Subset of the OpenGL 3D graphics API designed for embedded devices such as mobile phones. This version 2.0 eliminates most of the fixed-function rendering pipeline in favor of a programmable one.
OpenGL for Embedded Systems (OpenGL ES) is a subset of the OpenGL 3D graphics API designed for embedded devices such as mobile phones, PDAs, and video game consoles. OpenGL ES is managed by the not-for-profit technology consortium, the Khronos Group, Inc.
OpenGL ES 2.0 was publicly released in March 2007. It eliminates most of the fixed-function rendering pipeline in favor of a programmable one. Almost all rendering features of the transform and lighting pipelines, such as the specification of materials and light parameters formerly specified by the fixed-function API, are replaced by shaders written by the graphics programmer. As a result, OpenGL ES 2.0 is not backwards compatible with OpenGL ES 1.1. Some incompatibilities between the desktop version of OpenGL and OpenGL ES 2.0 persisted until OpenGL 4.1, which added the GL_ARB_ES2_compatibility extension.
More details at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenGL_ES#OpenGL_ES_2.0
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