[PyGlide]

A Python binding to the 3DFX Glide libraries.

Information

PyGlide is a Python binding for the Glide rasterization library, the low-level interface to the 3DFX Voodoo series of cards.

What's it for?

The Glide rasterization library provides a very low-level direct link to the capabilities of your Voodoo graphics card. It is much smaller than Direct-X, but is specific to one type of hardware, and leaves you to provide a lot of the functionality of a 3d library (for example, there are no matrix or 3d functions, clipping, etc.)

This library could be useful to:

Distribution

PyGlide is completely free, for any kind of use, but I disclaim all responsibility for anything bad that happens, ever.

Requirements

  • Python 1.4 or 1.5 (including PythonWin) for Windows 95/98/NT
  • Windows 95/98/NT (tested on Windows 95)
  • A Voodoo Graphics, Voodoo 2 or Voodoo Rush graphics card.
  • A Glide 3 driver for the above card. (Tested on the 3DFX Glide3.0 reference driver, using an Orchid Righteous 3D Voodoo card)

    • A Linux version is planned for development, as soon as I have time.

    Version Info

    This is version 0.1 beta 1, the first public release of PyGlide.

    To Do

    Documentation

    Function signatures are mostly similar to those for the C Glide bindings, but with a few changes. See the online documentation, or download it with the archive below.

    Installation

    Installing the PyGlide libraries

    You need to have installed Python 1.5 for Windows.
    Put the glide.py file in your Python's Lib directory.
    Put the pyglide.dll file in the same directory as the python.exe executable.

    You can run the skybox demo by double-clicking the skybox.py Python script.
    Press Control-C to stop the demo.

    To check the Python library has installed, type into the Python interactive prompt

    import glide

    Test it by typing

    glide.grGlideInit()
    glide.grSstSelect(0)
    glide.grGetString(glide.GR_VENDOR)
    glide.grGetString(glide.GR_VERSION)

    The third line should print out the vendor of the Glide library, and the fourth line should print out the version of the Glide library you are currently using.

    Once the Glide library is running, a program should always shut down the library before exiting. To do this, make sure you run pyglide.grShutdown() before quitting.
    To make sure this happens, even if an error occurs, use a try...finally block in your code:

    import glide
    try:
        <glide code here >
    finally:
        glide.grShutdown()

    WARNING! Some functions in the Glide library can cause your computer to hang if you don't know what you are doing. Especially make sure everything you draw is inside the screen area. Be careful when using the interactive prompt. If you have only one monitor for both normal and Glide displays, then once you open the Glide display with grSstWinOpen you will no longer be able to see the Python console.
     

    E-Mail

    Send any questions, bug reports or comments about PyGlide to:
    graham.clemo at bigfoot.com

    (The above mailto: hyperlink requires Javascript to work, to stop automatic web page scanners from getting my e-mail address. If you don't have Javascript, you'll have to type it in, with @ instead of at.)

    Relevant Links

    3DFX for information on Voodoo graphics cards and the Glide library.
    Python is a powerful interpreted Object-Oriented language.
    Open-GL is a high-level platform-independent 3D graphics library, also with a Python language binding.

    Acknowledgements

    3DFX, Glide, Voodoo Graphics, Voodoo Rush and Voodoo2 are trademarks of 3DFX Interactive, Inc.
    Microsoft, ActiveMovie, Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectInput, DirectPlay, DirectSound, DirectX, MS-DOS, Win32, Windows, Windows 95 and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
    Open-GL is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc..
     

    Graham Clemo