Chapter 17. Antialiasing Procedural Textures

Jaggies, popping, sparkling, stair steps, strobing, and marching ants. They're all names used to describe the anathema of computer graphicsALIASING. Anyone who has used a computer has seen it. For still images, it's not always that noticeable or objectionable. But as soon as you put an object in motion, the movement of the jagged edges catches your eye and distracts you. From the early days of computer graphics, the fight to eliminate these nasty artifacts has been called ANTIALIASING.

This chapter does not contain a thorough description of the causes of aliasing, nor the methods used to combat it. But it does introduce the reasons the problem occurs and the facilities within the OpenGL Shading Language for antialiasing. Armed with this knowledge, you should be well on your way to fighting the jaggies in your own shaders.