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MiniGL
MiniGL is an incomplete implementation of the OpenGL specification which implements enough of the API to allow 3D video games in the late 1990s to run with hardware acceleration on contemporary graphics cards, which otherwise provided their own APIs. The original implementation came from 3dfx Interactive, and was designed around supporting '' Quake''. Other companies implementing similar software included PowerVR and Rendition. History In 1996, id Software announced that the Rendition Vérité was to be the only hardware 3D accelerator targeted by ''Quake''. Partly because of the perceived hassle in supporting chipset specific APIs and partly because ''Quakes development heritage on high-end workstations made such a thing easy. They also released a Microsoft Windows port of their OpenGL version of ''Quake'', named ''GLQuake'', even though no consumer chipset had OpenGL support at the time. In response, 3dfx developed and quickly released the first MiniGL, called ''3Dfx GL mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MiniGLX
MiniGLX is a specification for an application programming interface which facilitates OpenGL rendering on systems without windowing systems, e.g. Linux without an X Window System or embedded systems without a windowing system. The interface is a subset of the GLX interface, plus a minimal set of Xlib-like functions. Programs written for Mini GLX can run unchanged on systems with the X Window System and the GLX extension. The intention is to allow flexibility for prototyping and testing. MiniGLX is currently implemented within the Mesa 3D project that provides a means to use the Direct Rendering Infrastructure when the X Window System is not used. In essence it provides functions that mimic those of X, so that programs written using MiniGLX should be compilable as X Window programs. MiniGLX renders directly to the framebuffer device or through accelerated DRI drivers. MiniGLX allows only one window (which fills the whole framebuffer) to exist. If the existing source code were exten ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
3dfx Interactive
3dfx Interactive, Inc. was an American computer hardware company headquartered in San Jose, California, founded in 1994, that specialized in the manufacturing of 3D graphics, 3D graphics processing units, and later, video cards. It was a pioneer in the field from the mid 1990s to 2000. The company's original product was the Voodoo Graphics, an add-in card that implemented hardware acceleration of 3D graphics. The hardware accelerated only 3D rendering, relying on the PC's current video card for 2D support. Despite this limitation, the Voodoo Graphics product and its follow-up, Voodoo2, were popular. It became standard for 3D games to offer support for the company's Glide API. Renewed interest in 3D gaming led to the success of the company's products and by the second half of the 1990s products combining a 2D output with 3D performance were appearing. This was accelerated by the introduction of Microsoft's Direct3D, which provided a single high-performance API that could be impl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PowerVR
PowerVR is a division of Imagination Technologies (formerly VideoLogic) that develops hardware and software for 2D and 3D rendering, and for video encoding, video decoding, decoding, associated image processing and DirectX, OpenGL ES, OpenVG, and OpenCL acceleration. PowerVR also develops AI accelerators called Neural Network Accelerator (NNA). The PowerVR product line was originally introduced to compete in the desktop PC market for Graphics card, 3D hardware accelerators with a product with a better price–performance ratio than existing products like those from 3dfx Interactive. Rapid changes in that market, notably with the introduction of OpenGL and Direct3D, led to rapid consolidation. PowerVR introduced new versions with low-power electronics that were aimed at the laptop computer market. Over time, this developed into a series of designs that could be incorporated into system-on-a-chip architectures suitable for handheld device use. PowerVR accelerators are not manufactur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AmigaOS 4 Software
AmigaOS is a family of proprietary native operating systems of the Amiga and AmigaOne personal computers. It was developed first by Commodore International and introduced with the launch of the first Amiga, the Amiga 1000, in 1985. Early versions of AmigaOS required the Motorola 68000 series of 16-bit and 32-bit microprocessors. Later versions, after Commodore's demise, were developed by Haage & Partner (AmigaOS 3.5 and 3.9) and then Hyperion Entertainment (AmigaOS 4.0-4.1). A PowerPC microprocessor is required for the most recent AmigaOS 4-release. AmigaOS is a single-user operating system based on a preemptive multitasking kernel, called Exec. It includes an abstraction of the Amiga's hardware, a disk operating system called ''AmigaDOS'', a windowing system API called ''Intuition'', and a desktop environment and file manager called ''Workbench''. MorphOS and AROS Research Operating System are modern implementations of the original AmigaOS that are compatible with it. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glide (API)
Glide is a 3D graphics API developed by 3dfx Interactive for their ''Voodoo Graphics'' 3D accelerator cards. It started as a proprietary API, and was later open sourced by 3dfx. It was dedicated to rendering performance, supporting geometry and texture mapping primarily, in data formats identical to those used internally in their cards. Wide adoption of 3Dfx led to Glide being extensively used in the late 1990s, but further refinement of Microsoft's Direct3D and the appearance of full OpenGL implementations from other graphics card vendors, in addition to growing diversity in 3D hardware, eventually caused it to become superfluous. Glide wrappers and emulators Glide emulator development has been in progress since the late 1990s. During 3dfx's lifetime, the company was aggressive at trying to stop these attempts to emulate their proprietary API, shutting down early emulation projects with legal threats. However, just before it ceased operations and had its assets purchased by Nv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quake (video Game)
''Quake'' is a 1996 first-person shooter game developed by id Software and published by GT Interactive. The first game in the ''Quake'' series, it was originally released for MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows, followed by Mac OS, Linux and Sega Saturn in 1997 and Nintendo 64 in 1998. The game's plot is centered around teleportation experiments, dubbed slipgates, which have resulted in an unforeseen invasion of Earth by a hostile force codenamed Quake, which commands a vast army of monsters. The player takes the role of a soldier (later dubbed Ranger), whose mission is to travel through the slipgates in order to find and destroy the source of the invasion. The game is split between futuristic military bases and medieval, gothic environments, featuring both science fiction and fantasy weaponry and enemies as the player battles possessed soldiers and demonic beasts such as ogres or armor-clad knights. ''Quake'' heavily takes inspiration from gothic fiction and in particular the wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AmigaOS
AmigaOS is a family of proprietary native operating systems of the Amiga and AmigaOne personal computers. It was developed first by Commodore International and introduced with the launch of the first Amiga, the Amiga 1000, in 1985. Early versions of AmigaOS required the Motorola Motorola 68000 family, 68000 series of 16-bit and 32-bit microprocessors. Later versions, after Commodore's demise, were developed by Haage & Partner (AmigaOS 3.5 and 3.9) and then Hyperion Entertainment (AmigaOS 4.0-4.1). A PowerPC microprocessor is required for the most recent AmigaOS 4-release. AmigaOS is a single-user operating system based on a preemptive multitasking kernel (operating system), kernel, called Exec (Amiga), Exec. It includes an abstraction of the Amiga's hardware, a disk operating system called ''AmigaDOS'', a windowing system Application programming interface, API called Intuition (Amiga), ''Intuition'', and a desktop environment and file manager called Workbench (AmigaOS), ''Workbenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Direct3D
Direct3D is a graphics application programming interface (API) for Microsoft Windows. Part of DirectX, Direct3D is used to render three-dimensional graphics in applications where performance is important, such as games. Direct3D uses hardware acceleration if available on the graphics card, allowing for hardware acceleration of the entire 3D rendering pipeline or even only partial acceleration. Direct3D exposes the advanced graphics capabilities of 3D graphics hardware, including Z-buffering, W-buffering, stencil buffering, spatial anti-aliasing, alpha blending, color blending, mipmapping, texture blending, clipping, culling, atmospheric effects, perspective-correct texture mapping, programmable HLSL shaders and effects. Integration with other DirectX technologies enables Direct3D to deliver such features as video mapping, hardware 3D rendering in 2D overlay planes, and even sprites, providing the use of 2D and 3D graphics in interactive media ties. Direct3D contains ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Application Programming Interfaces
An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build such a connection or interface is called an ''API specification''. A computer system that meets this standard is said to ''implement'' or ''expose'' an API. The term API may refer either to the specification or to the implementation. In contrast to a user interface, which connects a computer to a person, an application programming interface connects computers or pieces of software to each other. It is not intended to be used directly by a person (the end user) other than a computer programmer who is incorporating it into software. An API is often made up of different parts which act as tools or services that are available to the programmer. A program or a programmer that uses one of these parts is said to ''call'' that portion of the API. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amiga Software
Amiga software is computer software engineered to run on the Amiga personal computer. Amiga software covers many applications, including productivity, digital art, Video game, games, commercial, freeware and hobbyist products. The market was active in the late 1980s and early 1990s but then dwindled. Most Amiga products were originally created directly for the Amiga computer (most taking advantage of the platform's unique attributes and capabilities), and were not ported from other platforms. During its lifetime, thousands of applications were produced with over 10,000 utilities (collected into the Aminet repository). However, it was perceived as a games machine from outside its community of experienced and professional users. More than 12,000 games were available. New applications for the three existing Amiga-like operating systems are generally ported from the open source (mainly from Linux) software base. Many Amiga software products or noteworthy programs during the timeline ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mesa 3D
Mesa, also called Mesa3D and The Mesa 3D Graphics Library, is an open-source software, open source implementation of OpenGL, Vulkan, and other graphics API specifications. Mesa translates these specifications to vendor-specific graphics hardware drivers. Its most important users are two graphics drivers mostly developed and funded by Intel and AMD for their respective hardware (AMD promotes their Mesa drivers Radeon and RadeonSI over the deprecated AMD Catalyst, and Intel has only supported the Mesa driver). Proprietary graphics drivers (e.g., Nvidia GeForce driver and Catalyst) replace all of Mesa, providing their own implementation of a graphics API. An open-source effort to write a Mesa Nvidia driver called Nouveau (software), Nouveau is developed mostly by the community. Besides 3D applications such as games, modern display servers (Glamor (software), X.org's Glamor or Wayland (display server protocol), Wayland's Weston (software), Weston) use OpenGL/EGL (API), EGL; therefor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palm OS
Palm OS (also known as Garnet OS) is a discontinued mobile operating system initially developed by Palm, Inc., for personal digital assistants (PDAs) in 1996. Palm OS was designed for ease of use with a touchscreen-based graphical user interface. It was provided with a suite of basic applications for Personal information manager, personal information management. Later versions of the OS were extended to support smartphones. The software appeared on the company's line of Palm (PDA), Palm devices while several other licensees List of Palm OS devices, have manufactured devices powered by Palm OS. Following Palm's purchase of the Palm trademark, the operating system was renamed ''Garnet OS''. In 2007, Access Co., ACCESS introduced the successor to Garnet OS, called Access Linux Platform; additionally, in 2009, the main licensee of Palm OS, Palm, Inc., switched from Palm OS to webOS for their forthcoming devices. Creator and ownership Palm OS was originally developed under the directi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
