lowGL

lowGL is a lightweight cross-platform graphics API designed for constrained hardware and simple rendering tasks. It provides a compact API surface that mirrors a subset of OpenGL concepts while prioritizing a small memory footprint and ease of use. The library targets environments such as embedded systems, single-board computers, and small GPUs, where traditional graphics stacks may be too heavy.

Historically, lowGL arose in the early era of experimentation with portable rendering interfaces for resource-limited devices. It emerged as a hobbyist and community project, with multiple independent ports and small-scale implementations. Official specifications are informal, and different ports may vary in feature sets and optimizations. The project has seen modest but persistent community involvement, rather than broad industrial adoption.

The API emphasizes an immediate-mode style workflow around a graphics context, state, and a sequence of draw calls. Typical usage involves creating a context, configuring viewport and state, and issuing primitive draw commands for points, lines, and triangles. Texture support is provided in a straightforward manner, with basic texture binding and sampling. Shader support, if present, is minimal and not standardized across ports; most implementations rely on a fixed-function-like pipeline for predictable behavior on limited hardware. The API aims to be portable, with reference implementations written in C and bindings available for other languages such as C++ and Python.

Usage and applicability centers on embedded user interfaces, retro or educational graphics projects, and rapid prototyping where a full OpenGL or Vulkan stack would be excessive. Limitations include a fragmented ecosystem, limited modern feature support, and dependence on port-specific capabilities. Developers should assess available ports for compatibility with their target hardware and project goals.

See also: OpenGL, OpenGL ES, WebGL, Vulkan, MiniGL.