Portability and Java 2D

The current situation with Java 2D's hardware acceleration exposes a rather nasty portability problem with Java. Graphics, especially gaming graphics, require speed, and the Java implementers have taken a two-track approach. The Windows-based version of Java utilizes DirectX and other Windows features, yet on other platforms, the software underlying Java 2D relies on OpenGL.

This approach seems like an unnecessary duplication of effort and a source of confusion to programmers. The same situation exists for Java 3D, as described in Chapter 14 and beyond.

In my opinion, Java graphics should restrict itself to OpenGL, an open standard that is under active development by many talented people around the world. In fact, this view may already be prevailing inside Sun, indicated by its promotion of a Java/OpenGL (JOGL) (https://jogl.dev.java.net/) binding.