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Situation

I am about to build from source Octave 4.2.11, having Ubuntu 14.04. Among the optional-and-recommended packages there is OpenGL. The install read-me of Octave provides the following generic description:

API for portable 2-D and 3-D graphics (http://www.opengl.org). An OpenGL implementation is required to provide Octave's OpenGL-based graphics functions. Octave's OpenGL-based graphics functions usually outperform the gnuplot-based graphics functions because plot data can be rendered directly instead of sending data and commands to gnuplot for interpretation and rendering.

Issue

I lack an idea of what an OpenGL 'implementation' is, in fact.

As I go in synaptic and search whether and which OpenGL is installed (as though it were a program or a library), I am swamped by the items that refer to the search term 'OpenGL'. By typing apt-cache search OpenGL | wc -l I get 588 items...

I looked for download information from the OpenGL site on https://www.khronos.org/opengl/wiki/Getting_Started#Downloading_OpenGL, but it seems to redirect to different vendors (Intel, AMD/ATI, Nvidia) rather to Unix distributions, as I expected. The site gives even more specifics at https://www.khronos.org/opengl/wiki/Platform_specifics:_Linux but it seems to diverge even further.

Question

What is the name of the packages under which OpenGL proper is shipped in Ubuntu? I could then determine what I have and what I lack as far as OpenGL is concerned, and make do and mend accordingly.

XavierStuvw
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  • How exactly are you going to install Octave 4.2.11? since Ubuntu packages its development files separately from runtime libraries, the answers to your questions will likely depend on whether you install a pre-built binary (from a PPA for example) or build it from source. – steeldriver Mar 02 '17 at 17:18
  • Possible duplicate of What is terminal command that can show OpenGL version? – Elder Geek Mar 02 '17 at 17:19
  • @ElderGeek I oppose the allegation. My question is not about knowing which version OpenGL is. Rather, it is about knowing the name under which the core OpenGL packages are recognisable. That post is useful though, since I begin to suspect that the name of OpenGL proper revolves around glx. – XavierStuvw Mar 02 '17 at 17:25
  • @steeldriver. I am building from source and have edited the post to make this clear. – XavierStuvw Mar 02 '17 at 17:26
  • @XavierStuvw If it helped at all, I'm pleased. I'm sorry I don't have an answer for you, but I'm all but certain that another member of the team will be able to assist you. This may be useful however. – Elder Geek Mar 02 '17 at 17:29
  • @ElderGeek It is useful. This supports the idea that the guy is called libgl1-mesa-glx* ... and that this post is not a duplicate of https://askubuntu.com/questions/47062. I should notice that that glxinfo used there is a command of a package mesa-utils, so it could be that the name glx lives only under the mesa context and it's not the whole of the story. I should be sure that mesa is the whole of OpenGL in Ubuntu 14.04. The question is still open. – XavierStuvw Mar 02 '17 at 17:47
  • I haven't built a 4.2 branch of octave, but what I remember of earlier builds the process is pretty informative i.e. when you attempt to configure and build it, it gives you a nice summary about what components / capabilities will be included / excluded. So if you don't have the appropriate packages installed, you will probably see a nice message that it will be configured to use gnuplot. Having said that, IIRC the only specific OpenGL package I recall needing to install was libqt4-opengl-dev and its associated dependencies. – steeldriver Mar 02 '17 at 17:51
  • @XavierStuvw I'm happy that I was able to provide an additional clue. I may not have all the answers, but I'm definitely Eager To Help – Elder Geek Mar 02 '17 at 17:52
  • See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesa_(computer_graphics) – XavierStuvw Mar 02 '17 at 17:56

1 Answers1

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You can install all of the dependencies needed to compile Octave by running the following commands.

First, enable the source repositories:

sudo sed -i 's/^. deb-src/deb-src/g' /etc/apt/sources.list

Next, update apt:

sudo apt update

Finally, install the build dependencies:

sudo apt-get build-dep octave
mchid
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