Free High Level API

[iamjaideep80]

HI...

I want to create a 3d real time lighting application that works on Linux and Windows. It should have good scene graph structure. Should be able to handle heavy objects.
I went thru Open Inventor docs. It is good. It has manipulator support, animation engine etc. But it is not free. SGI OI is free but I think they stopped the development, and they don't have 64 bit support for Linux.
How is OpenSceneGraph ?? Is it as strong as Open Inventor.
Is there any other Free High Level API for OpenGL???
And I am thinking from long term use and development of my application. So I don't want any solution which may disappear tomorrow from market...

Plz Help....

----Jaideep

[ZbuffeR]

There is OpenSceneGraph, and OpenSG, that are related, but with differences.

A comparison from OpenSG website :
http://opensg.vrsource.org/trac/wiki/Comparison

I did not use either, so can not recommend one against the other. Both seem good and should last long enough.

[Trenki]

You could try coin3d. It claims to be fully backward compatible to OpenInventor 2.1 and it is free.

[ www.trenki.net | vector_math (3d math library) | software renderer ]

[Robert Osfield]

There is OpenSceneGraph, and OpenSG, that are related, but with differences.

They are both scene graphs, but the two projects aren't related beyond sharing the word "Open" in their name. Both projects grow up in the vacuum left behind by the implosion that was Fahrenheit, but grew up from different hartlands - OpenSceneGraph from vis-sim and general visualization, and OpenSG from VR/CAD.

A comparison from OpenSG website :
http://opensg.vrsource.org/trac/wiki/Comparison

A comparison, but rather out of date...

The best thing to do is download both and try them out.

W.r.t Coin3D, its GPL'd rather LGPL'd like OpenSceneGaph/OpenSG, so unless your application is GPL'd then Coin3D is not something to consider. Strickly speaking OpenSceneGraph isn't LGPL, rather a further relaxation of the LGPL to allow for static linking and embedding, so licensing wise its the most flexible of all.

As a general note OpenInventor is ancient design, so class design and implementation of even its clones are very reminiscent of the early nineties. It was impressive for its time, but a decade and a half has passed since OpenInventor was cutting edge.

Robert.