SunSoft to offer native OpenGL to capture new and expanding graphics markets.MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 8, 1995--SunSoft, Inc. today announced it will be providing a native OpenGL implementation on Solaris to run on SPARC (Scalable Performance ARChitecture) A family of RISC CPUs from Sun that runs mostly under Sun's Solaris, but also under Linux and BSD operating systems. After development began in the mid-1980s by David Patterson of the University of California at Berkeley and Bill , Intel and PowerPC platforms as a unified, cross-platform graphics environment. The OpenGL application programming interface (API) is a 2D and 3D graphics API which SunSoft is licensing from Silicon Graphics, Inc. Sun is a leading graphics vendor dominating in established markets such as mechanical computer aided design (application) Computer Aided Design - (CAD) The part of CAE concerning the drawing or physical layout steps of engineering design. Often found in the phrase "CAD/CAM" for ".. manufacturing". , architecture and engineering, and financial analysis. By offering the OpenGL API, SunSoft will extend its graphics offerings, increase access to new markets such as animation, simulation, and virtual reality, and offer traditional markets the ability to simplify their programming by using a common API. OpenGL on Solaris availability is expected in Summer 1996. Solaris and OpenGL: A Winning Combination Graphics is an integral part of SunSoft's Solaris environment allowing its customers to utilize graphics applications out of the box. "With OpenGL integrated into Solaris, SunSoft customers will have even more graphics applications to choose from," said Steve MacKay, vice president and general manager of Solaris Products at SunSoft. "In addition, OpenGL users will be able to reap the benefits of using Solaris, the leading UNIX UNIX Operating system for digital computers, developed by Ken Thompson of Bell Laboratories in 1969. It was initially designed for a single user (the name was a pun on the earlier operating system Multics). environment." SunSoft's OpenGL implementation will leverage Solaris' strengths of a fully scalable, multithreaded multithreaded - multithreading and multiplatform architecture. Users and developers will benefit from a high-performance, common graphics environment running across multiple hardware platforms Each hardware platform, or CPU family, has a unique machine language. All software presented to the computer for execution must be in the binary coded machine language of that CPU. Following is a list of the major hardware platforms in existence today. See platform. ranging from laptops to high-end workstations to servers. Developers can write their application once and run it on any Solaris platform, thus lowering development and support costs and benefiting from a high-volume delivery platform. Users will benefit with freedom of choice of applications and platform configurations to balance their performance versus price needs. OpenGL is an industry standard, vendor neutral graphics API that will be incorporated into the Solaris Graphics Architecture as a foundation library. This approach decouples the software API libraries from the hardware drivers, providing greater freedom of development for independent software vendors (ISVs) and independent hardware vendors (IHVs) by eliminating their dependency on each other and on the Solaris operating system operating system (OS) Software that controls the operation of a computer, directs the input and output of data, keeps track of files, and controls the processing of computer programs. . This decoupling Decoupling The occurrence of returns on asset classes diverging from their normal pattern of correlation. Notes: Take for example stock and corporate bond returns, which normally rise and fall together. will enable graphics hardware developers to release products without being tied to Solaris release schedules and to provide updated drivers with quality and performance without updates to the operating system. ISVs will get a broader base of available HW support without additional development and testing cost. In addition, SunSoft's native OpenGL implementation will maximize hardware performance and, through pipeline tuning, increase software-only performance. SunSoft continues to offer customers the best software environment for addressing new markets. SunSoft's innovative Graphics Architecture combined with a robust network operating system An operating system that is designed for network use. Normally, it is a complete operating system with file, task and job management; however, with some earlier products, it was a separate component that ran under the OS; for example, LAN Server required OS/2, and LANtastic required DOS. is helping developers move graphics into the enterprise and apply the technology to mission critical applications and Internet commerce. Companies today use a wide range of graphics APIs on Solaris such as XGL XGL Xml Gui Language XGL Extensible Gamecard Language XGL Extended Open Graphics Library XGL X Graphics Language , PHIGS (Programmer's Hierarchical Interactive Graphics Standard) A graphics system and language used to create 2D and 3D images. Like the GKS standard, PHIGS is a device-independent interface between the application program and the graphics subsystem. , PEX, HOOPS, and GKS (Graphical Kernel System) A device-independent graphics language for 2D, 3D and bitmapped graphics images. It allows graphics applications to be developed on one system and easily moved to another with minimal or no change. . SunSoft will continue to support the foundation for these APIs and will provide development and porting tools to customers choosing to migrate to the OpenGL API. In addition, Sun will provide technical support for native OpenGL. About Solaris Solaris is the most powerful, flexible operating environment In computing, an operating environment is the environment in which users run programs, whether in a command line interface, such as in MS-DOS or the Unix shell, or in a graphical user interface, such as in the Macintosh operating system. for enterprise computing Refers to information technology in the larger company. See enterprise data and enterprise networking. today, allowing both large and small businesses to grow and evolve without sacrificing hardware and software investments. As the world's No. 1 UNIX environment, Solaris commands an installed base of two million users and supports over 10,000 native 32-bit applications. Solaris enterprise solutions deliver business results through laptop-to-mainframe scalability, built-in networking and compatibility across SPARC, x86/Pentium, and PowerPC Platforms. Whether for enterprises migrating to client/server networks, managing and connecting PC workgroups to enterprise data, accessing the Internet, or running popular applications on powerful desktop computers, Solaris provides the power, performance, quality and reliability needed in today's mission critical business environments. SunSoft, Inc., headquartered in Mountain View, is a subsidiary of Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA[3]) is an American vendor of computers, computer components, computer software, and information-technology services, founded on 24 February 1982. , Inc., with offices worldwide. SunSoft's charter is to design, market, sell and support the industry's highest-quality software environment to enable businesses to gain a competitive advantage through information systems. SunSoft delivers a suite of solutions that easily and cost-effectively connect, integrate and manage large enterprise environments. The products are licensed by SunSoft and distributed through major computer manufacturers and resellers worldwide. -0- Note to Editors: Sun Microsystems, Inc., Sun, SPARC, SunSoft, the SunSoft logo, and Solaris are registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. Silicon Graphics and OpenGL are registered trademarks of Silicon Graphics, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, exclusively licensed through X/Open Company, Ltd. All other products or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners. CONTACT: SunSoft, Inc., Mountain View Judy Zimbelman, 415/336-5091 |
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