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Noob question: given that Zink exists and works quite well, wouldn't it been simpler to implement a Vulkan driver first and then just use Zink for OpenGL?
by qalmakka 4y ago
Noob question: given that Zink exists and works quite well, wouldn't it been simpler to implement a Vulkan driver first and then just use Zink for OpenGL?
- wtallis 4y agoI think Zink requires a fairly feature-complete Vulkan implementation. Starting with a basic OpenGL implementation is definitely the quicker route to having a way to run and test some real applications.
- ThatPlayer 4y agoZink docs list a bunch of Vulkan extensions you need to support to be able to run Zink. The Raspberry Pi's v3dv Vulkan driver doesn't even support all the requirements, though it is only missing 1 extension. Alyssa also works on the drivers for ARM Mali GPUs, which currently don't even support Vulkan 1.0. https://docs.mesa3d.org/drivers/zink.html#opengl-2-1 https://docs.mesa3d.org/drivers/zink.html#opengl-2-1
- kitsunesoba 4y agoTo add to this, the faster route to something that runs was important because it was a goal of the devs to start dogfooding the distribution as soon as possible.
- coconut08 4y agoI THINK that I remember marcan addressing this in one of his youtube interviews: This is actually what their plan is long term. That said in the short term it's way easier to implement opengl, it gives them a simple way to explore the hardware, and it also makes it so that real people will be able to run desktop linux on apple silicon macs way sooner.