On Thu, 2005-06-23 at 14:37 +0800, Matthew Healey wrote:
> On 23/06/2005, at 12:56 PM, Craig Ringer wrote:
>
> > That doesn't mean you could run DirectX apps native, but it does mean
> > that it may be possible to use the WINE layer to run DirectX windows
> > apps. Developers may even be able to use WINElib to compile tweaked
> > versions of their Windows DirectX apps into something that runs out of
> > the box on Mac OS X. They're potentially much more likely to do this
> > than port, since it'd be MASSIVELY less work.
>
> Alternatively, developers could get a clue and just use OpenGL to
> begin with and then not have to worry about these sorts of issues.
Yeah. Unfortunately, there a few reasons developers use DirectX that
aren't easily written off:
(a) hardware manufacturers tend to do a better job of their DirectX
drivers and support on their consumer cards; Quality OpenGL is
relegated to pro models.
(b) Until recently, OpenGL sucked compared to recent DirectX
versions. Only with OpenGL 2.0, which is still only now seeing
some adoption, is this rectified.
Hopefully if OpenGL 2 starts seeing good driver support etc we'll see a
move back toward OpenGL. Especially if it's not left to stagnate for
five years again.
--
Craig Ringer
