Hello,
Im trying to start off with Graphics progamming and a few recurring doubts seem to crop up -
What exactly is a Graphic Engine( 3d or 2d) or more precisely what's the difference between an Engine and an api(ie. DirectX and Opengl)?
Here's what i know, DirectX(Direct3d) and OpenGl provide an abstraction over the hardware thus eliminating the need to write hardware dependant low level code.And an engine would be an abstraction(a layer of sorts) over the api.
Clear so far? But here's my doubt- So will an engine have to be written for one particular api(ie. either DirectX or OpenGL). Are there engines that support both apis? And if so, wont the end product be too bloated?
Now, these doubts stemmed from my confusion on whether to study DirectX or OpenGL (there's enough flames on other forums about this). Thats the second doubt.DirectX was said to be extremely confusing and poorly programmed in its earlier versions but what about Dx9, its latest avatar?OpenGl on the other hand is said to be cleaner and better designed but it lacks the hardware support that microsoft money can buy.So, which one do u guys root for and why?
Also, if engines are indeed written on top of apis why not learn how to use an open source engine(like Ogre) directly instead of starting with directX/OpenGl ?
In asking these doubts, i profess that im only looking for information before i get my hands dirty studying.So please, no flames and no "You're a noob posts"
Thx and Regards,
Alex
Im trying to start off with Graphics progamming and a few recurring doubts seem to crop up -
What exactly is a Graphic Engine( 3d or 2d) or more precisely what's the difference between an Engine and an api(ie. DirectX and Opengl)?
Here's what i know, DirectX(Direct3d) and OpenGl provide an abstraction over the hardware thus eliminating the need to write hardware dependant low level code.And an engine would be an abstraction(a layer of sorts) over the api.
Clear so far? But here's my doubt- So will an engine have to be written for one particular api(ie. either DirectX or OpenGL). Are there engines that support both apis? And if so, wont the end product be too bloated?
Now, these doubts stemmed from my confusion on whether to study DirectX or OpenGL (there's enough flames on other forums about this). Thats the second doubt.DirectX was said to be extremely confusing and poorly programmed in its earlier versions but what about Dx9, its latest avatar?OpenGl on the other hand is said to be cleaner and better designed but it lacks the hardware support that microsoft money can buy.So, which one do u guys root for and why?
Also, if engines are indeed written on top of apis why not learn how to use an open source engine(like Ogre) directly instead of starting with directX/OpenGl ?
In asking these doubts, i profess that im only looking for information before i get my hands dirty studying.So please, no flames and no "You're a noob posts"
Thx and Regards,
Alex