The OpenGL graphics system is a powerful software interface
for graphics hardware that
allows graphics programmers to produce high-quality color images
of 2D and 3D objects. The technology was developed by Silicon Graphics
Inc. (SGI)
and is the result of ten years of experience designing production
software interfaces for a full spectrum of graphics hardware.
OpenGL is now controlled by an industry consortium known as the OpenGL Architectural Review Board (ARB) currently composed of Digital Equipment, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, and SGI. The interface is licensed to a large number of computer software and hardware vendors and OpenGL implementations are now appearing on the market.
This article is the first of a series of three articles explaining OpenGL to the users of the X Window System. This article introduces the reader to OpenGL's features, particularly how they apply to X. This section will introduce the reader to OpenGL's philosophy and history. Section 2 will explore OpenGL's rich feature set. Section 3 discusses OpenGL's integration with the X Window System via the GLX extension. Section 4 presents a simple OpenGL program for X. Section 5 compares and contrasts OpenGL to PEX, a 3D graphics interface designed specifically for X. Section 6 tells where to find more information about OpenGL.
The second article in the series will explain in more detail how to use OpenGL in conjunction with Xlib. The third article will describe how to use OpenGL with Motif.