What's New in OpenGL 4.1
OpenGL 4.1 at a glance
The OpenGL 4.1 and OpenGL Shading Language 4.10 Specifications were released on July 26, 2010.
OpenGL 4.1 improves OpenCL™ interoperability for accelerating computationally intensive visual applications and continues support for both the Core and Compatibility profiles first introduced with OpenGL 3.2, enabling developers to use a streamlined API or retain backwards compatibility for existing OpenGL code, depending on their market needs.
New features of OpenGL 4.1 include:
- Full compatibility with OpenGL ES 2.0 APIs for easier porting between mobile and desktop platforms
- The ability to query and load a binary for shader program objects to save re-compilation time
- The capability to bind programs individually to programmable stages for programming flexibility
- 64-bit floating-point component vertex shader inputs for higher geometric precision
- Multiple viewports for a rendering surface for increased rendering flexibility
New ARB extensions introduced with OpenGL 4.1 include:
- Linking OpenGL sync objects to OpenCL event objects for enhanced OpenCL interoperability
- The ability to set stencil values in a fragment shader for enhanced rendering flexibility
- Features to improve robustness, for example when running WebGL applications
- Callback mechanisms to receive enhanced errors and warning messages
API & GLSL specifications
- OpenGL 4.1 Core Profile Specification
- OpenGL 4.1 Compatibility Profile Specification
- OpenGL Shading Language 4.10.6 Specification
New ARB extensions
- GL_ARB_cl_event
- GL_ARB_debug_output
- GL_ARB_robustness
- GL_ARB_shader_stencil_export
- GLX_ARB_create_context_robustness
- WGL_ARB_create_context_robustness
Additional Links
Specifications and documentation for the OpenGL API and OpenGL Shading Language, as well as related APIs such as GLX, are available from OpenGL.org: