source: trunk/doc/src/qtopiacore-opengl.qdoc@ 357

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/*!
\page qt-embedded-opengl.html

\title Qt for Embedded Linux and OpenGL
\ingroup qt-embedded-linux

\section1 Introduction

\l {http://www.opengl.org}{OpenGL} is an industry standard API for
2D/3D graphics. It provides a powerful, low-level interface between
software and acceleration hardware, and it is operating system and
window system independent.

\l {http://www.khronos.org/opengles}{OpenGL ES} is a subset
of the \l {http://www.opengl.org}{OpenGL} standard.
Because it is meant for use in embedded systems, it has a smaller,
more constrained API. 

For reference, Nokia provides a plugin which integrates \l
{http://www.khronos.org/opengles}{OpenGL ES} with Qt for Embedded Linux,
but Qt for Embedded Linux can be adapted to a wide range of OpenGL
versions.

There are three ways to use OpenGL with Qt for Embedded Linux:
\list
  \o Perform OpenGL 3D graphics operations in applications;
  \o Accelerate normal 2D painting operations; 
  \o Implement window compositing and special effects.
\endlist

Qt for Embedded Linux is shipped with a reference integration example
that demonstrates all three uses.

\section2 Using OpenGL 3D Graphics in Applications

The \l {QtOpenGL module} offers classes that make it easy to draw 3D
graphics in GUI applications. The module API is cross-platform, so it
is also available on Windows, X11, and Mac OS X.

To use OpenGL-enabled widgets in a Qt for Embedded Linux application,
all that is required is to subclass the QGLWidget and draw into instances of
the subclass with standard OpenGL functions. 

\section2 Using OpenGL to Accelerate Normal 2D Painting

Qt provides QOpenGLPaintEngine, a subclass of QPaintEngine that
translates QPainter operations into OpenGL calls. This specialized
paint engine can be used to improve 2D rendering performance on
appropriate hardware. It can also overlay controls and decorations
onto 3D scenes drawn using OpenGL.

\section2 Using OpenGL to Implement Window Compositing and Effects

Qt for Embedded Linux includes a complete windowing system, which implements
real transparency. The windowing system can be accelerated using
OpenGL to implement top level window compositing. This makes it easy
to add 3D effects to applications, for instance when windows are
minimized or maximized.

\section1 Acceleration Architecture

The diagram below shows the Qt for Embedded Linux painting architecture.

\image qt-embedded-opengl3.png

A client process widget uses a paint engine to draw into a window
surface. The server then combines the window surfaces and displays the
composition on the screen. This architecture lets you
control the steps of the painting process by subclassing. 

Subclassing QPaintEngine allows you to implement the QPainter API
using accelerated hardware.  Subclassing QWindowSurface lets you
decide the properties of the space your widgets will draw themselves
into, as well as which paint engine they should use to draw themselves
into that space.  Subclassing QScreen lets you control the creation of
window surfaces and lets you decide how to implement window
compositing.  Using subclassing, your implementation work is minimized
since you can reuse base class functionality you don't need to change.

The elements of an accelerated Qt for Embedded Linux system are shown in the
diagram below.

\image qt-embedded-opengl1.png

The applications, using the Qt API, do not depend on the presence of
the acceleration plugin. The plugin uses the graphics hardware to
accelerate painting primitives. Any operations not accelerated by the
plugin are done in software by the software paint engine.

To integrate an OpenGL implementation into Qt for Embedded Linux for a
particular platform, you use the same mechanisms you would use for
writing any other accelerated driver. Base classes, e.g., QGLScreen
and QWSGLWindowSurface, are provided to minimize the need for
reimplementing common functionality.

\section1 The Reference Integration

The \l{OpenGL for Embedded Systems Example} is the reference implementation
for integrating OpenGL ES and \l{http://www.khronos.org/egl/}{EGL} with
the graphics acceleration architecture of Qt for Embedded Linux.
(\l{http://www.khronos.org/egl/}{EGL} is a library that binds OpenGL ES to
native windowing systems.)

The diagram below shows how OpenGL ES is used within the acceleration architecture:

\image qt-embedded-opengl2.png

The example implements a screen driver plugin that demonstrates all
three uses of OpenGL in Qt for Embedded Linux: 2D graphics acceleration, 3D
graphics operations using the \l {QtOpenGL module}, and top-level
window compositing and special effects. The applications still do
not talk directly to the accelerated plugin. 

For 2D graphics, applications use the normal Qt painting API. The example accelerates 2D
painting by using the QOpenGLPaintEngine, which is included in the \l {QtOpenGL module}.

For 3D graphics applications use the OpenGL API directly, together with the functionality
in the Qt OpenGL support classes. The example supports this by creating a
QWSGLWindowSurface whenever a QGLWidget is instantiated.

All access to the display is done through OpenGL. The example subclasses
QWSGLWindowSurface implementation and uses the \l
{http://oss.sgi.com/projects/ogl-sample/registry/EXT/framebuffer_object.txt} 
{OpenGL Framebuffer Object extension} to draw windows into an offscreen buffer. This
lets the example use OpenGL to implement top level window compositing of opaque and
semi-transparent windows, and to provide a 3D animated transition effect as each new
window is shown.

The specific OpenGL library being used by the example restricts all
OpenGL operations to occur in a single process. Hence the example
creates instances of QWSGLWindowSurface only in the server process.
Other processes then perform 2D graphics by creating instances
of the standard QWindowSurface classes for client processes.  The
standard window surface performs software-based rendering into a
shared memory segment. The server then transfers the contents of this
shared memory into an OpenGL texture before they are drawn onto the
screen during window compositing.

\omit

\section1 Future Directions

\section2 API Improvements

Nokia is now working on enhancing the API for integrating OpenGL
with Qt for Embedded Linux. The current design plan includes the following
features:

\list

  \o Provide convenience classes, e.g., QEGLScreen and
  QWSEGLWindowSurface, which implement common uses of the EGL
  API. These classes will simplify implementing an OpenGL ES 
  integration.

  \o Extend the screen driver API to provide more control over window
  properties and animations, and provide a software-based integration
  to enable testing on the desktop.

  \o Improve performance as opportunities arise.

\endlist

\section2 OpenVG Support

\l {http://www.khronos.org/openvg} {OpenVG} is a dedicated API for 2D
graphics on mobile devices. It is therefore more likely to be a better
alternative for 2D acceleration than OpenGL. Until recently, no
OpenVG-capable hardware has been available, so Nokia has not yet
included an OpenVG solution in Qt for Embedded Linux.

However, Nokia has done a feasibility study, implementing an
OpenVG paint engine on top of a software OpenVG implementation.
Assuming availability of the appropriate hardware, this OpenVG paint
engine can easily be completed and integrated using the existing
acceleration architecture. Since OpenVG shares the same EGL layer as
OpenGL ES, the work already done on the OpenGL integration can be
reused.

Related technologies included in the \l
{http://www.khronos.org/openkode} {OpenKODE} API set will also be
considered.

\endomit

*/