OpenGL 4.1 Allows the Use Of Binary Shaders

Among the new specifications of OpenGL 4.1, there is this one:

* The ability to query and load a binary for shader program objects to save re-compilation time

This is possible via the new GL_ARB_get_program_binary extension that makes it possible to handle the binary representation of an ASCII GLSL shader and load them in video memory without compile.

NVIDIA driver R259.09 exposes this extension for an OpenGL 4 context but also for an OpenGL 2 context. so if using this extension haven't compatibility problem with multiple video cards then it's safe to use this extension in Game Development. (with an Updated Driver)