Spray rendering

Spray rendering provides a framework for creating and experimenting with different visualization techniques. The name spray rendering is derived from the metaphor of using a virtual spray can to paint data sets. Varying the type of paint in the can highlights data in different ways. Spray rendering is not limited to the paint metaphor, however. Other useful metaphors include a flashlight and a probe. Thus, spray rendering refers to the localized nature of the visualization algorithms and the manner in which the algorithms are sent to the data sets. We gain several advantages by looking at visualization algorithms in this way, including extensibility, grid independence, and ability to handle large data sets. This article presents the benefits, conceptual design, issues and directions of spray rendering.<>