Renderingdependent

Renderingdependent is a term used in software development to describe data, resources, or behaviors whose rendered output depends on the active rendering context rather than the raw input alone. A rendering context can include the output device (screen, printer), the rendering backend or API (OpenGL, DirectX, Metal, WebGL), the current viewport or window size, the device pixel ratio, color management settings, and post-processing or shader configurations. Items labeled as renderingdependent may need to be regenerated when the context changes to ensure correct appearance.

Examples include font rendering that varies with DPI and anti-aliasing settings; textures or shaders that adapt to available hardware features; layout or paint rules that change with viewport dimensions; and image assets that are selected or filtered differently depending on the rendering backend. In web browsers, rendering-dependent aspects can involve media queries that trigger different layout or visual choices for different devices, as well as CSS that depends on device pixel ratio or color space. In game engines, rendering-dependent materials or post-process effects may be recalculated when the resolution or graphics API changes.

Implications include caching strategies that must invalidate on context change, testing complexity due to non-deterministic output across contexts, and potential challenges for reproducibility. Documentation often marks resources as renderingdependent to signal the need for re-evaluation upon environment changes. See also rendering, rasterization, shader, device pixel ratio, and rendering pipeline.