I like the idea of revamping the OpenGL API. In fact, I liked that idea when it was originally proposed in 2007 as "OpenGL 3". Unfortunately, most other developers did not like what Khronos and the ARB put forth in that design. It was not well-received. The final OpenGL v3.0 spec came out a year later with almost no mention of the previous year's promised sweeping API changes. Most hardware vendors found themselves doing a mea culpa, recommitting to the FFP and promising software vendors continued support and backwards compatibility. Will OpenGL NG suffer the same fate? Let's see how it's marketed. They'll have to do something different this time, that's for certain.
OpenGL v3.1 subsequently introduced the concepts of compatibility and core profiles. Most of my recent work has been directly with OpenGL v4.x core profile, and I've found it to be an amazingly flexible and powerful API. I like the idea that I'm writing code for a state-of-the-art API and not depending on deprecated functionality. But apparently this was a false sense of security for me. Little is known about OpenGL NG at this time, but one thing is almost certain: It will bear little resemblance to OpenGL core profile. So, while I thought I was writing state-of-the-art code, and was telling my clients it was the right thing to do for a long-term investment, it now appears that OpenGL NG is going to invalidate that. I've been in the 3D graphics industry for almost 30 years and I've seen APIs come and go. If you would've told me back in 1994 that I'd still be working with OpenGL today, I would've laughed in your face. OpenGL FFP has had an unprecedented run -- testimony to a great API. But there are new kids in charge now, and they want to take OpenGL in a new direction, to make it a better fir for today's chips, systems, and programming use cases. Thus, my first point: Change is going to happen. OpenGL has been very stable, but maintaining that stability forever would probably be harmful to the API in the long run. As developers, we like stability. But we also jump on new technologies as they come out. OpenGL NG? Some of us will like it, some of us won't. Secondly: Note that OpenGL NG is just vaporware at this point. The announcement mentions several other new APIs that have been recently become available. In my career, I have seen a lot of marketing FUD. I don't know whether OpenGL NG will ever be a reality or not, but right now it smells a little like FUD, dangling the promise of a shiny new redesigned OpenGL API in front of any OpenGL developers considering jumping ship to another API. Third, and finally. I'm tired of the OpenGL versus DirectX debate. I am so tired of it. If Khronos feels it needs to churn out an OpenGL NG solely for the purposes of "competing" with DirectX, then that is a sad statement. OpenGL's evolution should not be driven by "team mentality". I hate what Microsoft has done to try to kill OpenGL. Every time I start a new OpenGL-based project that must be cross-platform, I have to re-evaluate which one of the crappy GLEW-like kludges I'm going to use to get the code running on Windows. Has anyone from Khronos approached Microsoft regarding a single unified API? I doubt it. "Remember Fahrenheit," yeah, yeah. But I have to wonder if Microsoft is also getting tired of this particular API war. They are in an especially vulnerable spot now, given the prevalence of OpenGL on embedded devices, and their recent disastrous Windows 8. They might see some benefit to contributing to OpenGL, rather than continue to fight it. This is not the first time I've publicly stated that Khronos/ARB and Microsoft should work together. It benefits us, and it benefits them. Call me an idealist. If you've read this far, then you've indulged me much further than I deserve. Go back to work. :-) On Mon, Aug 11, 2014 at 5:13 PM, Ethan Fahy <ethanf...@gmail.com> wrote: > OpenGL NG was announced today and is a complete API break. It's not clear > what the timeframe is on this project, but it does seem like a big deal > long-term with major implications for OSG. I'd be curious to hear any > opinions on this development from the OSG community. > > > http://www.anandtech.com/show/8363/khronos-announces-next-generation-opengl-initiative > > ------------------ > Read this topic online here: > http://forum.openscenegraph.org/viewtopic.php?p=60633#60633 > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > osg-users mailing list > osg-users@lists.openscenegraph.org > http://lists.openscenegraph.org/listinfo.cgi/osg-users-openscenegraph.org > -- -Paul
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