Posted by Julien on Feb 17, 2016; 6:11pm
URL: https://forum.jogamp.org/OpenGL-OS-X-tp4036147p4036302.html

All,

Thank you for the very interesting thread.

I just want to add Apple has not updated OpenGL in years. It is at version 4.1 back from 2010. It seems to be effectively deprecated (though not officially so), and Apple is implicitly favoring Metal and perhaps now Vulkan (that remains to be seen). But it  appears clear Apple is tacitly discouraging use of OpenGL.

Please read “OpenGL: Still lagging behind”

All that said, it is possible OpenGL will exist on OS X in a semi-moribund state indefinitely (kind of like Java 3D) especially given the number of applications that depend on OpenGL on OS X. Or not, I just don’t know. Apple did away with Carbon, but you can still find the Apple Java 6 JRE several years out now.

I also want to echo Tom’s comments that the scientific software community operates on shoestring budgets, and we simply don’t have the resources and infrastructure to do huge, wholesale refactors. If we must make big changes, we must have a rock solid understanding of what will be supported in the future for many years.

Thank you to all those who keep Java 3D going.

Julien C.