OpenGL: A Primer (2nd Edition) [Paperback]

Edward Angel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 19, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0321237625 | ISBN-13: 978-0321237620 | Edition: 2

OpenGL: A Primer is a concise presentation of fundamental OpenGL. The book makes it easy for students to find functions and their descriptions. Supplemental examples are included in every chapter. Introduces a set of OpenGL functions and develops program examples that apply these functions in each chapter. Presents a non-mathematical treatment of OpenGL that covers the "how to" and gets students programming quickly with OpenGL. All chapters include a discussion of common pitfalls. All examples have been tested on Windows and Linux. This book is for anyone interested in Computer Graphics or Design.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Ed Angel provides an introduction to basic OpenGL 1.2 commands in a non-mathematical manner that covers the "how to" and gets readers programming quickly with OpenGL. This primer offers complete coverage of a subset of the OpenGL Application Programmers Interface (API). Case studies apply the commands and examples introduced in each chapter. A discussion of common pitfalls is also included in every chapter. Ten chapters cover: an introduction; two-dimensional programs; interaction and animation; three-dimensional programs; transformations; lights and materials; bits and pixels; texture mapping; curves and surfaces; and some advanced features of OpenGL. This concise introduction to OpenGL 1.2 is ideal for those looking to program computer graphics using OpenGL. It succeeds both as a companion to a book introducing computer graphics principles, and as a stand-alone beginnersÕ guide to OpenGL for programmers with a background in computer graphics. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Edward S. Angel is a Professor of Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Media Arts at the University of New Mexico. He received his PhD from the University of Southern California and his BS in engineering from the California Institute of Technology. His present research interests are in computer graphics and scientific visualization. He is also the author of the best-selling book, Interactive Computer Graphics: A Top-Down Approach Using OpenGL, Third Edition, also published by Addison-Wesley.

Professor Angel is the Principal Investigator of the NSF-funded Digital Pueblo Project, which is combining arts and technology to promote economic development among the communities in New Mexico through collaborative graphics and animation projects.
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Addison Wesley; 2 edition (April 19, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321237625
• ISBN-13: 978-0321237620
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,578,151 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Graphics & Multimedia > OpenGL

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for a beginner with basic programming skills., November 6, 2001

By 

tiggerbone "tiggerbone" (West Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: OpenGL 1.2: A Primer (Paperback)

I bought this book recently as a supplement to a computer graphics class that I am currently taking at Ohio State University. While this book is not an in-depth coverage of OpenGL or computer graphics, it does provide clear and concise explanations of OpenGL and GLUT functions necessary for the novice. I found it to be well organized and full of useful examples of code.

The author states that it is meant as a companion book to his textbook on OpenGL. It is easy to see that this is the case, in that certain expectations exist in order to fully appreciate the book. For example, the book does not cover the transformation matrices which form the bases for the transformation functions. It glosses over the coordinate transformations as well. In order to focus on how to achieve a desired effect the Primer concerns itself more with demonstating different functions and their effects rather than explaining how the functions achieve the things they do.

Still, I bought the book knowing this was the case. It is an excellent companion to a more thorough text. I am using Hill's Computer Graphics Using OpenGL, Second Edition.

Naturally, for a complete guide to OpenGL, I recommend the Red Book, OpenGL Programming Guide currently in it's Third Edition.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent starting point, October 25, 2003

By 

M "MIK" (DC/NoVA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: OpenGL 1.2: A Primer (Paperback)

I am a programmer who needs to implement some graphics in an application. Nothing really serious, but beyond the functions of Win32 API. So naturally I turned to OpenGL, but at first a was little turned off by its complexity (well, so I thought).
I ended up buying this book, and also the "red book" (OpenGL Programming Guide). OpenGL Primer is a great book to get a general overview and fast hands on experience. I was amazed how easy it actually is to get a basic OpenGL program up and running. When I am interested in more in depth knowledge on a subject, I turn to the red book.
Again I can recommend this to every beginner on this subject. Although on the cover it states "for programmers with background in computer graphics", I can say its easy to understand even if you have next to no prior knowledge, like me.
enjoy.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Useful, albeit buggy, June 11, 2002

By 

Tyler Rayner (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: OpenGL 1.2: A Primer (Paperback)

This book doesn't intend to be a full, in-depth OpenGL manual. It gears itself toward providing a dense, mid-level overview of a complex graphics API. The problem with this book is that it is filled with buggy example code. Considering the fact that the reader of this book will not be an experienced OpenGL developer, it's difficult to go through code line-by-line and find the careless type-o or other error. For some reason, this is a fairly common problem in many programming books (O'Reilly books being an exception). Why the publishers don't make sure the sample code compiles before they print a book, is beyond me.