ARB meeting notes.

Sorry for the somewhat off-topic post, but I feel this issue needs to be addressed.

The ARB meeting notes are very useful to developers, in that we can plan for upcoming extensions. If we know what extensions are coming up, it helps us plan for what features to take advantage of. Also, it gives us some idea where the major vendors are headed. That said, I’m wondering why the ARB meeting notes are no longer being posted. Anyone who has an opinion on this topic, please feel free to chime in.

Thanks,
Kevin B

I can only second this. I would love to see the ARB meeting notes!

I agree - this is a good idea.

I’m also waiting for the ARB meeting notes. I’d love to see them too!

So am I !

I think it can safely be said that nobody is unwilling to have ARB meeting notes. So there’s no need for a chorus of “I’m waiting too!” messages.

That said, the last notes that were posted were from the December meeting of last year, when the FBO spec was near-final. At that time, they were 3 meeting behind already, so they posted notes from all of them simultaneously. No reason was ever stated for why they got behind.

I wonder if Jon Leech (the guy who did the last notes) works for SGI anymore. Or maybe, with SGI’s impending doom, other people have been let go such that he has other responsibilities which are more important. Or maybe it’s something else entirely.

OK, maybe no ARB notes by SGI.

But I think ATI/NVIDIA has enough profit to do the job.

<provocative>
Well, couldn’t the lack of information about OpenGL (be it the meeting notes, or the lack of a new spec this summer*) be the harbinger of its decline? Take the possible troubles with Windows Vista in account, one could pessimistically think that OpenGL on Windows has seen its best days?
</provocative>

*Yes, I know that there weren’t that many new features in the hw justifying a new spec. GLSL covers also all of the vertex/fragment shaders features of the future. Maybe with the new generation (next year?)of WGF2.0 compatible hardware will require the extension of the API’s

Yes, but this API has to get designed now to be usable when the hardware hits the market. That is what ARB is there actually. I would really love to hear what they were discussing lately

this is just business as normal, the meeting notes have never come out regulary after a meeting for years.
eg like last time i believe notes for 2/3 meetings were released at the same time. (hmm just saw korval had already mentioned this)
thus i wouldnt read anything into this

Well, couldn’t the lack of information about OpenGL be the harbinger of its decline?

Originally posted by ScottManDeath:
GLSL covers also all of the vertex/fragment shaders features of the future. Maybe with the new generation (next year?)of WGF2.0 compatible hardware will require the extension of the API’s
Speaking of future technologies, I took a glance on the two papers 3DLABS pointed out and I’m somewhat curious about this “geometry shaders” stuff.
In those papers there were a different pipe, something like

1. Vertex shader
2. Geometry Shader
3. Vertex shader for new geometry
4. Fragment shader

Could you please point me some hints/rumors on that things?

A geometry shader is something like a vertex program that can generate/manipulate several vertices.

No,a geometry shader it’s not for processing many vertices. It’s primary goal is to generate polygons.

Some discussion happened at the suggestions forum

http://www.opengl.org/discussion_boards/cgi_directory/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=7;t=000512

*ok, you edited your post

Hey, I would really love to continue that thread

As it always is, that one got stuck while I was making some suggestions It would be really interesting to hear some comments about my shader idea…