On Windows, how does OpenGL differ from DirectX?

Question

I don\'t have any hands on experience with graphics programming. I got this doubt when I was reading about graphics programming.

From what I understand, because Wind

Answer 1

The problem is more that there was direct hardware access and no convenient abstract layer. Software vendors don't want to spend all their time writing support for each new card so they push Microsoft to implement the abstraction.

The choice was OpenGL or invent a new layer, various reasons led to the latter.

Vista+ can convert OpenGL to DirectX, and conversely Wine can convert DirectX to OpenGL.