OpenGL and DirectX are different APIs for what is typically the same hardware. This course leverages the fact that if you know one of the two, you can quickly learn the other, including advanced features introduced in DirectX 11.1, OpenGL 4.3 and OpenGL ES 3.0.

We will explore the similarities and differences between the APIs. This will allow someone familiar with one of the APIs to see what the other API has to offer and what they need to know to use it. It will also offer a different point of view on the same underlying hardware, and shed some light on the drivers.

We will only be focusing on core OpenGL, and more specifically the approaches that resemble what’s done in DirectX, such as immutable textures. This not only makes it easier to move between the APIs, but results in a focus on performant use. For DirectX we will focus on DirectX 11, including parts of 11.1 where it has converged with OpenGL and OpenGL ES in its approach.

Level

Intermediate

Intended Audience

The course is intended for anyone with working familiarity in either OpenGL or DirectX that might be interested in what the other Application Programming Interface - API has to offer.

Prerequisites

Attendees should have working knowledge of DirectX 9 or above, OpenGL 2 or above or OpenGL ES 2 or above.

Presenter(s)

Karl Hillesland, AMD

Karl Hillesland has been using OpenGL since 1998 and DirectX since 2002 in both academia and industry. He received his PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2005 and has since worked in game and game middleware development at Electronic Arts (Maxis) and Pixelux Entertainment. He is now part of AMD's Advanced Technologies Initiatives group where he is responsible for graphics research and advising on future hardware.