Merits and demerits of z-buffer or depth buffer

Question

Write down some of the merits and demerits of z-buffer or depth buffer.

Answer 1

The merits of z-buffer or depth buffer are as described below:

a) The z-buffer technique is simple to implement and it needs no sorting of surface in a scene.

b) The z-buffer algorithm which is an arbitrary number of objects can be handled since each object is processed one at a time.

c) Simple hardware implementation.

The demerits of z-buffer or depth buffer are as described below:

a) Doubles memory needs (at least) one for z-buffer and one for the refresh buffer.

b) Device dependent and memory intensive.

c) Spends time while rendering polygons which are not visible.