GLX是OpenGL Extension to the X Window System的缩写。它作为x的扩展，是x协议和X server的一部分，已经包含在X server的代码中了。GLX提供了x window system使用的OpenGL接口，允许通过x调用OpenGL库。OpenGL 在使用时，需要与一个实际的窗口系统关联起来。在不同平台上有不同的机制以关联窗口系统，在Windows上是WGL，在Linux上是GLX，在Apple OS上是AGL等。

GLX:OpenGL extension for X.

对于X窗口系统，它所使用的的OpenGL扩展（GLX）是作为OpenGL的一个附件提供的，所有的GLX函数都使用前缀glX。

GLX Provides a way to do OpenGL drawing into a window managed by the X server. Almost always available in software. The open drivers use the DRI to accelerate

GLX provides the glue connecting OpenGL® and the X Window System™ and is required by any OpenGL implementation using X. SGI is releasing its implementation of GLX under a public source license. This action, together with additional programming work being contributed to open source by Precision Insight, Inc., will extend the reach of OpenGL to a new category of platforms: Linux, BSD, and other operating systems using the popular XFree86 implementation of X.

The GLX release itself is targeted at developers working with XFree86.