Ok, this isn't a project I plan on doing immediately (I'm saving it for the future), but let's say I want to write an OpenGL driver for an old video card (such as NVIDIA's NV01 or Number Nine's Revolution IV) for XP. What would I need to do so? I know I'd need documentation on how the card works, but assuming I'd be using Visual Studio, how would I set up my compiler to do so? How would I test the driver for bugs? Now before you start asking "Why on earth would you write a driver for a card that hasn't been used since the mid 90's? Why don't you just go to the NVIDIA website and download drivers yourself?", I have my reasons.
1. I'm just doing this for fun, more like something I can put in a portfolio if I ever try to work for NVIDIA or another major video card vendor.
2. NVIDIA doesn't have drivers for this card nor is it supported by them anymore.
3. The drivers that do exist for the NV01 are for Win95. This card afaik was a failure on the market and NVIDIA didn't hesitate to drop it for the RIVA 128 (NV03).
I do have experience with NVIDIA's GPU architecture for various cards (GeForce 3 and earlier in particular) and I do know how the registers work and how they are programmed. So what do I need to know/get before attempting this? Thanks.
1. I'm just doing this for fun, more like something I can put in a portfolio if I ever try to work for NVIDIA or another major video card vendor.
2. NVIDIA doesn't have drivers for this card nor is it supported by them anymore.
3. The drivers that do exist for the NV01 are for Win95. This card afaik was a failure on the market and NVIDIA didn't hesitate to drop it for the RIVA 128 (NV03).
I do have experience with NVIDIA's GPU architecture for various cards (GeForce 3 and earlier in particular) and I do know how the registers work and how they are programmed. So what do I need to know/get before attempting this? Thanks.
