[kruhft]

> OpenAL is a closed-source library

So are all official OpenGL implementations (MESA isn't official, last I heard). Doesn't stop them from being a standard and being used, although I agree they would be better if they were open source.

[Jasper_]

OpenGL has to talk to hardware and is implemented by the hardware vendor. OpenAL does not have multiple implementations, isn't provided by hardware vendors and just wraps the platform audio API.

[kruhft]

I'm not sure of your point here. Not sure why multiple implementations is a benefit for users. Audio is generic and hardware is cheap enough that the operating systems just implement and include drivers. It's a cross platform library that meets audio needs, including 3D/spatial audio, much like (and designed like) OpenGL.

[daurnimator]

What about http://www.openal-soft.org/