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OpenAL not really open?

PostPosted: 25 Apr 2012, 21:35
by Sauer2
Hi together,

i always thought, OpenAL was free software, but according to the english wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenAL), it is now proprietary for quite a time, since Creative Labs has taken over development 2006.

So when you are talking about using OpenAL, do you actually use the last free version 1.1 of the original version or do you use OpenAL Soft?

Re: OpenAL not really open?

PostPosted: 25 Apr 2012, 23:40
by Arthur
I think all widespread use is OpenAL Soft.

Re: OpenAL not really open?

PostPosted: 25 Apr 2012, 23:59
by sireus
Well, it's not really different from OpenGL. The specification is open, but not all implementations are. As Arthur mentioned, OpenALSoft is free and the most widespread implementation, which is available on almost any platform. AFAIK Creative's proprietary implementation is only distributed with their sound hardware.

Re: OpenAL not really open?

PostPosted: 26 Apr 2012, 17:47
by Sauer2
OK, thanks, that makes it somewhat more clear. :)