OpenGL - The Industry's Foundation for High Performance Graphics
OpenGL ES is a royalty-free, cross-platform API for rendering advanced 2D and 3D graphics OpenGL on a wide variety of computer platforms.
OpenGL is the most widely adopted 2D and 3D graphics API in the industry, bringing thousands of applications to a wide variety of computer platforms. It is window-system and operating-system independent as well as network-transparent. OpenGL enables developers of software for PC, workstation, and supercomputing hardware to create high-performance, visually compelling graphics software applications, in markets such as CAD, content creation, energy, entertainment, game development, manufacturing, medical, and virtual reality. OpenGL exposes all the features of the latest graphics hardware.
Latest Features and Extensions
OpenGL 4.6 at a Glance
The OpenGL 4.6 and OpenGL Shading Language 4.60 Specifications were released on July 31, 2017.
New features of OpenGL 4.6 include:
- GL_ARB_gl_spirv andGL_ARB_spirv_extensions to standardize SPIR-V support for OpenGL
- GL_ARB_indirect_parameters andGL_ARB_shader_draw_parameters for reducing the CPU overhead associated with rendering batches of geometry
- GL_ARB_pipeline_statistics_query andGL_ARB_transform_feedback_overflow_query standardize OpenGL support for features available in Direct3D
- GL_ARB_texture_filter_anisotropic (based onGL_EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic) brings previously IP encumbered functionality into OpenGL to improve the visual quality of textured scenes
- GL_ARB_polygon_offset_clamp (based onGL_EXT_polygon_offset_clamp) suppresses a common visual artifact known as a “light leak” associated with rendering shadows
- GL_ARB_shader_atomic_counter_ops andGL_ARB_shader_group_vote add shader intrinsics supported by all desktop vendors to improve functionality and performance
- GL_KHR_no_error reduces driver overhead by allowing the application to indicate that it expects error-free operation so errors need not be generated
New extensions to OpenGL 4.6 include:
API & GLSL specifications
Specifications, Headers and Dev Tools
Key OpenGL Resources
Specifications and documentation for the OpenGL API and OpenGL Shading Language, as well as related APIs such as GLX, are available fromOpenGL.org.
Stay Informed
Subscribe to the Khronos Newsletter
Stay in the loop by subscribing to our newsletter to receive updates on all our latest resources, news and events.
By subscribing you are consenting to receive marketing emails about news and events relating to the Khronos Group. You can unsubscribe at any time by following the “Unsubscribe” link included in each email sent. For information on our privacy practices and commitment to protecting your privacy, please review ourPrivacy Policy. We do not sell your contact information to third parties.
Khronos Standard Additional links and information
Related Discussions
Related News
- Mesa 25.3 Release Features Vulkan and OpenGL Enhancements
- OpenGL Resurges in 2025 with Mesh Shader Extensions for Gaming
- Monado v25.0.0 Release Includes OpenXR, Vulkan and OpenGL Improvements
- Collabora Blog: Goodbye Nouveau GL. Hello Zink!
- Software in the Public Interest announces Apple M1 and M2 as being OpenGL 4.6 Conformant
Related Press
- Khronos Group Begins Work on a New Standards Initiative to Bring Vulkan GPU Acceleration to Safety Critical Industries
- Khronos Launches OpenGL 4.6 Adopters Program with Significantly Enhanced Conformance Test Suite in Open Source
- Khronos Group Announces Key Advances in OpenGL Ecosystem
- Khronos Releases OpenCL 2.0
- Khronos COLLADA now recognized as ISO Standard