[openal] About update documentation and contents about OpenAL

[Chris Robinson]

On Sun, 15 Aug 2021 01:42:32 +0200
Manolo <magusti at disca.upv.es> wrote:

> Hello, there.
> 
> Far away from the time when the SDK and other materials related to
> OpenAL where hosted on Creative's web site (something like
> <http://connect.creativelabs.com/openal/default.aspx>), we can see
> (since 2018) a new web content that says "Open API Remember EAX and
> A3D? Forget them. OpenAL is vendor neutral." hosted on icculus.org
> <https://icculus.org>.
> 
>  Please, somebody can explain the present state of the standard: it's
> license and plans for future versions,

Hi.

As far as I'm aware, Creative still owns the trademarks associated with
OpenAL, so they're the only ones that can say anything about official
updates to the specification, and they've unfortunately been silent on
the OpenAL front for a few years now. Individual implementations, like
OpenAL Soft and Rapture3D, can still add new features, which is where
much of the improvements have been.

>  It's difficult to get updated documentation on OpenAL out of this
> developers list and I would suggest to talk about the future and the
> web contents from OpenAL.org. Can somebody put some light on other
> related questions as:
> 
>   * It is ALUT a part of the standard?

No. Like GLUT to OpenGL, it's intended to help use the API
(specifically with opening a device and loading files), but it's not
part of the standard itself since most apps of any significant
size will want its own thing for loading and handling sounds.

>   * Can we get update contents on the official web pages about
> OpenAL? Can we colaborate on create/upload examples of use?

Icculus is currently in control of openal.org, so any discussions about
updating it would have to include him. I would only be able to change
openal-soft.org, and I'd certainly be up for improving it, though I'm
hardly a good website/page designer.

>   * Can we expect some comparission with alternatives as FMOD,
> OpenML/OpenSL from Khronos, etc.?

OpenML doesn't really seem comparable; it looks to be more equivalent
to GStreamer or DirectShow for streaming/playing video+audio. I imagine
it could actually use OpenAL for output (or input).

OpenSL is a bit difficult to say, since while the API seems to support
3D audio rendering, the only serious implementation of the API I'm
aware of is on Android where it's just for basic playback and capture.
Beyond that, I can't say I'm very fond of the API structure (the amount
of indirection for calling functions, and the redundancy of using an
object pointer to call a function that also needs to be passed as a
parameter).

FMOD can draw more comparisons, and would be worth talking about. The
exact differences will depend on the particular OpenAL implementation,
but there are some general points that would apply to most.


The questions on OpenAL Soft, FreeAlut, and the Extension Registry on
the main website I can't answer, so I'll leave them to whoever who can.