[NVIDIA] GeForce Release 180.37

• Pilote Linux 32Bit
  
• Pilote Linux 64Bit

OpenGL 3.1 Driver Release Notes

You need one of the following graphics cards to get access to the OpenGL 3.1 and GLSL 1.40 functionality:

Desktop

• Quadro FX 370, 570, 1700, 3700, 4600, 4700x2, 4800, 5600, 5800, Quadro VX200, Quadro CX
  
• GeForce 8000 series or higher; Geforce G100, GT120, 130, GTS 150, Geforce GTS 250, GeForce GTX 260, 280, 285 and 295, any ION based products.

Notebook

• Quadro FX 360M, 370M, 570M, 770M, 1600M, 1700M, 2700M, 3600M, 3700M
  
• GeForce 8000 series or higher

This driver implements all of GLSL 1.30 and all of OpenGL 3.0, and all of OpenGL 3.1 and GLSL 1.40, except for the following functionality:

• The std140, column_major and row_major layout qualifiers in GLSL 1.40
  
• The API call BindBufferRange() ignores the and parameters. In other words, BindBufferRange() behaves the same as BindBufferBase()

This driver exposes the following new extensions:
OpenGL 2.1 extensions:

• ARB_vertex_array_object
  
• ARB_framebuffer_object
  
• ARB_half_float_vertex

OpenGL 3.0 extensions:

• WGL_create_context
  
• GLX_create_context
  
• ARB_draw_instanced
  
• ARB_geometry_shader4
  
• ARB_texture_buffer_object

OpenGL 3.1 extensions:

• ARB_compatibility
  
• ARB_copy_buffer

The OpenGL 3.1 and GLSL 1.40 specifications, as well as the extension specifications, can be downloaded here: http://www.opengl.org/registry/

For any bugs or issues, please file a bug through the developer website: https://nvdeveloper.nvidia.com/

OpenGL 3.0 on NVIDIA Hardware FAQ

1) How do I start using OpenGL 3.0 or OpenGL 3.1 in my code base?

In order to use OpenGL 3.0 and later versions, an application should "opt in" to use these versions. There is a new context creation call CreateContextAttribsARB (for WGL and GLX defined in the WGL/GLX_ARB_create_context extensions) that you should use in order to request a context that supports OpenGL 3.0, or a later version.

2) I hear about deprecation and removing functionality from OpenGL. What is going on?

Together with OpenGL 3.0, the OpenGL ARB introduced a deprecation mechanism. Deprecation means that a feature is marked for removal from a future version of the OpenGL spec. It is not actually removed yet from OpenGL 3.0, but this means that future versions of OpenGL will likely remove some features. Several features are marked as deprecated in the OpenGL 3.0 specification (but none are removed).

The new OpenGL 3.1 specification removed those features that were marked as deprecated in OpenGL 3.0. However, the OpenGL ARB has recognized that there is a need to provide the new functionality that OpenGL 3.1 brings, and still support the removed functionality. To support that market need, the ARB_compatibility extension has been created. This single extension encapsulates all the removed functionality, and re-introduces that back into core OpenGL 3.1. The entry points and tokens in this extension have not changed. No “ARB” suffix has been attached, for example. Implementation of the ARB_compatibility extension is optional. Some OpenGL vendors might chose not to implement it. NVIDIA does support this extension across all its OpenGL 3.0/3.1 capable offerings. This means that if the ARB_compatibility extension name is present in the OpenGL extension string, that the OpenGL implementation supports a fully backwards compatible OpenGL 3.1.

NVIDIA recommends that developers always check for the presence of the ARB_compatibility extension name in the extension string when running on an OpenGL 3.1 or later platform, to ensure full backwards compatibility of existing OpenGL code.

The OpenGL ARB does not provide a separate ARB_compatibility extension document. Instead, the OpenGL ARB wrote two OpenGL 3.1 specifications. One contains only the core OpenGL 3.1 functionality with the deprecated features removed, and the other one contains the core OpenGL 3.1 functionality with all functionality that is part of the ARB_compatibility extension integrated. The ARB_compatibility functionality is clearly marked in that latter document. For the OpenGL Shading Language version 1.40, the OpenGL ARB wrote only one document, with the ARB_compatibility functionality integrated and clearly marked. These three specification documents can be downloaded from http://www.opengl.org/registry

3) Is NVIDIA going to remove functionality from OpenGL in the future?

NVIDIA has no interest in removing any feature from OpenGL that our ISVs rely on. NVIDIA believes in providing maximum functionality with minimal churn to developers. Hence, NVIDIA fully supports the ARB_compatibility extension, and is shipping OpenGL 3.1 drivers without any functionality removed, including any functionality that is marked deprecated in the OpenGL 3.0 specification.

4) Will existing applications still work on current and future shipping hardware?

NVIDIA has no plans for dropping support for OpenGL 2.1, and earlier versions, on our existing and future shipping hardware. As a result, all currently shipping applications will continue to work on NVIDIA's existing and future hardware.

5) What NVIDIA hardware will support OpenGL 3.0 or OpenGL 3.1?

The new features in OpenGL 3.0 and OpenGL 3.1 require G80, or newer hardware. Thus OpenGL 3.0/3.1 is not supported on NV3x, NV4x nor G7x hardware. This means you need one of the following NVIDIA graphics accelerators to use OpenGL 3.0/3.1:

Desktop

• Quadro FX 370, 570, 1700, 3700, 4600, 4700x2, 4800, 5600, 5800, Quadro VX200, Quadro CX
  
• GeForce 8000 series or higher; Geforce G100, GT120, 130, GTS 150, Geforce GTS 250, GeForce GTX 260, 280, 285 and 295, any ION based products.

Notebook

• Quadro FX 360M, 370M, 570M, 770M, 1600M, 1700M, 2700M, 3600M, 3700M
  
• GeForce 8000 series or higher

6) Will functionality marked as deprecated be slow on NVIDIA hardware?

No. NVIDIA understands that features on the deprecated list are critical to the business of a large part of our customer base. NIVIDIA will provide full performance, and will support, tune, and fix any issues, for any feature on the deprecated list. This means that all the functionality in the ARB_compatibility extension will continue to operate at maximum performance.