PC Graphics and Video, June 1996:

"OpenGL is an application programming interface (API), originally developed by Silicon Graphics (SGI) from its own GL (Graphics Library) API. It is hardware and operating system independent. The OpenGL standard is administered by the OpenGL Architecture Review Board, an industry group that includes SGI as well as DEC, Evans and Sutherland, IBM, Intel, Intergraph, and Microsoft."

www.OpenGL.org (08/29/1999): "OpenGL is the premier environment for developing portable, interactive 2D and 3D graphics applications. Since its introduction in 1992, OpenGL has become the industry’s most widely used and supported 2D and 3D graphics application programming interface (API), bringing thousands of applications to a wide variety of computer platforms. OpenGL fosters innovation and speeds application development by incorporating a broad set of rendering, texture mapping, special effects, and other powerful visualization functions. Developers can leverage the power of OpenGL across all popular desktop and workstation platforms, ensuring wide application deployment."

www.pcwebopaedia.com (08/29/1999):

"OpenGL"

"A 3-D graphics language developed by Silicon Graphics. There are two main implementations:"

"Microsoft OpenGL, developed by Microsoft Cosmo OpenGL, developed by Silicon Graphics Microsoft OpenGL is built into Windows NT and is designed to improve performance on hardware that supports the OpenGL standard. Cosmo OpenGL, on the other hand, is a software-only implementation specifically designed for machines that do not have a graphics accelerator."

"Another standard that is popular for rendering 3-D images is Direct3D."