SGI, Microsoft deal defuses 3-D API battle

Electronic News, Dec 15, 1997 by Peter Brown

Mountain View, Calif.--The 3-D application programming interface (API) war might be over, at least for the moment. Last week, Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI) and Microsoft formed an alliance to port a 3-D graphics device driver kit (DDK) to Microsoft's Windows operating system based on the OpenGL graphics API.

For a number of months now, SGI's OpenGL and Microsoft's Direct3D API have engaged in a not-so-silent battle for supremacy in the graphics industry. Currently, Direct3D is by far the leader in the game community; however, some note its leadership might be a result of a software bottleneck Microsoft had imposed on other 3-D graphics APIs, such as OpenGL.

OpenGL currently dominates in the high-end computer market for applications including CAD/CAM, World Wide Web graphics and other workstation graphics applications. OpenGL has recently been gathering support from various game and system vendors who would like to see the API become more of a player in the gaming industry.

One of the issues for the OpenGL camp has been a lack of access to installable driver kits from Microsoft on the Windows platform. More than that, driver kits for Windows have not been optimized for OpenGL at all. This is the first time that OpenGL driver kits will be part of the Windows platform--including the Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0 and 5.0 operating systems.

However, industry observers believe this agreement might be a result of SGI's decision to begin building low-end workstations based on Windows NT and Intel's standard microprocessors (EN, Sept. 15). The question now is will Microsoft sacrifice its Direct3D API to bring about the proliferation of Windows NT or continue to wage a now silent battle with OpenGL for graphical API dominance?

"I think it's been a topic worthy of debate and there have been some strong feelings and people who have legitimate technical positions," said John Schimpf, OpenGL product manager at SGI. "You can never say for sure if the debate is over, but this ends the topic of availability. Now IHVs (independent hardware vendors) will have a choice on the Windows platform, and that's something they have been wanting for a while."

Mr. Schimpf said Microsoft has a strong desire to see Windows NT emerge on the low-end workstation platform and having the availability of OpenGL as part of the operating system makes it a natural option for the IHVs.

Andy Fischer, senior analyst with Jon Peddie Associates, a market research firm based in Tiburon, Calif., said the biggest change as a result of the agreement is the end to some of the confusion--confusion from hardware and software suppliers to where they would get driver development for OpenGL on a Windows platform.

"I think this shows evidence that it is a hard sell to have these two APIs exist in two exclusive domains," said Mr. Fischer. "The question now is, is there more here than meets the eye? Will another API come out of the alliance, or will a merging of the two be something that is now discussed? This does seem to end the religious war on the part of the ISVs for various Windows platforms."

The OpenGL drivers will now be distributed by Microsoft but developed jointly by SGI and Microsoft. Microsoft will also distribute a version of the existing Direct3D API DDK, which can also be found in the DirectX set of API DDK. The 3-D graphics DDK for OpenGL is slated for availability in the spring of 1998.

Last summer, a number of game developers sent an open letter to Microsoft calling on the software company to release its Windows 95 mini-client driver (MCD) and DirectDraw bindings for OpenGL. At that time, Microsoft stated it had no intention of releasing the driver-enabled Windows 95 software and was going to hold a meeting to determine what game developers wanted in Direct3D that they could only find in OpenGL. However, instead of calling one graphics API better than another, many of the game developers said their main reason for wanting OpenGL supported on Windows 95 was so that they could have a choice rather than be forced into using one single programming interface. Microsoft has obviously changed its mind regarding the OpenGL drivers.

"I think this will probably help calm down the emotional aspect that has been going on between both camps," said Mr. Schimpf. "I hope this will get back to what originally started this stir--creating applications the IHVs need for their customers."