OpenGL Programming for Windows 95 and Windows NT [Paperback]

Ron Fosner (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0201407094 | ISBN-13: 978-0201407099 | Publication Date: November 8, 1996

The licensing of OpenGL to many leading computer companies, including Microsoft, has made it possible for graphics programmers to learn to write stunning 3D graphics programs using the industry graphics standard on the world's most popular operating system. And OpenGL Programming for Windows 95 and Windows NT is the key to the door of opportunity for those who see the tremendous potential for programmers who can produce high-quality 3D applications on these platforms. Using numerous examples, Microsoft's Visual C++ programming platform, the C++ programming language, and the Microsoft Foundation Classes, Fosner starts with a generic C application that can be compiled from any 32-bit C compiler and, step by step, covers the basics of creating an OpenGL program: Selecting the appropriate pixel format, Arranging the device context and rendering contexts, Enhancing OpenGL programs to achieve maximum speed, Using display lists and texture maps, Finding OpenGL enhancements hidden in your video driver, Programming OpenGL's Modelview matrix to get the effects you want, Providing rapid animation under Windows -- without bogging down the user interface. Most important, you'll absorb this knowledge within the context of developing a Windows application that you can experiment with and actually use in your Windows programs. You will gain hands-on experience in designing, creating, programming, measuring, and optimizing a real OpenGL 3D animation program.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The licensing of OpenGL to many leading computer companies, including Microsoft, has made it possible for graphics programmers to learn to write stunning 3D graphics programs using the industry graphics standard on the world's most popular operating system. And OpenGL Programming for Windows 95 and Windows NT is the key to the door of opportunity for those who see the tremendous potential for programmers who can produce high-quality 3D applications on these platforms.

Using numerous examples, Microsoft's Visual C++ programming platform, the C++ programming language, and the Microsoft Foundation Classes, Fosner starts with a generic C application that can be compiled from any 32-bit C compiler and, step by step, covers the basics of creating an OpenGL program:

• Selecting the appropriate pixel format

• Arranging the device context and rendering contexts

• Enhancing OpenGL programs to achieve maximum speed

• Using display lists and texture maps

• Finding OpenGL enhancements hidden in your video driver

• Programming OpenGL's Modelview matrix to get the effects you want

• Providing rapid animation under Windows -- without bogging down the user interface.

Most important, you'll absorb this knowledge within the context of developing a Windows application that you can experiment with and actually use in your Windows programs. You will gain hands-on experience in designing, creating, programming, measuring, and optimizing a real OpenGL 3D animation program.

0201407094B04062001

About the Author

Ron Fosner runs Data Visualization, a software consulting group specializing in data exploration and visual techniques, 3D graphics, and 3D user-interface techniques for Windows 95 and Windows NT. Previously, at Lotus Development Corporation, he worked on graphics systems and data analysis tools. Fosner is also the author of articles on object-oriented programming techniques, virtual reality, and OpenGL programming.

0201407094AB04062001

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (November 8, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201407094
• ISBN-13: 978-0201407099
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,475,824 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #58 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Graphics & Multimedia > OpenGL

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Convoluted. No real value above the standard red book., February 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: OpenGL Programming for Windows 95 and Windows NT (Paperback)

I was hoping this book would help with a project I was working on. Unfortunately it was vague and had no real depth. In the end I bought Mark Kilgard's excellent book on X Windows and translated his excellent descriptions and code examples into the equivalent wgl functions. I also bought OpenGL Superbible which is better than this for wgl functions.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A clunker, February 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: OpenGL Programming for Windows 95 and Windows NT (Paperback)

The "reader from Princeton, NJ" hit it on the head when he called this book "Horrifyingly Undercooked". DO NOT try to read the sections on understanding translations and rotations, the author is a klutz at explaining it - just use the "Red Book".

The only thing I got out of the book was to take one of the early simple sample programs to start a framework for building my Windows-based application(a flight simulator). The OpenGL SuperBible is much better, wish I would have known about it first.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Frustrating, badly planned, and badly written., September 24, 2000

By 

sporkdude "sporkdude" (San Jose, Ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: OpenGL Programming for Windows 95 and Windows NT (Paperback)

I cannot express how bad this book is. In all fairness, I only got through half the book, but that's because if I continued, I would have wasted my time and tried my patience. This book is incomprehensible, convoluted, and just plain horrible.

The major problem is that this books gets worse and worse by each chapter. This is because a chapter requires that you know what happened in the previous chapter. Since this book starts off pretty bad, it gradually turns into a foreign language by chapter 7.

Another problem is that the author also has no fluidity. Compound this with the fact that this book is technical book, it makes reading one page a major chore.

Finally, the examples are just plain bad. First, it requires the reader to be very familiar with Visual C++. That's not all bad, but the examples presented rely on information that was badly presented, hardly presented, or not presented yet. Also, the examples' explanations barely explain what the code does.

If you're like me, a programmer that was curious about OpenGL, avoid this book. It's needless to say that my interest in OpenGL dwindled to nothing after trying to read this.