Now this comes as a real surprise. Despite the OpenGL 2.0 specification already in the works, the OpenGL Architecture Review Board has announced an interim OpenGL specification 1.5. OpenGL 1.5 introduces support for the OpenGL Shading Language that is said to be revolutionary. An interesting side note on this is, that 3rd party ATI vendors such as SapphireTech are advertising the 9800 Pro series as OpenGL 2.0 compliant. Also SGI with their Onyx4 UltimateVision systems, which use ATI workstation video cards, stated future compatibility with OpenGL 2.0. Furthermore we should not forget, that 3DLabs already has released compiler source, licensing terms and new drivers for the Wildcat VP series that are OpenGL 2.0 compliant. Now it looks like end users and game developers are rather looking at OpenGL 1.5 than 2.0. Read more for the details on the OpenGL 1.5 specification.
SIGGRAPH, SAN DIEGO, Calif. (July 28, 2003)?Suppose, instead of taking months to create, the breathtaking computer-graphics-generated scenes from any of this summer's blockbuster movies could be rendered with cinematic quality in real time. Suppose a car designer could model a car that's indistinguishable from a photograph. Or imagine a jet fighter training simulation that could look not "just pretty good," but be so exact that you couldn't distinguish the simulated scenery from the real thing. Or suppose a physician could see tumors one-third the size of what could previously be identified. These things are not only possible?they have already begun. The new frontier in graphics realism has been established with developments to the OpenGL® application programming interface (API), released by SGI (NYSE: SGI) and the OpenGL Architecture Review Board (ARB). The OpenGL® 1.5 specification includes the revolutionary OpenGL® Shading Language, official ARB extensions that are expected to form the foundation of the upcoming OpenGL® 2.0 version of this cross-platform, open-standard API for advanced 3D graphics. The OpenGL Shading Language will enable-for the first time-graphics cards from virtually any vendor on virtually any platform to use the same high-level shading language. This new specification will provide developers with the expressive power to enable a wide variety of graphics, imaging and compute applications to be accelerated by new-generation, highly parallel graphics hardware. "OpenGL 1.5, and the OpenGL Shading Language in particular, does for the next generation of graphics what OpenGL did for the first generation in the early '90s. It will fundamentally change the industry," said Shawn Underwood, director of marketing, Visual Systems Group, SGI. "OpenGL is the foundation for the development of high-quality real-time graphics applications," said Kurt Akeley, 3D graphics architect, NVIDIA Corporation. "With the addition of an innovative shading language, software developers now have OpenGL API-specific high-level access to the programmable features of modern GPUs. We are excited to be a part of this revolution in the cinematic quality of real-time 3D graphics." Introduced 11 years ago by SGI, OpenGL is the premier environment used by software developers to create interactive 2D and 3D visual applications for computer systems ranging from consumer PCs to graphics workstations and supercomputers. OpenGL is the industry's only graphics API with support for virtually all operating systems. OpenGL 1.5 enables techniques that make rendering faster and will be supported by graphics card vendors in products being released later this year. "3Dlabs pioneered the specification of the OpenGL Shading Language and we are already shipping preliminary implementations," said Neil Trevett, senior vice president of market development, 3Dlabs. "The OpenGL Shading Language is an open standard that enables direct compilation of high-level shader programs, we believe this will make OpenGL a vital foundation for innovation as the industry moves into the era of programmable graphics." New Features of OpenGL 1.5
The OpenGL 1.5 specification evolved with input from the OpenGL ARB-an independent consortium-and interested participants to reflect predominant trends in the graphics industry. The ARB's process of enhancing OpenGL includes jointly developing specifications of features proposed by ARB members, to be incorporated and officially supported within the API. In OpenGL 1.5, several additional features and functions have been ratified, including the following: Vertex Buffer Object: vertex arrays for higher performance rendering Shadow Function: additional comparison functions for shadow mapping Occlusion Query: asynchronous occlusion test for better culling Non power-of-two Textures: for more efficient use of texture memory, including mipmaps OpenGL Shading Language v. 1.0: as official extensions more specifically, shader objects, vertex shaders, and fragment shaders, all for use of programmable shader hardware "The continuing evolution and advancement of the OpenGL API is important to network computing and graphic applications," said Manish Bhuptani, director, Market Development, Sun Microsystems, Inc. "With Sun's commitment to open, standards-based technologies, we are excited to see this new specification and believe that it will lead to exciting changes in how people develop and use visual applications" Most Widely Adopted Graphics Standard With more than 60 hardware developer licensees, OpenGL has the broadest industry support of any openly licensed graphics API. In 1992, SGI formed the ARB that now governs the evolution and ongoing development of OpenGL, a technology originally created by SGI as an open, platform-independent standard for professional-quality 3D graphics. "Collaborative efforts such as the OpenGL specification and the OpenGL Shading Language are the surest ways to advance the industry," said Rick Bergman, senior vice president of marketing and general manager, Desktop, ATI Technologies Inc. "As permanent members of the OpenGL ARB, we are committed to working with SGI and the other members to continue to advance 3D graphic standards. The adoption of these open interfaces enables ATI to deliver products that dramatically increase productivity and decrease production time for our professional customers." The 12 voting members of the OpenGL ARB are 3Dlabs, Apple, ATI, Dell Computer Corp., Evans & Sutherland, Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM Corp., Intel Corp., Matrox Graphics, Inc., NVIDIA, Sun Microsystems, Inc. and SGI. Other ARB participants include Discreet, Id Software, NEC, Quantum 3D, SONICblue and the University of Central Florida. In addition to the voting members and participants, OpenGL is universally licensed throughout the graphics hardware developer community. More information on OpenGL 1.5 and its supporters will be made available on the OpenGL Web site at www.opengl.org.
The OpenGL 1.5 specification evolved with input from the OpenGL ARB-an independent consortium-and interested participants to reflect predominant trends in the graphics industry. The ARB's process of enhancing OpenGL includes jointly developing specifications of features proposed by ARB members, to be incorporated and officially supported within the API. In OpenGL 1.5, several additional features and functions have been ratified, including the following: Vertex Buffer Object: vertex arrays for higher performance rendering Shadow Function: additional comparison functions for shadow mapping Occlusion Query: asynchronous occlusion test for better culling Non power-of-two Textures: for more efficient use of texture memory, including mipmaps OpenGL Shading Language v. 1.0: as official extensions more specifically, shader objects, vertex shaders, and fragment shaders, all for use of programmable shader hardware "The continuing evolution and advancement of the OpenGL API is important to network computing and graphic applications," said Manish Bhuptani, director, Market Development, Sun Microsystems, Inc. "With Sun's commitment to open, standards-based technologies, we are excited to see this new specification and believe that it will lead to exciting changes in how people develop and use visual applications" Most Widely Adopted Graphics Standard With more than 60 hardware developer licensees, OpenGL has the broadest industry support of any openly licensed graphics API. In 1992, SGI formed the ARB that now governs the evolution and ongoing development of OpenGL, a technology originally created by SGI as an open, platform-independent standard for professional-quality 3D graphics. "Collaborative efforts such as the OpenGL specification and the OpenGL Shading Language are the surest ways to advance the industry," said Rick Bergman, senior vice president of marketing and general manager, Desktop, ATI Technologies Inc. "As permanent members of the OpenGL ARB, we are committed to working with SGI and the other members to continue to advance 3D graphic standards. The adoption of these open interfaces enables ATI to deliver products that dramatically increase productivity and decrease production time for our professional customers." The 12 voting members of the OpenGL ARB are 3Dlabs, Apple, ATI, Dell Computer Corp., Evans & Sutherland, Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM Corp., Intel Corp., Matrox Graphics, Inc., NVIDIA, Sun Microsystems, Inc. and SGI. Other ARB participants include Discreet, Id Software, NEC, Quantum 3D, SONICblue and the University of Central Florida. In addition to the voting members and participants, OpenGL is universally licensed throughout the graphics hardware developer community. More information on OpenGL 1.5 and its supporters will be made available on the OpenGL Web site at www.opengl.org.
