Difference between WebGL and OpenGL
Last Updated :
31 Mar, 2023
Both WebGL and OpenGL are graphics libraries and is developed by the same group i.e, Khronos Group in 2011 and 1992 respectively. Both libraries are used for making interactive 2D and 3D graphic images. WebGL is developed in JavaScript and is being used in HTML Canvas element so it is quite easy to use it in JavaScript and HTML and OpenGL is written in C language. Let us see on what factors both the libraries are different from each other.
WebGL
WebGL stands for "Web Graphics Library". This is JavaScript API to make interactive 2D and 3D graphics without any use of plugins within any browser. It was developed by Khronos Group in 2011 and is written in JavaScript. Companies that use WebGL are Scale, HHEY, PlayCanvas, and many more.
Features
- It supports vertex and fragment shaders.
- It has a data visualization feature.
- It has a cross-platform development feature.
Advantages
- It is easy to learn and then develop the applications.
- There is no need to use the plugins.
- Complex visualization is possible based on data availability.
- It supports automatic memory management.
Disadvantages
- One needs to use 2D texture to render the images in 3D.
- One needs to learn the use of buffers and shaders to use WebGL.
- It has fewer features.
OpenGL
OpenGL stands for "Open Graphics Library". This API is used to interact with the graphics processing unit (GPU) by the developers. It was developed by Khronos Group and Silicon Graphics in 1992 and is written in C language. Companies that use OpenGL are TikTok, Intel, Qualcomm, and many more.
Features
- It has geometry shaders and computes shaders.
- It has texture image formats.
- It has a texture that replaces the environmental function.
- It has an animation and rendering package.
Advantages
- It has many features that include WebGL in it.
- Its speed is the main advantage of OpenGL.
- It provides stability and offers reliability in the applications.
Disadvantages
- It is easy to learn but only when a person is familiar with WebGL. So, prior knowledge of WebGL is required.
- For a beginner, it is difficult.
- It does not have its own hardware palette.
Difference between WebGL and OpenGL:
| | WebGL | OpenGL |
|---|
| Developed | It was developed by the Khronos Group in 2011. | It was developed by the Khronos Group and Silicon Graphics in 1992. |
|---|
| Application | It is used for web applications. | It is used in desktop applications. |
|---|
| Usage | - It is used for browsers.
- It is used in web applications.
| - It is used to install the software.
- It is used in many video games.
|
|---|
| Language | It is written in JavaScript. | It is written in C language. |
|---|
| Learning Curve | Due to the absence of certain features, it has less learning curve. | Due to the presence of an abundance of features, it has a big learning curve. |
|---|
| Pipeline | There is no fixed function pipeline. | There is a fixed function pipeline. |
|---|
| Features | It supports vertex and fragment shaders. | It has geometry shaders and computes shaders. |
|---|
Conclusion
Both the terms, OpenGL and WebGL are related to graphics. Both graphics libraries are used to render 2D and 3D graphics. WebGL is easy to learn and is easy to use in JavaScript and HTML as it is also being used in the HTML Canvas elements. OpenGL and WebGL both have many features. So, the selection should purely be based on the requirements of the organization after looking deep into the advantages and disadvantages of the library.
Similar Reads
Difference between HTML and WML 1. Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) : Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) refers to the standard markup language to create web pages. It consists of series of elements/tags which are used to define structure of your content means design the structure of a web page. It was created to serve content to
2 min read
Difference Between HTML and SGML Most of us are familiar with HTML due to its connection to the World Wide Web. It drives the internet, allowing us to build and use websites, share material, and communicate with online services. HTML is only one branch of a much broader tree called SGML, which serves as the basis for several markup
5 min read
Difference Between Golang and PHP Golang is a statically typed, compiled programming language invented at Google headquarter by Mr. Robert Griesemer, Mr Rob Pike, and Mr. Ken Thompson. Its development began in 2007 and it was made available to the public in the year 2009. It's open-source and freely available for public use. It is m
2 min read
Difference between GPRS and WAP 1. General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) :GPRS is an acronym for General Packet Radio Service. It was the first-ever internet technology, developed to facilitate data transmission between mobile phones and towers. It was developed in the year 1993. Not only that, but it was implemented in 2G and 3G co
3 min read
Difference between GWT and React GWT (Google Web Toolkit ) is a development toolkit that compiles Java code into JavaScript for building the web applications, while React is a JavaScript library used to create modern, component-based user interfaces directly in the browsers.GWTGWT is a development toolkit for building and optimizin
2 min read
Difference between WCF and Web API Windows Communication Foundation (WCF): WCF is used to create a distributed and interoperable Applications. It provides a framework which is used for building service-oriented-connected applications for the transmission of the data as an asynchronous, from one service-point to other service-point. P
2 min read