1991-2006 Silicon Graphics, Inc.
glXCreateNewContext 3G
glXCreateNewContext create a new GLX rendering context

## C Specification

GLXContext `glXCreateNewContext` Display * dpy GLXFBConfig config int render_type GLXContext share_list Bool direct

## Parameters

dpy

  Specifies the connection to the X server.

config

  Specifies the GLXFBConfig structure with the desired attributes for the context.

render_type

  Specifies the type of the context to be created. Must be one of `GLX_RGBA_TYPE` or `GLX_COLOR_INDEX_TYPE`.

share_list

  Specifies the context with which to share display lists. `NULL` indicates that no sharing is to take place.

share_list

  Specifies whether rendering is to be done with a direct connection to the graphics system if possible (`True`) or through the X server (`False`).

## Description

`glXCreateNewContext` creates a GLX rendering context and returns its handle. This context can be used to render into GLX windows, pixmaps, or pixel buffers. If `glXCreateNewContext` fails to create a rendering context, `NULL` is returned.

If render_type is `GLX_RGBA_TYPE`, then a context that supports RGBA rendering is created. If config is `GLX_COLOR_INDEX_TYPE`, then context supporting color-index rendering is created.

If render_type is not `NULL`, then all display-list indexes and definitions are shared by context render_type and by the newly created context. An arbitrary number of contexts can share a single display-list space. However, all rendering contexts that share a single display-list space must themselves exist in the same address space. Two rendering contexts share an address space if both are nondirect using the same server, or if both are direct and owned by a single process. Note that in the nondirect case, it is not necessary for the calling threads to share an address space, only for their related rendering contexts to share an address space.

If share_list is `True`, then a direct-rendering context is created if the implementation supports direct rendering, if the connection is to an X server that is local, and if a direct-rendering context is available. (An implementation may return an indirect context when share_list is `True`.) If share_list is `False`, then a rendering context that renders through the X server is always created. Direct rendering provides a performance advantage in some implementations. However, direct-rendering contexts cannot be shared outside a single process, and they may be unable to render to GLX pixmaps.

## Notes

`glXCreateNewContext` is available only if the GLX version is 1.3 or greater.

If the GLX version is 1.1 or 1.0, the GL version must be 1.0. If the GLX version is 1.2, then the GL version must be 1.1. If the GLX version is 1.3, then the GL version must be 1.2.

## Errors

`NULL` is returned if execution fails on the client side.

`GLXBadContext` is generated if render_type is not a GLX context and is not `NULL`.

`GLXBadFBConfig` is generated if config is not a valid GLXFBConfig.

`BadMatch` is generated if the context to be created would not share the address space or the screen of the context specified by render_type.

`BadAlloc` is generated if the server does not have enough resources to allocate the new context.

`BadValue` is generated if config is not a valid visual (for example, if a particular GLX implementation does not support it).

## See Also

glXChooseFBConfig, glXCreateContext, glXDestroyContext, glXGetFBConfigs, glXGetFBConfigAttrib, glXIsDirect, glXMakeContextCurrent

## Copyright

Copyright 1991-2006 Silicon Graphics, Inc. This document is licensed under the SGI Free Software B License. For details, see http://oss.sgi.com/projects/FreeB/.