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NVidia announces Cg: "C" for Graphics
mr_sheel writes: "Thresh's FiringSquad has an article about Cg, a new language developed by NVidia in collaboration with Microsoft. 'Up until now,' Brandon Bell writes, 'game developers have had to use complex assembly language to create the lifelike graphics gamers experience in today's latest games.' Cg eases the process of bringing graphics to the screen and compiles for DirectX 8,9 and OpenGL 1.4. Many companies, including 3D Studio Max, Blizzard, and over 100 game developers, have already jumped onto the Cg bandwagon. Will this replace assembly graphics coding once and for all?"
the same as this? http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/06/13/147213 &mode=nested&tid=126
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This is the news release that Slashdot actually gets paid for by Nvidia.
Hey Timothy.... go to your preference page and UNBLOCK all CmdrTaco stories.... this way you can see what he posted and not post it yourself.
I know some of his stories suck but it's for the good of all of us.
You can keep Katz stuff blocked.
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Next door to whom exactly?
Saying Java is nice because it works on all OS's is like saying that anal sex is nice because it works on all genders.
Since Cg is designed specifically for vertex and pixel shader programs, DirectX versions 8 and 9 are supported as well as OpenGL 1.4. The compiler itself is cross platform; in particular programs written for Windows, Linux, Macintosh, and Xbox are supported. And if all that isn't enough, the compiler can create code for all GPUs that support DirectX 8 (or above) and/or OpenGL 1.4, making it very universal. In keeping with Linux tradition, NVIDIA has open-sourced certain components of the compiler, allowing content developers to add their own customizations as well.
The official community site is at cgshaders.org. There's a Linux Toolkit out now. There's a interview with CEO David Kirk. Along with articles, a shader repository, and forums for help.
I'm impressed. This is the second time this has been posted on /., and people are STILL clueless about what Cg is! Incredible!
Cluestick: Cg is not a language like C/C++. It is not an API like OpenGL/DirectX. Instead, it is a simple, high-level replacement for the assembly language traditionally used to program pixel and vertex shader units on graphics cards. These programs are typically a few dozen instructions long and basically map a small set of inputs to a small set of outputs. So you could write a program to rotate a vertex around a point in Cg, but not something like Quake...
A deep unwavering belief is a sure sign you're missing something...
Whomever wrote that article may understand 3D, but doesn't understand where shaders fit in and the history and experience already here. Pixel and Vertex shaders have been around since the inception of commercial 3D in the form of Renderman surface and displacement shaders. They are small and very modular programs which don't need access to a large amount of information at one time. Thus because of the implied modularity, and the isolation of the calculations relative to the rest of the scene there is no need for OO (I know you didn't mention it, but someone in the FIRST story about this did, and its a good question), and no real need for pointers.
Furthermore because of the very analog nature of what is being descibed, control statements and desicion shortcuts aren't a very big deal. Of course there are if else statements, but they are not used as much as simple and very general algorithms. Hard desicions lead to aliasing, because they rule out a gradual change. Also because of the analog nature of what is being reproduced integers are used very rarely, almost exclusivly for loop counters.
Using float indices for arrays is a kick ass design descision. It allows for smooth and elegant interpolation between discreet values, and I can't stress what a cool idea that is.
In short, the register is wrong, and this IS a formula for a widespread language, because it is copying another very mature widespread language, the Renderman shading language. The only thing I am worried about is that it will be geared towards only Nvidia products, thus competing with OpenGL 2.0 (whenever the vapor settles).
Keep in mind that I am not trying to argue you, but I am trying to argue the register's stance. The designers of Nvidia are very aware of the vast history of Renderman I am sure, and this language looks just fine.
For anyone who wants to get into writing shaders, the book 'Advanced Renderman: Creating CGI for motion pictures' by Anthony Apodaca and Larry Gritz is your bible. it covers everything you need to know and more, and I highly recommend it.
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All of this leaves me a little bit confused. I'm not sure why we need two (or, perhaps, more) C-based shader languages, at least one of which (Cg) is hardware-specific, but API neutral.
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