In a typical real-time rendering pipeline, which step is responsible for converting geometric primitives into fragments that can be shaded?

• A. Vertex processing
• B. Rasterization
• C. Fragment shading
• D. Output merger

Answer: (B)

Rasterization is the step that converts geometric primitives into fragments that can be shaded. After the vertices are transformed and primitives are formed, the rasterizer determines which pixels on the screen are covered by each primitive and emits a fragment for every covered sample. Each fragment carries interpolated data (like position, depth, normals, and texture coordinates) derived from the primitive’s vertices, using barycentric interpolation. These fragments then go on to the fragment shader to compute shading, coloring, and texturing. In short, rasterization bridges geometry and shading by turning shapes into a grid of potential pixels ready for per-fragment processing.