Video graphics display system with adapter for display management based upon plural memory sources

摘要

Video graphics display system having a display adapter connected between a host processor (2) and a display unit (6). The display adapter includes a video memory (4) which has first and second memory parts (3) and (8). A graphics processor (1) is connected between the host processor and the first memory part (3) of the video memory (4) which is operably connected to the display unit. The second memory part (8) of the video memory (4) is connected to a logic based hardware sub-system (7), the logic based hardware sub-system being further connected to the host processor. The host processor effectively provides software and hardware compatible applications associated with the graphics processor and the logic based hardware sub-system for implementation as display data stored in the first and second memory parts of the video memory. The display unit may provide a display based upon the memory content of either the first or the second memory part of the video memory, or a combination of both memory parts. A merging device (1a) is coupled to the first and second memory parts of the video memory for transferring and/or copying image data from the second memory part to the first memory part such that combined memory images may be provided on the display unit as controlled by the graphics processor. The display adapter enables the generation of a multi-window display on the display unit provided by the simultaneous execution of higher-level graphics processor tasks and low level logic based hardware sub-system tasks.