SFML 3: Goodbye OpenGL?

[eigenbom]

Is the world moving on from OpenGL, and should SFML 3 follow?

I think at this point an independent graphics backend is the simplest choice for SFML. One which will support webgl, opengl, metal, etc. It needn't implement all these, and could just incorporate a library like bgfx to do all the platform dependent stuff.

I know it might be hard to let go of all the OpenGL code in the library.

[Ruckamongus]

There have been a number of discussions about this already:

• Apple deprecating OpenGL
• Will SFML support Vulkan?
• What's the future of SFML's OpenGL-based renderer?

And more if you search the forums. I agree though, it would be nice to abstract the underlying graphics library, but upkeep of each backend seems impossible with the small number of contributors. Some people advocate updating OpenGL, some say retain old/backwards compatible OpenGL, some say drop it and go to Vulkan. What about DirectX? Metal for iOS? There are interesting projects on GitHub that implement the Direct3D and Metal API's in Vulkan, but that would require dependency on more people, potential license issues, etc. There are a lot of possibilities, however the designing of the frontend (SFML) and upkeep of the backends (graphics library implementation) are very real issues.

[eigenbom]

Thanks. In a way there are already multiple backends for opengles and platform specific code.

With the right architecture we may find members of the community creating and maintaining different backends. I know at least one dev at Sony has a Vulcan backend for sfml.