since the opengl api was introduced in 1992, it has grown into the industry's leading cross-platform 2d and 3d graphics api and its presence continues to grow every day.

    the opengl api is platform-independent and makes a distinction between immediate and display list modes. a display list stores specific sequences that can be recalled again later. the object descriptions can then be taken directly from the list, resulting in very high performance. however, if objects need to be manipulated frequently, the display list will have to be generated again from new. the opengl api provides a wide range of graphics features, from rendering a simple geometric point, line, or filled polygon, to the most sophisticated representations of curved surfaces with lighting and texture mapping. the some 330 routines of the opengl api provide software developers access to these graphics capabilities:

    for further information see the internet site www.sgi.com/software/opengl.