Hi there, I’m developing a web-based (Apache module) extension that I’d like to use OpenGL rendering for. The idea is that an HTTP response will be used to create a rendered bitmap which is returned in the request. I’d ideally like it to do all of its rendering off-screen, without being tied to any particular windowing system.
I’ve looked at pbuffers but have concluded that EXT_framebuffer_object is the way forward. I was under the impression that these new extensions are designed to operate independently of the underlying windowing system. However, the spec states “There is always one window-system-provided framebuffer, while application-created framebuffers can be created as desired.”
So, I’m a little confused and, in particular, am unsure how I should obtain/create a GL context to operate in. Do I still need to create a window to get a context? If so, this seems to remove one of the potential advantages of FBOs.
I’ve seen pbuffer hacks where a window is created and hidden but I was hoping to avoid this.
I’m currently developing on Win32 win GNU tools in the hope of being able to easily port the code to other platforms.
Any insights/suggestions would be much appreciated.
Simon.