Hi,
Could someone please show me the basics of using vertex and pixel shaders with OpenGL on Windows?

I do not want to use Cg right now. All I want to know is what program compiles the assembler instructions, and what OpenGL functions are used to call the programs and run them right now. Are there ARB functions for vertex and pixel shaders for all Nvidia (Geforce3+) and ATI cards that are standard?

Thanks