Posts: 458
Threads: 22
Joined: May 2009
Your question sounds kinda "will we have cars, wheels or fuel in the future?". Each of them.
DirectX: Will remain the best choice for games running on Windows for years. It's proprietary and only runs on Windows, but then again it's easier to use there and generally proves to be ahead of OpenGL in terms of performance usually.
OpenGL: All others. Any non-windows device and most professional usage even on windows. It's cross-platform standard hence it will always see a bright future, as long as there's nothing brand new competitive arising in the mobile market.
Java: Got a boost in terms of App development on Android, but don't forget that behind the scenes even on Android there's the C++ parts developed with Android NDK. All the libraries you're using with Java are usually based on C++.
C++: Still to be beaten in terms of performance and cross-platform availability.
Mobile devices, cloud etc.: There's so much more. HTML5, Ajax, tons of script languages which can handle GUI tasks much more efficiently than dedicated apps.
Best regards - Mike
Hi, Storebror
I naturally think of gaming and simulation technology in terms of hardware, code, software, and means of distribution.
The trends are what fascinate me most, Storebror. We know that many specific technologies are not fundamental and permanent. Some are. A kind of display device will forever be a part of the computer experience as long as there are computers. Can we really say that DirectX or any other specific techology will forever be common or essential? I say no.
Isn't this an interesting thought: Once our personal machines have true thinking ability, will we be able to justify calling them computers? What will happen to JAVA and C++ after that? I get back to the trends.
Storebror, I knew that someone would tackle this question which I asked in the first post: "Will OpenGL survive as a viable option for games and simulations in the long term?" Pardon me about it seeming absurd, because its intention was to provoke thoughts about real long term viability.
The "long term" is not definate I feel, meaning it could be years, decades, or more and technology always changing. Ten years can reveal a lot.
Examples of how trends can put previously dominant techologies into a niche would be what happened to the programming languages BASIC, COBOL, and FORTRAN. Though still used today, they are not the dominant means for a person or local organization to meet a programming need in the way they were in the middle 1980s when I went to college. At that time, many complex computer needs were met by paying for programmers to create program for them. Within a few years after that, software was made affordable by mass production and distribution. This allowed the individual and local organization to by-pass BASIC, COBOL, and FORTRAN customized programming if they choose. Market software is now typical instead of hiring custom programming - though a fraction of the total demand still exists for it.
I expect some major changes in 5 to 20 years in the hardware, API, and game engines.
Though we don't know how technology will evolve, may we expect huge changes? Given the lessens of the past, I say yes!
Will changes in how we use hardware in coming years once again change the use of computer code and software? Will demand for games and simulations cause game developers to invest in existing game engines rather than creating custome ones which require investments, take more time, and entail more risk?
Is either OpenGL or DirectX essentially superior or merely satisfying a trend? Storebror, if the use of OpenGL or DirectX is trend motivated, will OpenGL ever gain in use in proportion to DirectX? I see the use of Python increasing. If this continues and Python becomes much stronger, how will this effect JAVA and C++?
Fireskull
... nyuk, nyuk, nyuk! )
