Not Everyone Likes The Possible "VULKAN" Name For Next-Gen OpenGL

[justmy2cents]

What's going on with you guys today? AMD promised an open spec, not an open implementation. I even checked eariler today, they have still not delivered.

and just how is this different from what i said? btw, check your previous post where you claim they promised open sourcing. open sourcing != open spec

[ravyne]

My own speculation is that "Vulkan" is not the name of the new API, but the name of a technology/tool for deep inspection of GL usage -- a reference to the "Mind-meld" such a tool would have with the new API. GL has had vendor-specific tools of this variety, but never to my knowledge a standard API for extracting the necessary information. Particularly for the more-explicit model that its competitors Mantle and Direct3D12 have taken, and which this new GL API is likely to follow, such tools become very important for tracking down nasty bugs.

GLnext was a perfectly suitable codename, but I agree it looses meaning as time passes. Probably something less temporal would be better. I think also there's a good chance of unifying graphics and compute in the API, so maybe GL is out and they will hold only to the Open part -- I would be happy enough for it to be OpenGL 5.0 though.

[zxy_thf]

There are already two good monikers: glNext and OpenGL NG. I wonder why they aren't used.

OpenGL No Good?
I don't think it's anywhere near a good name.

[profoundWHALE]

I like the name.

[kaprikawn]

Some of the suggestions in this thread just plain suck.

Does nobody value a name that is quick and simple to say? Vulkan is great and a lot better than OpenGL ABCD in this regard. Even when you're going over it in your internal monologue I'm sure that something with a little brevity is much more appealing than OpenGL [insert a bunch of letters whose acronym means something boring here].

I agree with the point of discoverability via Google someone brought up earlier. It would be nice if whatever you Googled came out top of the list rather than Star Trek stuff.

[kigurai]

Why doesn't Khronos Group just adopt Mantle?
Is there anything wrong with Mantle?

My guess is glNext(/VULKAN) is pretty much Mantle 2.0.

Some of the developers that are presenting glNext on GDC were also highly involved in the creation and pushing of Mantle.
The names VULKAN and Mantle are also, as noted, very much related through their geological meaning.

[thechef]

Vulkan is a reasonable name.

Most other provided so far:
- contain redundant pieces such as "GL" which stands for graphics library which is already clear by the context.
- or are overly generic e.g. containing "next", "open", "NG"
- are not speaking names, just plain uncreative technical abbreviations, or even contain numbers - it's okay to have such names, but it's also boring

Unicorn is fine as a name for a graphics library that supports all rainbow colors.

Vulkan is more allusive with Mantle and the name "promises" to unleash tremendous forces.
It's even better in german with the strong k and the lower amount of syllables.

[mr_tawan]

My guess is glNext(/VULKAN) is pretty much Mantle 2.0.

Some of the developers that are presenting glNext on GDC were also highly involved in the creation and pushing of Mantle.
The names VULKAN and Mantle are also, as noted, very much related through their geological meaning.

I second that.

I believe that AMD was pushing Mantle to become an open standard. There's possibility that Khronos accepts it and then work on it so it becomes vendor-neutral. Well we won't know the truth until this Thursday anyway :-).

[droidhacker]

I think it is actually very fitting.

Khronos ("Qo'noS", "Kronos")... the Klingon home world.
... you see where this is going?
Vulkan ("Vulcan")... Mr. Spock.

[rice_nine]

So I was watching a VOY ep and it occurred to me... I need a t-shirt or something that says, "LETS PON FARR"

Anyway. The abundance of namespace collisions is the best argument against this name. You would think that someone would think, and then...

It isn't windows, it's "Microsoft Windows^TM"
It isn't Linux it's "GNU slash Linux"
It isn't Vulcan, it's "Vulkan API"

or at least it is if you want to find it amidst mythology references. What's funny is the first time I heard of Mantle, I thought of the Forerunners (Halo series) and their self-assigned stewardship or whatever for other races. I had to see how AMD faux-labeled a cross-section of Earth in some slides before I could get the whole geological angle of it. Yay namespaces! Still want OpenCL 2.0 from NVidia, and I am pretty sure they're sandbagging, and that's sad.