GLX
| GLX | |
|---|---|
| Basic data
|
|
| developer | Silicon Graphics, Inc. |
| Publishing year | 1992 |
| Current version | 1.4 (December 16, 2005) |
| operating system | unixoid |
| programming language | C. |
| category | Programming interface (API) |
| License | SGI FreeB License |
| sgi.com/products/software | |
GLX ( Open GL Extension to the X Window System ) is a programming interface (API) which enables programs to send OpenGL commands via the X11 protocol. GLX is network transparent, i. H. the graphic can also be transported over the network. Direct rendering is faster , with which GLX can either be replaced or expanded.
history
GLX was designed by Silicon Graphics and is currently in version 1.4. The Free-X-Server X.Org supports GLX (incl. Mesa and DRI ) from version X11R6.7.0, the X-Server XFree86 from version 4.0.
The software was first released in 1999 under a proprietary license. On September 19, 2008, SGI presented a new version of its "SGI Free Software License B". Since this version, the software has been consistent with the open source community's understanding of free software . The FSF also welcomed this step.
properties
GLX consists of three parts:
- An API which is used to write OpenGL programs for the X Window System.
- An extension of the X protocol, which allows the client (the OpenGL application ) to send 3D render commands to the X server (the software that is responsible for the display). Client and server can run on different computers.
- An extension of the X server that translates the render commands received and sends them to the hardware accelerated 3D graphics card or renders them by software using the Mesa library (which is much slower).
If a client and a server run on the same computer and a 3D-accelerated graphic with a suitable driver is available, the latter two components can be bypassed with the help of DRI : The client program can then directly access the graphics hardware, which brings further speed advantages .
On a running X server, a lot of diagnostic information about GLX, including the GLX optics that the system supports, can be extracted with the command "glxinfo". The demonstration tool "glxgears" supports a rough estimate of the speed of the 3D render setup.
The Windows variant is called WGL .
See also
- WGL - an interface between the Windows window system and OpenGL, equivalent to GLX
- CGL - an interface between the macOS window system and OpenGL, equivalent to GLX
- EGL - an interface equivalent to GLX between the window system (or applications in it) and OpenGL , OpenGL ES and OpenVG . EGL is also used on embedded systems without a window manager, e.g. B. in avionics or other vehicles
- AIGLX - extends GLX to include direct rendering
Web links
- OpenGL Graphics with the X Window System (PDF; 446 kB)
References
- ↑ SGI Free Software License B ( Memento of the original from April 20, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ SGI - OpenGL under free license
