docs/history.rst - external/github.com/Mesa3D/mesa - Git at Google

 Project History
 ===============

 The Mesa project was originally started by Brian Paul. Here's a short
 history of the project.

 August, 1993: I begin working on Mesa in my spare time. The project has
 no name at that point. I was simply interested in writing a simple 3D
 graphics library that used the then-new OpenGL API. I was partially
 inspired by the *VOGL* library which emulated a subset of IRIS GL. I had
 been programming with IRIS GL since 1991.

 November 1994: I contact SGI to ask permission to distribute my
 OpenGL-like graphics library on the internet. SGI was generally
 receptive to the idea and after negotiations with SGI's legal
 department, I get permission to release it.

 February 1995: Mesa 1.0 is released on the internet. I expected that a
 few people would be interested in it, but not thousands. I was soon
 receiving patches, new features and thank-you notes on a daily basis.
 That encouraged me to continue working on Mesa. The name Mesa just
 popped into my head one day. SGI had asked me not to use the terms
 *"Open"* or *"GL"* in the project name and I didn't want to make up a
 new acronym. Later, I heard of the Mesa programming language and the
 Mesa spreadsheet for NeXTStep.

 In the early days, OpenGL wasn't available on too many systems. It even
 took a while for SGI to support it across their product line. Mesa
 filled a big hole during that time. For a lot of people, Mesa was their
 first introduction to OpenGL. I think SGI recognized that Mesa actually
 helped to promote the OpenGL API, so they didn't feel threatened by the
 project.

 1995-1996: I continue working on Mesa both during my spare time and
 during my work hours at the Space Science and Engineering Center at the
 University of Wisconsin in Madison. My supervisor, Bill Hibbard, lets me
 do this because Mesa is now being using for the
 `Vis5D <https://www.ssec.wisc.edu/%7Ebillh/vis.html>`__ project.

 October 1996: Mesa 2.0 is released. It implements the OpenGL 1.1
 specification.

 March 1997: Mesa 2.2 is released. It supports the new 3dfx Voodoo
 graphics card via the Glide library. It's the first really popular
 hardware OpenGL implementation for Linux.

 September 1998: Mesa 3.0 is released. It's the first publicly-available
 implementation of the OpenGL 1.2 API.

 March 1999: I attend my first OpenGL ARB meeting. I contribute to the
 development of several official OpenGL extensions over the years.

 September 1999: I'm hired by Precision Insight, Inc. Mesa is a key
 component of 3D hardware acceleration in the new DRI project for
 XFree86. Drivers for 3dfx, 3dLabs, Intel, Matrox and ATI hardware soon
 follow.

 October 2001: Mesa 4.0 is released. It implements the OpenGL 1.3
 specification.

 November 2001: I cofounded Tungsten Graphics, Inc. with Keith Whitwell,
 Jens Owen, David Dawes and Frank LaMonica. Tungsten Graphics was
 acquired by VMware in December 2008.

 November 2002: Mesa 5.0 is released. It implements the OpenGL 1.4
 specification.

 January 2003: Mesa 6.0 is released. It implements the OpenGL 1.5
 specification as well as the GL_ARB_vertex_program and
 GL_ARB_fragment_program extensions.

 June 2007: Mesa 7.0 is released, implementing the OpenGL 2.1
 specification and OpenGL Shading Language.

 2008: Keith Whitwell and other Tungsten Graphics employees develop
 `Gallium <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallium3D>`__ - a new GPU
 abstraction layer. The latest Mesa drivers are based on Gallium and
 other APIs such as OpenVG are implemented on top of Gallium.

 February 2012: Mesa 8.0 is released, implementing the OpenGL 3.0
 specification and version 1.30 of the OpenGL Shading Language.

 July 2016: Mesa 12.0 is released, including OpenGL 4.3 support and
 initial support for Vulkan for Intel GPUs. Plus, there's another Gallium
 software driver ("swr") based on LLVM and developed by Intel.

 Ongoing: Mesa is the OpenGL implementation for devices designed by
 Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Broadcom, Vivante, plus the VMware and
 VirGL virtual GPUs. There's also several software-based renderers:
 swrast (the legacy Mesa rasterizer), softpipe (a Gallium reference
 driver) and llvmpipe (LLVM/JIT-based high-speed rasterizer).

 Work continues on the drivers and core Mesa to implement newer versions
 of the OpenGL, OpenGL ES and Vulkan specifications.
	Project History
	===============

	The Mesa project was originally started by Brian Paul. Here's a short
	history of the project.

	August, 1993: I begin working on Mesa in my spare time. The project has
	no name at that point. I was simply interested in writing a simple 3D
	graphics library that used the then-new OpenGL API. I was partially
	inspired by the VOGL library which emulated a subset of IRIS GL. I had
	been programming with IRIS GL since 1991.

	November 1994: I contact SGI to ask permission to distribute my
	OpenGL-like graphics library on the internet. SGI was generally
	receptive to the idea and after negotiations with SGI's legal
	department, I get permission to release it.

	February 1995: Mesa 1.0 is released on the internet. I expected that a
	few people would be interested in it, but not thousands. I was soon
	receiving patches, new features and thank-you notes on a daily basis.
	That encouraged me to continue working on Mesa. The name Mesa just
	popped into my head one day. SGI had asked me not to use the terms
	"Open" or "GL" in the project name and I didn't want to make up a
	new acronym. Later, I heard of the Mesa programming language and the
	Mesa spreadsheet for NeXTStep.

	In the early days, OpenGL wasn't available on too many systems. It even
	took a while for SGI to support it across their product line. Mesa
	filled a big hole during that time. For a lot of people, Mesa was their
	first introduction to OpenGL. I think SGI recognized that Mesa actually
	helped to promote the OpenGL API, so they didn't feel threatened by the
	project.

	1995-1996: I continue working on Mesa both during my spare time and
	during my work hours at the Space Science and Engineering Center at the
	University of Wisconsin in Madison. My supervisor, Bill Hibbard, lets me
	do this because Mesa is now being using for the
	`Vis5D <https://www.ssec.wisc.edu/%7Ebillh/vis.html>`__ project.

	October 1996: Mesa 2.0 is released. It implements the OpenGL 1.1
	specification.

	March 1997: Mesa 2.2 is released. It supports the new 3dfx Voodoo
	graphics card via the Glide library. It's the first really popular
	hardware OpenGL implementation for Linux.

	September 1998: Mesa 3.0 is released. It's the first publicly-available
	implementation of the OpenGL 1.2 API.

	March 1999: I attend my first OpenGL ARB meeting. I contribute to the
	development of several official OpenGL extensions over the years.

	September 1999: I'm hired by Precision Insight, Inc. Mesa is a key
	component of 3D hardware acceleration in the new DRI project for
	XFree86. Drivers for 3dfx, 3dLabs, Intel, Matrox and ATI hardware soon
	follow.

	October 2001: Mesa 4.0 is released. It implements the OpenGL 1.3
	specification.

	November 2001: I cofounded Tungsten Graphics, Inc. with Keith Whitwell,
	Jens Owen, David Dawes and Frank LaMonica. Tungsten Graphics was
	acquired by VMware in December 2008.

	November 2002: Mesa 5.0 is released. It implements the OpenGL 1.4
	specification.

	January 2003: Mesa 6.0 is released. It implements the OpenGL 1.5
	specification as well as the GL_ARB_vertex_program and
	GL_ARB_fragment_program extensions.

	June 2007: Mesa 7.0 is released, implementing the OpenGL 2.1
	specification and OpenGL Shading Language.

	2008: Keith Whitwell and other Tungsten Graphics employees develop
	`Gallium <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallium3D>`__ - a new GPU
	abstraction layer. The latest Mesa drivers are based on Gallium and
	other APIs such as OpenVG are implemented on top of Gallium.

	February 2012: Mesa 8.0 is released, implementing the OpenGL 3.0
	specification and version 1.30 of the OpenGL Shading Language.

	July 2016: Mesa 12.0 is released, including OpenGL 4.3 support and
	initial support for Vulkan for Intel GPUs. Plus, there's another Gallium
	software driver ("swr") based on LLVM and developed by Intel.

	Ongoing: Mesa is the OpenGL implementation for devices designed by
	Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Broadcom, Vivante, plus the VMware and
	VirGL virtual GPUs. There's also several software-based renderers:
	swrast (the legacy Mesa rasterizer), softpipe (a Gallium reference
	driver) and llvmpipe (LLVM/JIT-based high-speed rasterizer).

	Work continues on the drivers and core Mesa to implement newer versions
	of the OpenGL, OpenGL ES and Vulkan specifications.