Client/Server Graphics Using OpenGL

Client/server graphics using OpenGL

It is relatively common to display 2D X-windows graphics from remote hosts on a local server. However it is less well known that exactly the same mechanism can also be used to display 3D graphics under OpenGL.

This can be a very efficient solution to the problem of rapid display of large datasets since the tasks of computing and displaying the graphics and, just as importantly, the memory consumption, are split over two machines. Both machines must be OpenGL compatible for this to work.

To do this:

Set the DISPLAY environment variable on the client to point to the server ( Starting the code above).

Start D3PLOT in the normal way and read in the model.

Select OBJECT display mode (States Box, ANIM >, DISPLAY MODE, OBJECT )

This will have the effect of storing all graphics as OpenGL "objects" in the server, making animation and redraw speed extremely fast. However keep an eye on memory consumption of the server: objects may be fast but they use a horrendous amount of memory.