1. OpenGL is an immediate mode graphics programming API originally developed by SGI based on their previous proprietary Iris GL, and became in industry standard several years ago. It is defined and maintained by the Architectural Revision Board (ARB), an organization that includes members as SGI, IBM, and DEC, and Microsoft. OpenGL provides a complete feature set for 2D and 3D graphics operations in a pipelined hardware accelerated architecture for triangle and polygon rendering. In a broader sense, OpenGL is a powerful and generic toolset for hardware assisted computer graphics. From 3DFX-HOWTO