OpenGL 2.0 Unleashes the Power of Programmable Shaders

OpenGL 2.0 Unleashes the Power of Programmable Shaders
OpenGL Shading Language Enables Software Developers to Program Freely Across
Hardware Based on Premier Application Interface 


SIGGRAPH 2004, LOS ANGELES, Aug. 10  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The latest
version of the OpenGL(R) specification, incorporating support for the OpenGL
Shading Language application programming interfaces (API), was announced today
by Silicon Graphics and the OpenGL Architecture Review Board (ARB) at the
SIGGRAPH 2004 industry tradeshow. One of the most important and enduring
standards in the computer industry, OpenGL(R) 2.0 presents a revolution in
graphics by providing high-level access to the programmable features of modern
graphics processors and is an important step in creating photo-realistic,
real-time 3D graphics.

OpenGL(R) Shading Language has been extensively field tested for a year within
the proven ARB standardization process. Potential applications include
cinematic quality images for games, more realistic imagery for training and
simulation, better analysis tools for medical visualization, and more
true-to-life simulated environments for designing and styling manufactured
products.

Since its introduction in 2003, OpenGL Shading Language has become the most
widely supported shading language for developing interactive graphics and
visualization applications, with implementations for UNIX(R), Microsoft(R)
Windows(R), Linux(R), and other operating systems. This wide compatibility
enables developers to readily move their work across most major commercial
operating systems and hardware platforms. OpenGL 2.0 fully supports all
applications written under the previous versions of the specification.

"Explosive data growth is driving new uses of visualization," said Paul
McNamara, senior vice president and general manager, Visual Systems Group, SGI.
"Data analysis, for instance, demands that the results are visually conveyed to
minutely fine levels of granularity. With the inclusion of OpenGL Shading
Language into the core of OpenGL, developers can be assured every graphics card
that is OpenGL 2.0 compliant will showcase this capability regardless of who
supports the OS."

"With the availability of OpenGL Shading Language, OpenGL continues to provide
progressive, platform-independent access to the power of today's
hardware-accelerated graphics engines," said Rob Gingell, chief engineer and
fellow, Sun Microsystems, Inc.  "With JSR 231 being introduced last year, Java
developers will enjoy an unprecedented set of tools for creating visually
exciting applications."

"Dell's involvement in developing OpenGL 2.0 underscores our commitment to
driving standards and delivering technologies that our customers demand," said
Kevin Kettler, chief technology officer and vice president, Dell Inc.
"Including OpenGL Shading Language in OpenGL core marks a major accomplishment
that will deliver new functionality and drive next generation graphics
programming."

  New features of OpenGL 2.0 include:
  -- Programmable shading. With the new release, both OpenGL Shading
     Language and its APIs are now core features of OpenGL. New
     functionality includes the ability to create shader and program
     objects; and the ability to write vertex and fragment shaders in OpenGL
     Shading Language.
  -- Multiple render targets that enable programmable shaders to write
     different values to multiple output buffers in a single pass.
  -- Non-power-of-two textures for all texture targets, thereby supporting
     rectangular textures and reducing memory consumption.
  -- Two-sided stencil, with the ability to define stencil functionality for
     the front and back faces of primitives, improving performance of shadow
     volume and constructive solid geometry rendering algorithms.
  -- Point sprites, which replace point texture coordinates with texture
     coordinates interpolated across the point. This allows drawing points
     as customized textures, useful for particle systems.



"3Dlabs trail-blazed both the vision and the creation of OpenGL Shading
Language and we are fully committed to the deployment and continued evolution
of this critical industry standard," said Neil Trevett, senior vice president
of market development, 3Dlabs. "Our professional graphics accelerators ship
with industrial-strength support for OpenGL Shading Language that is now
included in OpenGL 2.0 to bring full programmability to the most demanding
design applications."

"ATI is proud to have led the workgroup that created the OpenGL Shading
Language and its extensions," said Rick Bergman, senior vice president of
marketing and general manager, Desktop, ATI Technologies Inc. "This
collaborative effort to advance the industry will allow content creators to
develop even more realistic rendering both in real-time and offline. ATI has
supported the OpenGL Shading Language since 2003 in its products and continues
to work with developers to push the limits of what is possible with graphics
technology."

"The widespread availability of key enabling technologies like mainstream
64-bit, PCI Express, and OpenGL Shading Language has made this undoubtedly one
of the most exciting years in graphics history," said Nick Triantos, chief
software architect, NVIDIA Corporation. "By providing full support for OpenGL
Shading Language and three generations of finely-honed, programmable graphics
hardware, developers and users have all the tools to create the next generation
of visually compelling content and applications today."

OpenGL Shading Language Developer Session

The OpenGL ARB is hosting a detailed three-hour session for applications
developers wishing to learn how to use OpenGL Shading language in real-world
applications from 1-4 p.m. on Thursday, August 12, in Tech Talk Room 2 in the
registration area of SIGGRAPH. Admittance is free.

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.

The 12 voting members of the OpenGL ARB are 3Dlabs, Apple, ATI, Dell Inc.,
Evans & Sutherland, Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM Corporation, Intel Corporation,
Matrox Graphics, Inc., NVIDIA Corporation, Sun Microsystems, Inc. and Silicon
Graphics Inc. Other ARB participants include Adobe, Discreet, Id Software, NEC,
Quantum 3D, S3 Graphics 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 the OpenGL 2.0
API and its supporters will be made available on the OpenGL Web site at
http://www.opengl.org/.

About OpenGL

The OpenGL graphics system specification allows developers to incorporate a
broad set of rendering, texture mapping, special effects and other powerful
visualization functions and provides a graphics pipeline that allows unfettered
access to graphics hardware acceleration. Since its introduction by SGI in
1992, OpenGL has become the industry's most widely used and supported 3D and 2D
graphics API. OpenGL is supported on all major computer platforms, including
AIX(R), HP-UX(R), IRIX(R), Linux(R), Mac(R) OS X, Microsoft(R) Windows(R) 2000
and Windows(R) XP and Solaris(TM). The OpenGL ARB governs the evolution and
ongoing development of the OpenGL API. With broad industry support, OpenGL is
the vendor-neutral, graphics standard that enables 3D graphics on multiple
platforms ranging from cell-phones to supercomputers. OpenGL's consistent
backwards compatibility has created a stable foundation for sophisticated
graphics on a wide variety of operating systems for over 10 years. OpenGL is
constantly evolving state-of-the-art functionality to efficiently support a
wide array of applications from consumer games to professional design
applications.

NOTE:  All company and/or product names may be trade names, trademarks and/or
registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated.
OpenGL is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc., in the United
States and/or other countries worldwide.

CONTACT:  Ginny Babbitt, [phone], or , or SGI PR HOTLINE,
[phone], or SGI PR FACSIMILE, [phone], all of SGI. 

DATASOURCE: SGI



CONTACT:  Ginny Babbitt, [phone], or , or SGI PR

HOTLINE, [phone], or SGI PR FACSIMILE, [phone], all of SGI



Web site:  http://www.opengl.org/

Web site:  http://www.sgi.com/

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