13 API's

API's

Intro

    Now we are nearing the end of this blog as we have understood the industry and it's history, the hardware which helps runs the software and the software which interacts with the software. So the only section left to explore is that of API's the little code snippets which help your engines render and your audio. So, let's crack on.

What is & What are API's

    The meaning of an API or "Application Programming Interface" takes many people ages to explain but, put simply an API is a collection of code which contains preset algorithms and functions for other programmers to use. So think of the previous section of this blog when it came to scripting languages. As we saw, a games engine makes use of programming languages and preset commands for the user to program and this is why many games engines scripting languages are referred to as API's. Now these are useful because they allow programmers to simply reference and call necessary commands which helps speed the programming process along as there is no need to re-type the same code or calculations over again when someone has already done. For example if you were to use physics for a characters fall animation you could either code it yourself and take more time and resources or simply reference the necessary commands which are already pre-built within the API and save time.

Types of API's

   Now that we understand or at least have a basic understanding of API's it's time to take a look at the various types available, what they are and what they are used for. So, first up is:

 

OpenGL

    OpenGL is a cross-platform API developed by Silicon Graphics Inc. and released in 1992. It is a 2D and 3D vector rendering based API which allows 2D and 3D complex objects and geometry to be rendered in real time by interfacing with the GPU in a process called "hardware-accelerated rendering". This is a form of rendering in which complex 3D lighting and geometry rendering calculations are done by OpenGL API itself and is referenced by programmers who developed the game, it's engine and it's shaders which are programmed in a separate graphical based language. It is extremely popular among unix, and open source based operating systems such as Linux and Solaris. It also has a strong foundation within the PS4 console being used for all of it's 3D functionality.

OpenAL

   OpenAL works in many similar respects to that of OpenGL the only difference being in what it is used for. It is again another open source API library which is used for audio within games and game cut-scenes. It is designed to add and help render 3D positional audio and 5.1 surround sound mixing along with compression technology that is near loss less when running games. It again enables developers to program and use the API to help add many of the audio process's with the least amount of effort as most of the audio capabilities are left to the OpenAL API to handle and render in game.

DirectX

    Finally the other popular API which actually encompasses 3 separate API's within it. This deal with audio, video and graphic API's for use with any game being developed for Microsoft OS's or platforms. This is why it has seen extremely popular use with Triple-A developers and is implemented on every Microsoft console and PC.

   Direct3D which is directX's 3D rendering and lighting API performs calculations for shadows and advanced rendering of 3D and 2D geometric shapes which are compatable with shading and computer graphic languages such as Cg, HLSL & ShaderLab. This enables developers to continue developing the game without the need to create advanced graphical calculations as the API already handles the brunt of the 3D work. DirectX is now in it's 12th revision and supports deferred shading techniques and advanced physically based shading/rendering.