Determining OpenGL Version & Upgrading w/ C++

  • Context: C/C++ 
  • Thread starter Thread starter Pauly Man
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around determining the version of OpenGL being used in conjunction with C++ and the process of upgrading to a newer version. It includes aspects of troubleshooting, driver support, and the implications of OpenGL extensions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses enthusiasm for OpenGL and seeks guidance on how to determine their current version and upgrade it.
  • Another participant suggests downloading new OpenGL drivers and inquires about the operating system and hardware support for OpenGL acceleration.
  • A third participant offers to send a program that provides detailed information about the OpenGL driver and explains that multitexturing is enabled by the ARB_multitexture extension, which may not be supported depending on the driver.
  • This participant also discusses the historical context of OpenGL upgrades and the role of Microsoft in maintaining the opengl32.dll, suggesting that newer features often require extensions due to limitations imposed by Microsoft.
  • A later reply indicates that another user has also recently started using OpenGL and shares their positive experience.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the best approach to determine the OpenGL version or upgrade it, as multiple suggestions and perspectives are presented without resolution.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations regarding the assumptions about hardware compatibility and the specifics of driver support, which are not fully explored in the discussion.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in OpenGL programming, particularly those new to the technology or facing issues with version compatibility and driver support.

Pauly Man
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I am playing around with opengl using C++, and think it is awesome.

But I have a question. I was looking at a tutorial on multitexturing, and when I ran the program it told me that my version of opengl doesn't support it. How do I determine which version of opengl I have, and how do I go about getting a newer version?
 
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Download new OpenGL drivers -- what OS are you using? Does your graphics card support hardware OpenGL acceleration?
 
PM me your email address and I'll send you a program that tells you everything about your opengl driver. The manufacturer can write a driver for your video card that supports certain opengl extensions. multi-texturing is made possible by ARB_multitexture extension. Look here for a list of extensions http://oss.sgi.com/projects/ogl-sample/registry/

Every now and then Opengl gets upgraded and basically they take a bunch of ARB extensions ( architecture review board extensions, these are the ones that almost every manufacturer's new cards will support ) and make them part of core opengl. If it weren't for SGI making a pact with the devil ( microsoft ) back in the day, driver manufacturers could simply make Opengl 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 whatever drivers and you would only have to use extensions for bleeding edge video card features ( multitexturing is part of the 1.2 core ). But that can't happen because MS is responsible for maintaining the opengl32.dll in your system folder and aparently its illegal for the video card driver writers to overwrite it and MS won't update it past version 1.1 so everything new since 1.1 has to be done with extension, which isn't bad at all compared to using DirectX.

-Grady
 
I just started using OpenGL as well, and I like it a lot. :)
 

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