HA7 Task 2 Displaying 3d polygons

1. API, an abbreviation of application program interface, is a set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software applications. The APIspecifies how software components should interact and APIs are used when programming graphical user interface (GUI) components.
2. In addition to accessing databases or computer hardware, such as hard disk drives or video cards, an API can ease the work of programming GUI components. For example, an API can facilitate integration of new features into existing applications (a so-called "plug-in API"). An API can also assist otherwise distinct applications with sharing data, which can help to integrate and enhance the functionalities of the applications.

   APIs often come in the form of a library that includes specifications for routines, data structures, object classes, and variables. In other cases, notably SOAP and REST services, an API is simply a specification ofremote calls exposed to the API consumers.
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4. Direct3D
5. An API for manipulating and displaying three-dimensional objects. Developed by Microsoft, Direct3D provides programmers with a way to develop 3-D programs that can utilize whatever graphics acceleration device is installed in the machine. 
6. OpenGL
7. OpenGL (Open Graphics Library)[3][4][5] is a cross-language, multi-platform application programming interface (API) for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics. The API is typically used to interact with a graphics processing unit (GPU), to achieve hardware-accelerated rendering.
   
   
   Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI) started developing OpenGL in 1991 and released it in January 1992;[6] applications use it extensively in the fields of CAD, virtual reality, scientific visualization, information visualization, flight simulation, and video games. OpenGL is managed by the non-profit technology consortium Khronos Group.
8. Graphic Pipeline
9. In 3D computer graphics, the graphics pipeline or rendering pipeline refers to the sequence of steps used to create a 2D raster representation of a 3D scene.[1] Plainly speaking, once a 3D model has been created, for instance in a video game or any other 3D computer animation, the graphics pipeline is the process of turning that 3D model into what the computer displays. In the early history of 3D computer graphics, fixed purpose hardware was used to speed up the steps of the pipeline through a fixed-function pipeline.