What is "Core since version"?

[Devendra]

Hi All,

What is meant by "Core since version" mentioned in OpenGL API documentation? For example, in http://www.opengl.org/wiki/GLAPI/glBindFramebuffer Core since version is 3.0. Does it mean that the API is available only in 3.0 version or above. But that does not seem true because I can use this API successfully in some systems with OpenGL version 2.1.

Please clarify.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Devendra

[Dark Photon]

OpenGL functionality frequently is first available via OpenGL extensions (ARB/EXT/NV/AMD/etc. suffixes on the symbols). That's when you can first use it.

At some point if it's widely accepted, it is promoted into the base OpenGL specification. There are two profiles in the base specification: core profile and compatibility profile. If it is promoted into the core profile in the OpenGL specification, that is what "Core since version" means. Alfonse (who is the one that primarily updates these API pages in the wiki) doesn't like the Compatibility profile, so he only mentions the Core profile.

[Devendra]

OpenGL functionality frequently is first available via OpenGL extensions (ARB/EXT/NV/AMD/etc. suffixes on the symbols). That's when you can first use it.

At some point if it's widely accepted, it is promoted into the base OpenGL specification. There are two profiles in the base specification: core profile and compatibility profile. If it is promoted into the core profile in the OpenGL specification, that is what "Core since version" means. Alfonse (who is the one that primarily updates these API pages in the wiki) doesn't like the Compatibility profile, so he only mentions the Core profile.

Got it. Thanks for your reply!!