The OpenGL Software Ecosystem

This video provides a short history of OpenGL and explains the role of software packages such as FreeGLUT, GLFW, GLEW and GLAD in setting up a working OpenGL environment.

📚 Timecodes 📚
0:00 Intro
0:24 History of OpenGL
3:00 Portability
4:45 The window and the context
5:40 The OpenGL ARB
7:00 OS/Windowing extensions
8:08 OpenGL frameworks
9:16 FreeGLUT and GLFW
10:29 The loading library
12:30 GLEW and GLAD
13:34 Outro

Feel free to comment below.

🔗Contacts:
🔹Instagram: @ogldev1
🔹Twitter: @ogldev

🙏Credits:
🔹All the logos in this video are the property of their respective companies (SGI, IBM, HP, Sun Microsystem / Oracle)

🙏Music Credits - Youtube Audio Library:
Masquerade by Luna Cantina, Trabaja Duro Juega Duro by Luna Cantina, Summer Somewhere In Cuba by Cumbia Deli, Stealth by Aakash Gandhi, Palace of Roses by Aakash Gandhi, Chiapas Marimba by Jimena Contreras, Foyf (Instrumental) - NEFFEX.

Enjoy,

Etay Meiri

#opengl

[OGLDEV]

Errata: turns out that OpenAL is actually not governed by Khronos. This Open* prefix can be confusing...

[maxthomarino]

I love the structure that you employ in the videos
each builds of the last, assuming no prior knowledge unless you've talked about it
makes it very enjoyable to watch and aligns with my personal philosophy so I appreaciate this series you've made
will definitely check out your website

wish you all the best,
Max

[Daniel-Murphy]

This video was amazing! Back in college I took a graphics class where we learned openGL, but I never really knew why we needed stuff like GLFW, GLAD, GLEW, etc. This explained everything about it! I especially loved the history section about how OpenGL started.

[eliasmartinezsanchez]

Wow, such a great explanation, congratulations.
All the information you talked about should be included in the getting started section of any OpenGL tutorial.

[valtovar]

Nice video! I'd like to see some of the OpenGL and/or Vulkan videos running on SDL2/3, at least the initial setup. I have observed that many engines prefer this library.

[sealsharp]

My first contact with OpenGL was with the MiniGL driver, a "propriatary incomplete implementation"(yeah, that's a term) of openGL by 3Dfx which allowed OpenGL games ( mostly quake ) to run on 3Dfx Vodoo cards.

John Carmack didn't care to implement 3fdx Glide for Quake, so 3dfx implemented what Carmack used and then other devs tried to use OpenGL in a way that it works with MiniGL which, as mentioned, was closed source and incomplete and since ID never released a list of OpenGL functions they used and 3Dfx never released a list of OpenGL functions they reimplemented, there was some guessing involved during a time when OpenGL was not fully supported by GPU drivers, Direct3D was considered crappy.

[TheMark]

nice explanation now I finally understand why they are so important and keep me away from that compatibility hell

[kinsondigital]

This is great!! It is good to know what things are the way they are.

[jtsiomb]

Nice overview. But OpenGL is definitely still available on the mac. Apple calls it deprecated to try and scare people into using metal, but baring terminal insanity (which is always possible for apple), OpenGL support will probably never go away.

[bwvanlith]

Simply fantastico! Thank you Sir for all the help - compliments!

[ygnamerc]

this is exactly what i needed, thanks man!

[voytechj]

With new OpenGL core context some old GL functions were deprecated and removed, but including glew header those function names still exists and you can use them by mistake. GLAD will generate headers without those pesky function :).

[Vicente_Lopes_Senger]

I have used GLFW and GLAD, now I'm loading the function pointers myself and opening the window with the Win32 API for no pragmatic reason, and contrary to common sense, since I plan, at least for now, to also release the game on Linux.

[fab_]

the GTA SA poster was also rendered with openGL

[syntaxed]

What are your thoughts on WebGPU and its abstractions over vulkan/dx/metal? - A decent replacement for opengl?

[ar_xiv]

OpenGL still works on all apple computers btw. It's "deprecated" but likely not going anywhere.

[babylongate]

It’s not just the opengl, but when you develop stuff till you need sound like FMOD and Physx of Nvidia and other libraries, they literally does not exist to Linux, but all works on windows 32 or 64 versions, that’s the reality, game development only works on windows

[Test-ivpm]

When you make a game, what objects do you start making first?

[Test-ivpm]

OpenGL and Modern OpenGL.... We need a SUPER Modern OpenGL. 3.3 and 4.5 (DSA) are pretty different.

[monamodikgwete]

Hello. Do you assist if someone is stuck and needs your help? I am learning OpenGL and I tried to follow your tutorial on Object picking but I fail to follow, I need help with picking and would really appreciate your help.