MiniGL is an incomplete implementation of the

OpenGL OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) is a cross-language, cross-platform application programming interface (API) for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics. The API is typically used to interact with a graphics processing unit (GPU), to achieve hardwa ...

specification which implements enough of the

API An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software Interface (computing), interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standa ...

to allow 3D

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

in the late 1990s to run with

hardware acceleration Hardware acceleration is the use of computer hardware designed to perform specific functions more efficiently when compared to software running on a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU). Any transformation of data that can be calcula ...

on contemporary

graphics card A graphics card (also called a video card, display card, graphics adapter, VGA card/VGA, video adapter, display adapter, or mistakenly GPU) is an expansion card which generates a feed of output images to a display device, such as a computer moni ...

s, which otherwise provided their own APIs. The original implementation came from

3dfx Interactive 3dfx Interactive was an American technology company headquartered in San Jose, California, founded in 1994, that specialized in the manufacturing of 3D graphics processing units, and later, video cards. It was a pioneer in the field from the l ...

, and was designed around supporting '' Quake''. Other companies implementing similar software included

PowerVR PowerVR is a division of Imagination Technologies (formerly VideoLogic) that develops hardware and software for 2D and 3D rendering, and for video encoding, decoding, associated image processing and DirectX, OpenGL ES, OpenVG, and OpenCL accelera ...

and Rendition.

History

In 1996,

id Software id Software LLC () is an American video game developer based in Richardson, Texas. It was founded on February 1, 1991, by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and ar ...

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

s and partly because ''Quakes development heritage on high-end workstations made such a thing easy. They also released a

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

port of their OpenGL version of ''Quake'', even though no consumer chipset had OpenGL support at the time. 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 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 a ...

system from

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

, 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 system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

s, including

Palm OS Palm OS (also known as Garnet OS) was a 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 is provi ...

and

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 version ...

References

{{Reflist Amiga software AmigaOS 4 software Application programming interfaces Graphics libraries OpenGL

History

Other implementations

See also

References