Customer Reviews

OpenGL® ES 2.0 Programming Guide

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

From reading the reviews, there seems to have been a bit of confusion about whether or not the iPhone supports OpenGL ES 2.0. I thought I would chime in to help clarify the issue for potential buyers of the book. The iPhone 3G S that was announced on June 8th, 2009 is the first version of the iPhone to support OpenGL ES 2.0. The previous generation iPhone only supports OpenGL ES 1.1, which OpenGL ES 2.0 is not backwards-compatible with (the reasons for this incompatibility are discussed in Chapter 1 of the book).

In order to help iPhone 3G S developers use this book, I have ported the C-based sample code to the iPhone SDK 3.0 and made it available for download from the book website at http://www.opengles-book.com. In addition, I wrote a brief e-Chapter discussing what was involved in porting the sample code to the iPhone 3G S. That chapter is available for download for free from the book website in PDF.

I hope this helps clarify the questions.

It's a good introduction to OpenGL ES 2.0, but assumes the reader already has experience with desktop OpenGL or a with similar 3D graphics API. Don't buy this book if you don't already have such experience, or you will be completely lost.

This is probably the first modern OpenGL book which stays away from the fixed function pipeline. With OpenGL ES 2.0, the Khronos group removed all legacy / deprecated functionality from regular OpenGL. These modifications proved to be so well thought out, that the core OpenGL profile has adopted the very same modifications, and today (excluding geometry shaders), core OpenGL 4.1 matches OpenGL ES 2.0. However, there are no decent books out there which explain how and more importantly why things work they way they do. This book is a true exception, it explains all the nitty gritty details, and explains them quite well.

This book is not recommended for people new to 3D graphics programming. It is not a tutorial. However, I have yet to find a book which actually explains the hardware restrictions (eg. number of attributes you can pass into a shader), and why the API was created to match the hardware. This book actually explains how modern hardware works, and how to use GLSL programs to utilise the new functionality. If you're moving away from the fixed function OpenGL pipeline towards the core profile (and OpenGL ES 2.0), then there is no other book you need to explain how and why to get things done using the new API.

At this point in time, there is only one other OpenGL book which covers modern OpenGL (SuperBible 5th edition), but those authors focus too much on their own replacement toolkit and not OpenGL itself. What a disaster for a book claiming to teach how OpenGL works.

My recommendation: if you're moving away from the fixed function pipeline, then this book will teach you how to do it, and why things work they way they do. If you've never done 3D programming in the past, then this book will be completely over your head. It's one of the most valuable technical books I've purchased in the last decade.

I'm really enjoying reading this book. It uses precise language without being impenetrably dense. The book works up to illustrating an OpenGL ES 1.0-style fixed-function pipeline in OpenGL ES 2.0 shaders. Unfortunately, all of the code samples are set in a proportional font in the Kindle version. Every so often there are horizontal lines through the code samples. The code is still readable. The rest of the content is OK, although subtle when rendered as gray-on-gray.

This is a very low level and rigorous ( ie tedious ) intro to ES 2.0. Be prepared to wade through chapters and chapters before getting much on the screen. In all fairness that has much to do with the nature of ES 2, but the author doesn't make this any easier. The book does provide a thorough and accurate explanation of of ES 2 and if you can get through it you should be set for starting the journey of actually getting something on the screen. It's a hard road and you had best already know quite a bit about 3D graphics in general and the fixed function pipeline in particular before getting this book.

Update I've started to read
iPhone 3D Programming: Developing Graphical Applications with OpenGL ES

It's a much better intro to OpenGL ES.

This book will get you up and running quickly with shaders and using them in OpenGL ES 2.0. Most importantly, know that this book targets OpenGL ES 2.0. You're not getting something that specifically targets iPhone or Android development. You're also not going to get a treatise on GLSL or OpenGL. If you keep that in mind, then you'll appreciate this book for what it is.

It's difficult to write a platform agnostic book with so many implementations out there, so I give credit to the authors. Also, Dan Ginsburg was good enough to port the source to different platforms to help out the readers so they wouldn't be stuck with the default C language implementation.

Another difficulty with writing a book like this is finding the target audience and then tailoring the information so it doesn't bore advanced programmers nor leave beginners in the dust. I believe they did a good job finding the in-between.

Great book. I wish there was a similar reference on opengles 1.0 for android. But if you are doing 2.0 this is the book to have. Its not a graphics tutorial though. Keep that in mind.

This book is useful to learn about OpenGL ES. However it is not a great beginner book. I would recommend picking up a beginner OpenGL (non ES) book in addition to this. Once you have a foundation this book will be useful. Be careful though it is filled with errors even in the 3rd printing. Check the errata for updates, but the errata is not complete.

This book is great if you've been through some tutorials or worked with sample projects, and now you want to understand best practices and have good coverage of the API. You better already be familiar with 3D modeling concepts, as this book breezes through things that a beginner will not understand.

This book is well written. It is an easy read with lots of information. It has enough details; it does not keep you guessing nor does it bore you with useless or repeated information. The examples are complete and well written. It explains the basics with clarity and brevity. I hope all technical books are written this way.

It is a must for OpenGL ES 2.0!!!!