OpenGL is designed for compatibility across hardware and operating systems. This design makes it easier for programmers to port OpenGL programs from one system to another. While each operating system has unique requirements, much of the OpenGL code in your current programs can be used as is. To port your OpenGL application to Microsoft® Windows NT® and Windows® 95 operating systems, you'll have to modify your programs to work with the Windows NT and Windows 95 windowing systems.
In general applications are ported to OpenGL for Windows NT and Windows 95 from one of two platforms:
The following topics describe how to port your applications from each of these platforms. The topics discuss porting OpenGL and window management code only; there is no discussion of other operating system port issues such as reading files, messaging, thread creation, and so on. This porting guide focuses on specific porting issues and assumes that you have an understanding of OpenGL and Windows NT and Windows 95 programming.