glGetString(3G)		       OpenGL Reference		       glGetString(3G)



NAME
     glGetString - returns a string describing the current GL connection


C SPECIFICATION
     const GLubyte * glGetString( GLenum name )


PARAMETERS
     name  Specifies a symbolic	constant, one of GL_VENDOR, GL_RENDERER,
	   GL_VERSION, or GL_EXTENSIONS.

DESCRIPTION
     glGetString returns a pointer to a	static string describing some aspect
     of	the current GL connection.  name can be	one of the following:

     GL_VENDOR
	     Returns the company responsible for this GL implementation.  This
	     name does not change from release to release.  For	Silicon
	     Graphics the string is "SGI".

     GL_RENDERER
	     Returns the name of the renderer.	This name is typically
	     specific to a particular configuration of a hardware platform.
	     It	does not change	from release to	release.  The renderer strings
	     for Silicon Graphics graphic engines are listed in	the MACHINE
	     DEPENDENCIES section below.

     GL_VERSION
	     Returns a version or release number.  For SGI releases prior to
	     Irix 5.3 the string is "1.0".  For	Irix 5.3 and subsequent
	     releases the format is
	     "<GL version> Irix	 patch ";	for
	     example in	the Irix 5.3 release the string	is "1.0	Irix 5.3".

     GL_EXTENSIONS
	     Returns a space-separated list of supported extensions to GL.

     Because GL	does not include queries for the performance characteristics
     of	an implementation, it is expected that some applications will be
     written to	recognize known	platforms and will modify their	GL usage based
     on	known performance characteristics of these platforms.  Strings
     GL_VENDOR and GL_RENDERER together	uniquely specify a platform, and will
     not change	from release to	release.  They should be used by such platform
     recognition algorithms.  The format and contents of the GL_VENDOR and the
     GL_RENDERER strings depend	on the implementation.

     Some applications will want to make use of	features which are not part of
     the standard GL.  These features may be implemented as extensions to the
     standard GL.  The GL_EXTENSIONS string is a space seperated list of
     supported GL extensions. (Extension names never contain a space
     character.)



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glGetString(3G)		       OpenGL Reference		       glGetString(3G)



     The GL_VERSION string begins with a version number.  The version number
     is	of the form major_number.minor_number or
     major_number.minor_number.release_number. Vendor specific information may
     follow the	version	number.	Its format depends on the implementation, but
     a space always seperates the version number and the vendor	specific
     information.

     All strings are null-terminated.

NOTES
     If	an error is generated, glGetString returns zero.

     The client	and server may support different versions or extensions.
     glGetString always	returns	a compatible version number or list of
     extensions. The release number always describes the server.

ERRORS
     GL_INVALID_ENUM is	generated if name is not an accepted value.

     GL_INVALID_OPERATION is generated if glGetString is executed between the
     execution of glBegin and the corresponding	execution of glEnd.


MACHINE	DEPENDENCIES
     The GL_RENDERER strings returned by glGetString for each graphics system
     are listed	below.	Square brackets	([,]) surround optional	parts of the
     string, and angle brackets	(<,>) surround multi-valued parts that are
     always present. Neither the square	brackets nor the angle brackets	are
     part of the string.

     Indy and XL: "NEWPORT <nplanes>", where nplanes is	the number of
	  configured bitplanes:	8 or 24.

     Personal Iris: "GR1.<version>[/24][/Z][/Turbo]", where version is the
	  board	version: 1 or 2; /24 indicates 24 bitplanes (otherwise 8); /Z
	  indicates a hardware depth buffer; /Turbo indicates the "Turbo"
	  option.

     VGX and VGXT: "VGX[T][<spans>]", where spans is either /5 or /10
	  indicating the number	of spans other than 20.

     Indigo Entry: "LIGHT".

     XS, XZ, Elan, and Extreme:	"<type>-", where type	is one of
	  GR2, GR3, GU1	or GR2MP and graphics is one of	XS, XSM, XS24, XS24-Z,
	  XZ, Elan, or Extreme,	corresponding to the configuration of the
	  graphics board.

     RealityEngine, RealityEngine2, and	VTX: "<type>///",
	  where	type is	REC, RE, or REV	corresponding to Crimson, Power	Series
	  or Onyx/VTX; pixd is S, M, or	L, corresponding to small, medium, or
	  large	pixel depth, respectively; nrm is 1, 2,	or 4, indicating the



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glGetString(3G)		       OpenGL Reference		       glGetString(3G)



	  number of raster manager boards; texsz is 2 or 8 indicating the size
	  of the texture memory	in megatexels.	(Each texel is 16 bits in
	  size.)

     InfiniteReality: "<type>////",
	  where	type is	IR or IRS, corresponding to Onyx with R4400 or R10000,
	  respectively;	pixd is	S, M, or L, corresponding to small, medium, or
	  large	pixel depth, respectively; nrm is 1, 2,	or 4, indicating the
	  number of raster manager boards; texsz is 16 or 64 indicating	the
	  size of texture memory in megabytes; and nge indicates the number of
	  Geometry Engines on the geometry engine board.












































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