EGL (API) explained

EGL (OpenGL)
Author:	Khronos Group
Developer:	Khronos Group
Latest Release Version:	1.5^[1]
Programming Language:	C
Operating System:	Cross-platform
Platform:	Cross-platform
Genre:	API

EGL is an interface between Khronos rendering APIs (such as OpenGL, OpenGL ES or OpenVG) and the underlying native platform windowing system. EGL handles graphics context management, surface/buffer binding, rendering synchronization, and enables "high-performance, accelerated, mixed-mode 2D and 3D rendering using other Khronos APIs."^[2] EGL is managed by the non-profit technology consortium Khronos Group.

The acronym EGL is an initialism, which starting from EGL version 1.2 refers to Khronos Native Platform Graphics Interface.^[3] Prior to version 1.2, the name of the EGL specification was OpenGL ES Native Platform Graphics Interface.^[4] X.Org development documentation glossary defines EGL as "Embedded-System Graphics Library".^[5]

Adoption

• The BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry Tablet OS mobile device operating system uses EGL for 3D graphics rendering. Both support EGL version 1.4.^[6]
• The Android mobile device operating system uses EGL for 3D graphics rendering.^[7]
• The Wayland display server protocol uses EGL.^[8] It is implemented in a way that Wayland clients will draw directly to the framebuffer using EGL.
• Mesa 3D has an implementation of EGL formerly known as Eagle.^[9]
• The Mir display server protocol by Canonical Ltd. uses EGL.^[10]
• The Simple DirectMedia Layer toolkit has been ported to use EGL. It can use Xlib, write directly to the framebuffer or use EGL.
• The Raspberry Pi single-board computer has an EGL interface to hardware-accelerated 3D graphics rendering.^[11]
• The proprietary Nvidia driver 331.13 BETA from 4 October 2013 supports the EGL API.^[12]
• Tizen OS uses EGL with either OpenGL ES 1.1 or OpenGL ES 2.0 for 3D graphics rendering^[13]

Implementations

• Mesa is a free and open-source software implementation of many graphic rendering APIs; among them is EGL.
• Generic Buffer Management is an API to manage buffers.

See also

• WGL – the equivalent Windows interface to OpenGL
• CGL – the equivalent OS X interface to OpenGL
• GLX – the equivalent X11 interface to OpenGL
  • AIGLX – an attempt to accelerate GLX
• WSI – the Vulkan Window System Interface (WSI) does for Vulkan what EGL does for OpenGL ES.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Khronos releases EGL 1.5 specification . . 2014-03-19 . 2014-03-20.
2. http://www.khronos.org/egl/ EGL Overview
3. http://www.khronos.org/registry/egl/specs/eglspec.1.2.pdf EGL 1.2 Specification
4. http://www.khronos.org/registry/egl/specs/eglspec.1.0.pdf EGL 1.0 Specification
5. http://www.x.org/wiki/Development/Documentation/Glossary#EGL EGL in X.Org development documentation glossary
6. Web site: Developer Guide . 2014-05-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131010082650/http://developer.blackberry.com/native/documentation/core/opengl_es_developer_guide.html . 2013-10-10 . dead .
7. Web site: Gingerbread .
8. Web site: Pekka Paalanen: What does EGL do in the Wayland stack . 10 March 2012 .
9. http://www.mesa3d.org/egl.html Mesa EGL
10. Web site: MirSpec . 2013-03-07 . 2013-03-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130306104754/https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MirSpec . dead .
11. http://elinux.org/RPi_VideoCore_APIs
12. Web site: Added support for the EGL API on 32-bit platforms. Currently, the supported client APIs are OpenGL ES 1.1, 2.0 and 3.0, and the only supported window system backend is X11. . 2013-10-04 . 2013-10-05.
13. Web site: Porting Guide/Graphics and UI - Tizen Wiki .