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diff --git a/docs/intro.html b/docs/intro.html new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..58c39dabc2d --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/intro.html @@ -0,0 +1,255 @@ +<HTML> + +<TITLE>Mesa Introduction</TITLE> + +<BODY text="#000000" bgcolor="#55bbff"> + +<H1>Introduction</H1> + +<p> +Mesa is a 3-D graphics library with an API which is very similar to +that of <a href="http://www.opengl.org/" target="_parent">OpenGL</a>.* +To the extent that Mesa utilizes the OpenGL command syntax or state +machine, it is being used with authorization from <a +href="http://www.sgi.com/" target="_parent">Silicon Graphics, +Inc.</a>(SGI). However, the author does not possess an OpenGL license +from SGI, and makes no claim that Mesa is in any way a compatible +replacement for OpenGL or associated with SGI. Those who want a +licensed implementation of OpenGL should contact a licensed +vendor. +</p> + +<p> +Please do not refer to the library as <em>MesaGL</em> (for legal +reasons). It's just <em>Mesa</em> or <em>The Mesa 3-D graphics +library</em>. <br> +</p> + +<p> +* OpenGL is a trademark of <a href="http://www.sgi.com/" +target="_parent">Silicon Graphics Incorporated</a>. +</p> + + +<H1>Project History</H1> + +<p> +The Mesa project was founded by me, Brian Paul. Here's a short history +of the project. +</p> + +<p> +August, 1993: I begin working on Mesa in my spare time. The project +has no name at that point. I was simply interested in writing a simple +3D graphics library that used the then-new OpenGL API. I was partially +inspired by the <em>VOGL</em> library which emulated a subset of IRIS GL. +I had been programming with IRIS GL since 1991. +</p> + +<p> +November 1994: I contact SGI to ask permission to distribute my OpenGL-like +graphics library on the internet. SGI was generally receptive to the +idea and after negotiations with SGI's legal department, I get permission +to release it. +</p> + +<p> +February 1995: Mesa 1.0 is released on the internet. I expected that +a few people would be interested in it, but not thousands. +I was soon receiving patches, new features and thank-you notes on a +daily basis. That encouraged me to continue working on Mesa. The +name Mesa just popped into my head one day. SGI had asked me not to use +the terms <em>"Open"</em> or <em>"GL"</em> in the project name and I didn't +want to make up a new acronym. Later, I heard of the Mesa programming +language and the Mesa spreadsheet for NeXTStep. +</p> + +<p> +In the early days, OpenGL wasn't available on too many systems. +It even took a while for SGI to support it across their product line. +Mesa filled a big hole during that time. +For a lot of people, Mesa was their first introduction to OpenGL. +I think SGI recognized that Mesa actually helped to promote +the OpenGL API, so they didn't feel threatened by the project. +</p> + + +<p> +1995-1996: I continue working on Mesa both during my spare time and during +my work hours at the Space Science and Engineering Center at the University +of Wisconsin in Madison. My supervisor, Bill Hibbard, lets me do this because +Mesa is now being using for the <a href="http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/%7Ebillh/vis.html" target="_parent">Vis5D</a> project. +</p><p> +October 1996: Mesa 2.0 is released. It implementes the OpenGL 1.1 specification. +</p> + +<p> +March 1997: Mesa 2.2 is released. It supports the new 3dfx Voodoo graphics +card via the Glide library. It's the first really popular hardware OpenGL +implementation for Linux. +</p> + +<p> +September 1998: Mesa 3.0 is released. It's the first publicly-available +implementation of the OpenGL 1.2 API. +</p> + +<p> +March 1999: I attend my first OpenGL ARB meeting. I contribute to the +development of several official OpenGL extensions over the years. +</p> + +<p> +September 1999: I'm hired by Precision Insight, Inc. Mesa is a key +component of 3D hardware acceleration in the new DRI project for XFree86. +Drivers for 3dfx, 3dLabs, Intel, Matrox and ATI hardware soon follow. +</p> + +<p> +October 2001: Mesa 4.0 is released. +It implements the OpenGL 1.3 specification. +</p> + + +<p> +November 2001: I cofound <a href="http://www.tungstengraphics.com" target="_parent"> +Tungsten Graphics, Inc.</a> with Keith Whitwell, Jens Owen, David Dawes and +Frank LaMonica. +I continue to develop Mesa as part of my resposibilities with Tungsten +Graphics and as a spare-time project. +</p> + +<p> +November 2002: Mesa 5.0 is released. +It implements the OpenGL 1.4 specification. +</p> + +<p> +Ongoing: Mesa is used as the core of many hardware OpenGL drivers for XFree86 +within the +<A href="http://dri.sourceforge.net/" target="_parent">DRI project</A>. +I continue to enhance Mesa with new extensions and features. +</p> + + + +<H1>Major Versions</H1> + +<p> +This is a summary of the major versions of Mesa. Note that Mesa's major +version number tracks OpenGL's minor version number. +</p> + + +<H2>Version 5.x features</H2> +<p> +Version 5.x of Mesa implements the OpenGL 1.4 API with the following +extensions incorporated as standard features: +</p> +<ul> +<li>GL_ARB_depth_texture +<li>GL_ARB_shadow +<li>GL_ARB_texture_env_crossbar +<li>GL_ARB_texture_mirror_repeat +<li>GL_ARB_window_pos +<li>GL_EXT_blend_color +<li>GL_EXT_blend_func_separate +<li>GL_EXT_blend_logic_op +<li>GL_EXT_blend_minmax +<li>GL_EXT_blend_subtract +<li>GL_EXT_fog_coord +<li>GL_EXT_multi_draw_arrays +<li>GL_EXT_point_parameters +<li>GL_EXT_secondary_color +<li>GL_EXT_stencil_wrap +<li>GL_SGIS_generate_mipmap +</ul> + + +<H2>Version 4.x features</H2> + +<p> +Version 4.x of Mesa implements the OpenGL 1.3 API with the following +extensions incorporated as standard features: +</p> + +<ul> +<li>GL_ARB_multisample +<li>GL_ARB_multitexture +<li>GL_ARB_texture_border_clamp +<li>GL_ARB_texture_compression +<li>GL_ARB_texture_cube_map +<li>GL_ARB_texture_env_add +<li>GL_ARB_texture_env_combine +<li>GL_ARB_texture_env_dot3 +<li>GL_ARB_transpose_matrix +</ul> + +<H2>Version 3.x features</H2> + +<p> +Version 3.x of Mesa implements the OpenGL 1.2 API with the following +features: +</p> +<ul> +<li>BGR, BGRA and packed pixel formats +<li>New texture border clamp mode +<li>glDrawRangeElements() +<li>standard 3-D texturing +<li>advanced MIPMAP control +<li>separate specular color interpolation +</ul> + + +<H2>Version 2.x features</H2> +<p> +Version 2.x of Mesa implements the OpenGL 1.1 API with the following +features. +</p> +<ul> +<li>Texture mapping: + <ul> + <li>glAreTexturesResident + <li>glBindTexture + <li>glCopyTexImage1D + <li>glCopyTexImage2D + <li>glCopyTexSubImage1D + <li>glCopyTexSubImage2D + <li>glDeleteTextures + <li>glGenTextures + <li>glIsTexture + <li>glPrioritizeTextures + <li>glTexSubImage1D + <li>glTexSubImage2D + </ul> +<li>Vertex Arrays: + <ul> + <li>glArrayElement + <li>glColorPointer + <li>glDrawElements + <li>glEdgeFlagPointer + <li>glIndexPointer + <li>glInterleavedArrays + <li>glNormalPointer + <li>glTexCoordPointer + <li>glVertexPointer + </ul> +<li>Client state management: + <ul> + <li>glDisableClientState + <li>glEnableClientState + <li>glPopClientAttrib + <li>glPushClientAttrib + </ul> +<li>Misc: + <ul> + <li>glGetPointer + <li>glIndexub + <li>glIndexubv + <li>glPolygonOffset + </ul> +</ul> + + +</body> +</html> |