Defaults Requires DCL
oC# Output Color Register See Multiple-element Textures (Direct3D 9) W 4 N None N
oDepth Output Depth Register 1 W 1 N None N

 

Registers