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From: xkma@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu (Kenneth Michael Apa)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x.i386unix,gnu.misc.discuss,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc,comp.os.linux.development.apps
Subject: Re: Freeware community needs 3d library NOW
Date: 3 Jul 1996 15:05:59 GMT
Organization: Educational Computing Network
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Message-ID: <4re28n$kmc@news.ecn.bgu.edu>
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Hi,
I've been thinking about this whole free 3d api business, and I'd
like to give my input.
1.) We should not try to clone OpenGL. If you want free OpenGL, use
Mesa. If you want high performance, spend the 80 bucks. If OpenGL
was so damn open, why do you have to pay for it? Why can't you get
the source code for free? SGI can keep OpenGL. It may be fast,
but it's also an antique. OpenGL is just IrisGL minus the widgets
and re-packaged for mass consumption by windows95 users. Silicon
Graphics knows that its hardware advantage will be gone in five
years. Since they're not smart enough to lower the price of Indys
and expaned there user base, they are makin the same mistake Apple
made. They are underestimating the power of once lesser machines
surpassing them due to mass sales. Do you really want to use an API
from a company with bad marketing?
2.) Direct 3D is out. I just taked to the Head Programmer at a very
large software(games) company. He told me that Direct3d is slower
than doing it in software because it does some translation from the
api to the card that really makes it slow.
3.) I think we should write LinuxGL. We'll do it in C++. All of the
software houses will love us because C++ cuts development time
and companies like OO anyways. We'll start with a basic
unaccelerated library and go from there. Of course we'll use
ELF shared libraries so that when we make accelerated
versions, you just drop in the proper libs and they'll work
with all your precompiled binaries. I think ease of use is
important. If you make it easy, people will choose it over
faster libraries that are harder to use. Has anyone seen Qt?
It's an Xtoolkit that is real easy to use(www.troll.no). I'd
like do LinuxGL in the same style as Qt. Ease of use will
buy use some time on making it fast. If someone wants to do
some widgets, we could make a complete Xtoolkit with both a
3D API and Xwidgets. If not, we can just use Qt, wxWindows,
or some other C++ toolkit.
I would really like to start development on LinuxGL. If anyone
wants to help out, please email me. I've just started
researching how to write a 3D API. So, I could use any input that
anyone has. Plus, I want this to be real open. If you can only
contribute a little, that's fine. If your going to work on this
full time, that's even better. I've used OpenGL. So, I'm not new to 3D.
Here is the punch line. I'm selling my SGI to get a pentium that runs Linux.
Ken
xkma@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu