MiniGL
This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2015) |
3dfx Interactive and others | |
---|---|
Initial release | 1996 |
Written in | C, C++, Assembly |
Type | Graphics library |
MiniGL is an incomplete implementation of the
History
In 1996,
In response, 3dfx developed and quickly released the first MiniGL: a quick implementation of the bare minimum amount of the OpenGL API that was required to run the OpenGL version of Quake. By obtaining a copy of the OpenGL Quake executable and a copy of the relevant MiniGL, 3dfx owners could easily modify their copies of Quake to play with full 3D acceleration, giving a smoother and better looking display than was possible with the Quake software renderer. After the success of the 3dfx original, several other manufacturers followed 3dfx in producing MiniGL drivers.
At the time, the OpenGL API was almost universally agreed to be superior to the then new and immature Direct3D system from Microsoft, so following the arrival of the various MiniGLs, many programmers sought to use them in other programs as an easy way of supporting multiple 3D chipsets. Unfortunately, id Software had not released any official list of OpenGL calls and parameters used by Quake and none of the MiniGL implementors had released lists of what their implementation would and would not support.
In practice, this led to a very cautious use of OpenGL features by programmers and new releases of MiniGLs with slightly more functionality every time a major game came along that did not work on the previous generation.
All major 3D card manufacturers now support complete OpenGL implementations, negating the need for any sort of MiniGL.
Other implementations
MiniGL implementations have been developed for other operating systems, including Palm OS[1] and AmigaOS.[2]
See also
- Mesa 3D
- MiniGLX
- Glide (API)
References
- ^ "DSBox | miniGL". June 7, 2000. Archived from the original on 2000-06-07.
- ^ "MiniGL | HDRLab". hdrlab.org.nz.