On Wed, 2006-05-24 at 13:13 -0300, Alvaro Kuolas wrote:
What will happen to OpenGL?
The question should be ... What _can_ actually replace OpenGL? Microsoft still does _not_ have a replacement for GLX. Vista pushed back Windows Graphics Foundation (WGF) 2.0, based on DirectX 10, until 2007 -- more likely 2009 (if at all). And even it can't do GLX. WGF 1.1, based on existing DirectX 9, is going into Vista.
SGI filled for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and 3Dlabs going off the Professional Workstation market. Worst yet, since 2003 Microsoft is the "number one" enemy of OpenGL.
Yes, Microsoft gobbled up 3D patents in various licensing deals with key OpenGL supporters. But you still have major OpenGL use across all platforms. E.g., Nintendo and Sony use completely OpenGL-based tookits, as well as many independent entertainment houses. OpenGL lives on, and ATI and nVidia won't ever end support.
GPUs are important today, they will be more in the future. It's irrational how the market is turning, we need the same control over the GPU as we have over the CPU.
But the problem is that GPUs are _not_ like CPUs! It's not like you just have a base CPU ISA add a few extensions every few years. Each and _every_ GPU is tuned with additional library and software performance. It's as if CPUs came out with a radically _new_ design every 9-12 months that was _slow_ if you just used the same ISA from 9-12 months earlier. That's GPUs in a nutshell. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Americans don't get upset because citizens in some foreign nations can burn the American flag -- Americans get upset because citizens in those same nations can't burn their own