Graphics APIs provide a platform the ability to access specialized hardware features without having to write hardware-specific code. The 3 main APIs are:
OpenGL - OpenGL was first released in 1992 by Silicon Graphics. it was creates as an open standard. OpenGL is available over many different platforms such as MacOS, windows, and BEOS. Even though it was creates as an open standard, the changed that are made to OpenGL must all be approves by the Architectural Review Board (ARB). ARB consists of representatives from some of the major companies in the Graphics industry. OpenGL it is strictly a graphics API. One aspect of OpenGL that makes it well suited for graphics development is that it is device independent. Microsoft DirectX - DirectX is an advanced suite of multimedia APIs built into the windows operating system. DirectX was first released in 1995 and quickly became a recognized standard for multimedia applications developed on Microsoft windows. DirectX uses two drivers, the Hardware abstraction layer and the Hardware emulation layer to request the hardware devices.when you eventually initialize DirectX is checks the hardware to see if the hardware supports certain capabilities. OpenGL ES - OpenGL stands for OpenGL for Embedded Systems, this is a subsection for 2D and 3D rendering like the ones you see in games. This is designed for embedded systems like smartphones, computer tables, and video game consoles. This API is both cross language and also cross platform. OpenGL ES is manages by the non=profit technology consortium Khronos group |