what is better directX or openGL ??

[sofy2008]

Iam doing my graduation project and i need to do a project (Design simple dream home ..)which is build 2d home which the user draw( I use c# to program it )and then transfer it into 3D home and allow walk throw this virtual 3d home... which is better to do this transfer and drawing this 3D home..DirectX Or Open GL ??( I don't no any thing about both.. but i want to learn the best for my project ).. Thanks..

[El Corazon]

sofy2008 wrote:

what is better directX or openGL

short answer: both, neither, either... take your pick. Long answer: DirectX is designed for Windows operations and is a closed system, if you are on windows only, and C# only, chances are you will want to use DirectX. OpenGL is designed to be cross platform, and open. There are some advantages of the open system. It is far easier to find your scenegraphs for OpenGL for instance because of the openness issue. OpenGL is defined by committee, where-as DirectX is defined by one Company: Microsoft. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. You know what they say about committees, "a camel is a horse designed by a committee." ATI's got to get their two cents in, so does nVidia, so does Sun, so does... etc. Once everyone has put their two cents in, you've got some odd things. But on the good side, you are generally graphics card agnostic, tests are uniform, and extensions are available to pull in the latest stuff from your favorite vendor. With DirectX there is one way, or the highway, you say nothing, you obey everything. Don't like it? tough cookies, go play elsewhere. The advantages with DirectX is that it is generally efficient, if not sometimes convoluted, both because Microsoft can do anything they want, and they really don't have to listen to anyone else unless they feel like it that day. And of course the big thing for you, DirectX plays well with C#. Not to say you can't do OpenGL with C#, but you will find it usually easier to do DirectX. OpenGL is also designed to be language agnostic, you will find OpenGL for C/C++ mainly, but also for VB, Delphi, Fortran (yes, you heard that right), Perl, Python, Ruby, Scheme, D, C#, and many, many, many, many more. You might as well ask which is better, Fuji Apples or Granny Smiths? You'll get lots of opinions, but the real question is what is right for you, and no one can answer that except you. Personally, I prefer Fuji Apples and OpenGL. :) Plus I can plant the garden outside the house and make it wave in the breeze. :) -- modified at 12:53 Wednesday 19th September, 2007

_________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)

[Tim Craig]

El Corazon wrote:

OpenGL is defined by committee

And Microsoft was part of the original committee. Just shows you really need to be careful letting Microsoft near a standards effort.

El Corazon wrote:

DirectX is that it is generally efficient, if not sometimes convoluted

Like a lot of Microsoft API's, it appears to be the outgrowth of someone's thesis project. A lot of theory but little thought on what is needed in practice.

Save an endangered species. The American Engineer.

[Jeremy Falcon]

DirectX Pros: - It's a complete engine that'll handle stuff like audio, input, etc. - A lot of companies use it, so learning it may land you a job. Cons: - Uses COM, so it's inherently slower. - Windows Only. - The code required to get things going is bloated. OpenGL Pros: - Cross platform, if you want your games to also work on Macs, Linux, etc. - Fast and efficient. - It runs about 10 FPS faster on nVidia cards in Windows (pre Vista that is). Cons: - It's just a rendering pipeline, you'll still need to handle things like input, audio, etc. with another library. - DirectX dominates the Windows arena, and Windows dominates the desktop arena. I prefer OpenGL personally because I believe Windows isn't the only OS in the world. But, as far as what's really better or not, it depends on your circumstances. If you'd like to get a job in the gaming industry, learning DX may be a good choice. If you want cross platform, OGL is the way. So on and so forth. And remember, at the end of the day, making a good game has less to do with your choice of engine and more to do with the talent of your team.

Jeremy Falcon Oatmeal, It's What's for Dinner.[^]

[Tal Rashas Guardianship]

I think DX is better for you, you can modify the samples to match your needs

[Tal Rashas Guardianship]

Thank you for your wonderful analysis, I will choose to learn DX first