A project I'm assisting with is using freeglut for the client. Should I advise otherwise?

Question

I'm involved in a development project that is using freeglut (based on the long defunct glut) for it's client.

The client will eventually allow full interaction with a large-scale 3d environment. Should I let the development continue with freeglut (is it even possible) or should I advise they use another alternative such as libsdl, opentk or even axiom.

I'm not a graphics person but I get the feeling freeglut might potentially be a limited choice.

The most convincing answer (for or against) will be accredited.

EDIT: A few points to make...

• The project is already using the Tao Framework.
• DirectX and XNA are not options (ie: something like freeglut or libsdl has to be used).

I did do my research and found that freeglut was once again under active development and that they have a release pending. That doesn't change my feeling that it may still be a potentially limited choice.

My question isn't on how it's done but on whether or not freeglut is still a viable choice for something that could potentially get big and whether or not there are more "modern" solutions that might ease development a bit.

EDIT: It would help if other alternatives have better mutli-threading support (not for rendering objects but for processing data and so forth).

EDIT: To elaborate a bit more... the client must work in at least linux and windows.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Hi,

OpenGL with C# is done via wrappers. Most of them are not actively developed for anymore.

The canonical choice for 3d development with c# is either using managed directX, or using the XNA libraries.

R

Answer 2

I don't think there's anything wrong with freeglut. It is being actively developed, and there is an active board for support on Nabble.

That said, it is not difficult to create an OpenGL context in Windows, so why not just use it directly? I always thought people used Glut/FreeGlut because that was what the Red Book used. (though the callbacks for mouse and keyboard do simplify things) I never timed it, but Glut always felt a little slower than using OpenGL through interop.

The Tao project has a good OpenGL wrapper if you want to use OpenGL directly. It also has nice .Net bindings for FreeGlut and GLFW, a Glut alternative which offers mouse and keyboard callbacks too.

Answer 3

I'd go for libsdl, its multimedia capabilities make it easier to work with audio hardware as well, it has native bindings to C# and a variety of other languages, and can also be of use if you ever decide to integrate a mobile interface for your project.