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-<html>
-
-<head><title>Mesa FAQ</title></head>
-
-<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="mesa.css"></head>
-
-<BODY>
-
-
-<center>
-<h1>Mesa Frequently Asked Questions</h1>
-Last updated: 21 October 2004
-</center>
-
-<br>
-<br>
-<h2>Index</h2>
-<a href="#part1">1. High-level Questions and Answers</a>
-<br>
-<a href="#part2">2. Compilation and Installation Problems</a>
-<br>
-<a href="#part3">3. Runtime / Rendering Problems</a>
-<br>
-<a href="#part4">4. Developer Questions</a>
-<br>
-<br>
-<br>
-
-
-
-<a name="part1">
-</a><h1><a name="part1">1. High-level Questions and Answers</a></h1>
-
-<h2><a name="part1">1.1 What is Mesa?</a></h2>
-<p>
-<a name="part1">Mesa is an open-source implementation of the OpenGL specification.
-OpenGL is a programming library for writing interactive 3D applications.
-See the </a><a href="http://www.opengl.org/">OpenGL website</a> for more
-information.
-</p>
-<p>
-Mesa 6.x supports the OpenGL 1.5 specification.
-</p>
-
-
-<h2>1.2 Does Mesa support/use graphics hardware?</h2>
-<p>
-Yes. Specifically, Mesa serves as the OpenGL core for the open-source DRI
-drivers for XFree86/X.org. See the <a href="http://dri.sf.net/">DRI
-website</a> for more information.
-</p>
-<p>
-There have been other hardware drivers for Mesa over the years (such as
-the 3Dfx Glide/Voodoo driver, an old S3 driver, etc) but the DRI drivers
-are the modern ones.
-</p>
-
-<h2>1.3 What purpose does Mesa serve today?</h2>
-<p>
-Hardware-accelerated OpenGL implementations are available for most popular
-operating systems today.
-Still, Mesa serves at least these purposes:
-</p>
-<ul>
-<li>Mesa is used as the core of the open-source XFree86/X.org DRI
- hardware drivers.
-</li>
-<li>Mesa is quite portable and allows OpenGL to be used on systems
- that have no other OpenGL solution.
-</li>
-<li>Software rendering with Mesa serves as a reference for validating the
- hardware drivers.
-</li>
-<li>A software implementation of OpenGL is useful for experimentation,
- such as testing new rendering techniques.
-</li>
-<li>Mesa can render images with deep color channels: 16-bit integer
- and 32-bit floating point color channels are supported.
- This capability is only now appearing in hardware.
-</li>
-<li>Mesa's internal limits (max lights, clip planes, texture size, etc) can be
- changed for special needs (hardware limits are hard to overcome).
-</li>
-</ul>
-
-
-<h2>1.4 What's the difference between"Stand-Alone" Mesa and the DRI drivers?</h2>
-<p>
-<em>Stand-alone Mesa</em> is the original incarnation of Mesa.
-On systems running the X Window System it does all its rendering through
-the Xlib API:
-<ul>
-<li>The GLX API is supported, but it's really just an emulation of the
- real thing.
-<li>The GLX wire protocol is not supported and there's no OpenGL extension
- loaded by the X server.
-<li>There is no hardware acceleration.
-<li>The OpenGL library, libGL.so, contains everything (the programming API,
- the GLX functions and all the rendering code).
-</ul>
-</p>
-<p>
-Alternately, Mesa acts as the core for a number of OpenGL hardware drivers
-within the DRI (Direct Rendering Infrastructure):
-<ul>
-<li>The libGL.so library provides the GL and GLX API functions, a GLX
- protocol encoder, and a device driver loader.
-<li>The device driver modules (such as r200_dri.so) contain a built-in
- copy of the core Mesa code.
-<li>The X server loads the GLX module.
- The GLX module decodes incoming GLX protocol and dispatches the commands
- to a rendering module.
- For the DRI, this module is basically a software Mesa renderer.
-</ul>
-
-
-
-<h2>1.5 How do I upgrade my DRI installation to use a new Mesa release?</h2>
-<p>
-This wasn't easy in the past.
-Now, the DRI drivers are included in the Mesa tree and can be compiled
-separately from the X server.
-Just follow the Mesa <a href="install.html">compilation instructions</a>.
-</p>
-
-
-<h2>1.6 Are there other open-source implementations of OpenGL?</h2>
-<p>
-Yes, SGI's <a href="http://oss.sgi.com/projects/ogl-sample/index.html"
-target="_parent">
-OpenGL Sample Implemenation (SI)</a> is available.
-The SI was written during the time that OpenGL was originally designed.
-Unfortunately, development of the SI has stagnated.
-Mesa is much more up to date with modern features and extensions.
-</p>
-
-<p>
-<a href="http://ogl-es.sourceforge.net" target="_parent">Vincent</a> is
-an open-source implementation of OpenGL ES for mobile devices.
-
-<p>
-<a href="http://www.dsbox.com/minigl.html" target="_parent">miniGL</a>
-is a subset of OpenGL for PalmOS devices.
-
-<p>
-<a href="http://fabrice.bellard.free.fr/TinyGL/"
-target="_parent">TinyGL</a> is a subset of OpenGL.
-</p>
-
-<p>
-<a href="http://softgl.studierstube.org/" target="_parent">SoftGL</a>
-is an OpenGL subset for mobile devices.
-</p>
-
-<p>
-<a href="http://chromium.sourceforge.net/" target="_parent">Chromium</a>
-isn't a conventional OpenGL implementation (it's layered upon OpenGL),
-but it does export the OpenGL API. It allows tiled rendering, sort-last
-rendering, etc.
-</p>
-
-<p>
-There may be other open OpenGL implementations, but Mesa is the most
-popular and feature-complete.
-</p>
-
-
-
-<br>
-<br>
-
-
-<a name="part2">
-</a><h1><a name="part2">2. Compilation and Installation Problems</a></h1>
-
-
-<h2><a name="part2">2.1 What's the easiest way to install Mesa?</a></h2>
-<p>
-<a name="part2">If you're using a Linux-based system, your distro CD most likely already
-has Mesa packages (like RPM or DEB) which you can easily install.
-</a></p>
-
-
-<h2><a name="part2">2.2 Running <code>configure; make</code> doesn't Work</a></h2>
-<p>
-Mesa no longer supports GNU autoconf/automake. Why?
-<ul>
-<li>It seemed to seldom work on anything but Linux
-<li>The config files were hard to maintain and hard to understand
-<li>libtool caused a lot of grief
-</ul>
-
-<p>
-Now Mesa again uses a conventional Makefile system (as it did originally).
-Basically, each Makefile in the tree includes one of the configuration
-files from the config/ directory.
-The config files specify all the variables for a variety of popular systems.
-</p>
-
-
-<h2><a name="part2">2.3 I get undefined symbols such as bgnpolygon, v3f, etc...</a></h2>
-<p>
-<a name="part2">You're application is written in IRIS GL, not OpenGL.
-IRIS GL was the predecessor to OpenGL and is a different thing (almost)
-entirely.
-Mesa's not the solution.
-</a></p>
-
-
-<h2><a name="part2">2.4 Where is the GLUT library?</a></h2>
-<p>
-<a name="part2">GLUT (OpenGL Utility Toolkit) is in the separate MesaGLUT-x.y.z.tar.gz file.
-If you don't already have GLUT installed, you should grab the MesaGLUT
-package and compile it with the rest of Mesa.
-</a></p>
-
-
-
-<h2><a name="part2">2.5 What's the proper place for the libraries and headers?</a></h2>
-<p>
-<a name="part2">On Linux-based systems you'll want to follow the
-</a><a href="http://oss.sgi.com/projects/ogl-sample/ABI/index.html"
-target="_parent">Linux ABI</a> standard.
-Basically you'll want the following:
-</p>
-<ul>
-<li>/usr/include/GL/gl.h - the main OpenGL header
-</li><li>/usr/include/GL/glu.h - the OpenGL GLU (utility) header
-</li><li>/usr/include/GL/glx.h - the OpenGL GLX header
-</li><li>/usr/include/GL/glext.h - the OpenGL extensions header
-</li><li>/usr/include/GL/glxext.h - the OpenGL GLX extensions header
-</li><li>/usr/include/GL/osmesa.h - the Mesa off-screen rendering header
-</li><li>/usr/lib/libGL.so - a symlink to libGL.so.1
-</li><li>/usr/lib/libGL.so.1 - a symlink to libGL.so.1.xyz
-</li><li>/usr/lib/libGL.so.xyz - the actual OpenGL/Mesa library. xyz denotes the
-Mesa version number.
-</li><li>/usr/lib/libGLU.so - a symlink to libGLU.so.1
-</li><li>/usr/lib/libGLU.so.1 - a symlink to libGLU.so.1.3.xyz
-</li><li>/usr/lib/libGLU.so.xyz - the OpenGL Utility library. xyz denotes the Mesa
-version number.
-</li></ul>
-<p>
-After installing XFree86/X.org and the DRI drivers, some of these files
-may be symlinks into the /usr/X11R6/ tree.
-</p>
-<p>
-The old-style Makefile system doesn't install the Mesa libraries; it's
-up to you to copy them (and the headers) to the right place.
-</p>
-<p>
-The GLUT header and library should go in the same directories.
-</p>
-<br>
-<br>
-
-
-<a name="part3">
-</a><h1><a name="part3">3. Runtime / Rendering Problems</a></h1>
-
-<h2><a name="part3">3.1 Rendering is slow / why isn't my graphics hardware being used?</a></h2>
-<p>
-<a name="part3">Stand-alone Mesa (downloaded as MesaLib-x.y.z.tar.gz) doesn't have any
-support for hardware acceleration (with the exception of the 3DFX Voodoo
-driver).
-</a></p>
-<p>
-<a name="part3">What you really want is a DRI or NVIDIA (or another vendor's OpenGL) driver
-for your particular hardware.
-</a></p>
-<p>
-<a name="part3">You can run the <code>glxinfo</code> program to learn about your OpenGL
-library.
-Look for the GL_VENDOR and GL_RENDERER values.
-That will identify who's OpenGL library you're using and what sort of
-hardware it has detected.
-</a></p>
-<p>
-<a name="part3">If your DRI-based driver isn't working, go to the
-</a><a href="http://dri.sf.net/" target="_parent">DRI website</a> for trouble-shooting information.
-</p>
-
-
-<h2>3.2 I'm seeing errors in depth (Z) buffering. Why?</h2>
-<p>
-Make sure the ratio of the far to near clipping planes isn't too great.
-Look
-<a href="http://www.sgi.com/software/opengl/advanced97/notes/node18.html"
-target="_parent">
-here</a> for details.
-</p>
-<p>
-Mesa uses a 16-bit depth buffer by default which is smaller and faster
-to clear than a 32-bit buffer but not as accurate.
-If you need a deeper you can modify the parameters to
-<code> glXChooseVisual</code> in your code.
-</p>
-
-
-<h2>3.3 Why Isn't depth buffering working at all?</h2>
-<p>
-Be sure you're requesting a depth buffered-visual. If you set the MESA_DEBUG
-environment variable it will warn you about trying to enable depth testing
-when you don't have a depth buffer.
-</p>
-<p>Specifically, make sure <code>glutInitDisplayMode</code> is being called
-with <code>GLUT_DEPTH</code> or <code>glXChooseVisual</code> is being
-called with a non-zero value for GLX_DEPTH_SIZE.
-</p>
-<p>This discussion applies to stencil buffers, accumulation buffers and
-alpha channels too.
-</p>
-
-
-<h2>3.4 Why does glGetString() always return NULL?</h2>
-<p>
-Be sure you have an active/current OpenGL rendering context before
-calling glGetString.
-</p>
-
-
-<h2>3.5 GL_POINTS and GL_LINES don't touch the right pixels</h2>
-<p>
-If you're trying to draw a filled region by using GL_POINTS or GL_LINES
-and seeing holes or gaps it's because of a float-to-int rounding problem.
-But this is not a bug.
-See Appendix H of the OpenGL Programming Guide - "OpenGL Correctness Tips".
-Basically, applying a translation of (0.375, 0.375, 0.0) to your coordinates
-will fix the problem.
-</p>
-
-<br>
-<br>
-
-
-<a name="part4">
-</a><h1><a name="part4">4. Developer Questions</a></h1>
-
-<h2><a name="part4">4.1 How can I contribute?</a></h2>
-<p>
-<a name="part4">First, join the Mesa3d-dev mailing list. That's where Mesa development
-is discussed.
-</a></p>
-<p>
-<a name="part4">The </a><a href="http://www.opengl.org/developers/documentation/specs.html" target="_parent">
-OpenGL Specification</a> is the bible for OpenGL implemention work.
-You should read it.
-</p>
-<p>Most of the Mesa development work involves implementing new OpenGL
-extensions, writing hardware drivers (for the DRI), and code optimization.
-</p>
-
-<h2>4.2 How do I write a new device driver?</h2>
-<p>
-Unfortunately, writing a device driver isn't easy.
-It requires detailed understanding of OpenGL, the Mesa code, and your
-target hardware/operating system.
-3D graphics are not simple.
-</p>
-<p>
-The best way to get started is to use an existing driver as your starting
-point.
-For a software driver, the X11 and OSMesa drivers are good examples.
-For a hardware driver, the Radeon and R200 DRI drivers are good examples.
-</p>
-<p>The DRI website has more information about writing hardware drivers.
-The process isn't well document because the Mesa driver interface changes
-over time, and we seldome have spare time for writing documentation.
-That being said, many people have managed to figure out the process.
-</p>
-<p>
-Joining the appropriate mailing lists and asking questions (and searching
-the archives) is a good way to get information.
-</p>
-
-
-<h2>4.3 Why isn't GL_EXT_texture_compression_s3tc implemented in Mesa and/or the DRI drivers?</h2>
-<p>
-The <a href="http://oss.sgi.com/projects/ogl-sample/registry/EXT/texture_compression_s3tc.txt" target="_parent">specification for the extension</a>
-indicates that there are intellectual property (IP) and/or patent issues
-to be dealt with.
-</p>
-<p>We've been unsucessful in getting a response from S3 (or whoever owns
-the IP nowadays) to indicate whether or not an open source project can
-implement the extension (specifically the compression/decompression
-algorithms).
-</p>
-<p>
-Until we can get official permission to do so, this extension will not
-be implemented in Mesa.
-</p>
-
-
-</body>
-</html>