I thought that OpenGL 5.0 will be unveiled during SIGGRAPH 2014 but it seems the major version of OpenGL is still 4.
According to the OpenGL 4.5 specifications, here are the new extensions that any OpenGL 4.5 driver should expose (for capable hardware) in the next days/weeks/months:
- GL_ARB_clip_control
- GL_ARB_cull_distance
- GL_ARB_ES3_1_compatibility
- GL_ARB_conditional_render_inverted
- GL_KHR_context_flush_control
- GL_ARB_derivative_control
- GL_ARB_direct_state_access
- GL_ARB_get_texture_sub_image
- GL_KHR_robustness
- GL_ARB_shader_texture_image_samples
- GL_ARB_texture_barrier
GL_ARB_direct_state_access is interesting because it allows to bypass the regular bind-to-edit OpenGL principle and makes it possible to directly update an object without binding it before. The following line updates a VBO without calling glBindBuffer:
glNamedBufferData(vbo, size, vertices, usage);
GL_ARB_direct_state_access introduces a ton of new functions!
Arstechnica has a detailed article about DSA (Direct State Access): OpenGL 4.5 released—with one of Direct3D’s best features
The official press release about OpenGL 4.5 is available here: (PR) Khronos Group Announces Key Advances in OpenGL Ecosystem.
OpenGL 4.5 API reference card is available HERE.
https://developer.nvidia.com/opengl-driver
“Windows driver version 340.65 and Linux drivers version 340.23.01 provide beta support for OpenGL 4.5 and GLSL 4.50 on capable hardware.”
Ok…a lot of new features, but who will use these features and for what? I would like to know what is the vision of OpenGL from the kronos group.
OpenGL NG that is the vision a clean start finally get rid of all that legacy rubbish.
@DrBalthar I agree. Hope a total new graphic library with no past strings attached.