Amazon.com Review
The
OpenGL Programming Guide, now in its third edition, is the definitive volume for programmers using this evolving graphics interface standard. Written by members of the OpenGL Architecture Review Board, this book offers understandable tutorials and lessons on getting up to speed and getting the most out of the latest version of OpenGL, version 1.2.
The guide uses code examples in C and is targeted at programmers who have experience in coding yet are new to coding for OpenGL applications. The opening chapters go into descriptive detail of how OpenGL, the software interface for hardware 3-D chipsets, works and what you can expect from it, which turns out to be much more than you might have thought. Color plates are used, for example, to show how OpenGL handles such effects as motion blur and depth-of-field blur, in addition to shadows and texture mapping.
This is not a beginner's guide to programming computer graphics. Some previous knowledge of both programming in general and computer graphics in particular is required. For example, code snippets are used to describe how to implement these effects, but because OpenGL is platform-independent, some code examples may need to be modified when used with your specific compiler.
Filled with the expertise of those who standardized OpenGL, there is no better reference volume for learning and understanding this system. The examples cited are clear, commented, and explained. The only drawback to the book is that it lacks a companion CD-ROM--all examples must be either typed in or downloaded from an Internet FTP site. (The URL is listed in the preface.) --Mike Caputo
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
The Official Reference Document to OpenGL, Version 1.4 OpenGL is a powerful software interface used to produce high-quality computer-generated images and interactive graphics applications by rendering 2D and 3D geometric objects, bitmaps, and color images. Officially sanctioned by the OpenGL Architecture Review Board (ARB), The OpenGL(R) Reference Manual, Fourth Edition, is the comprehensive and definitive documentation of all core OpenGL functions. This fourth edition has been completely revised and updated for OpenGL Versions 1.3 and 1.4. It features coverage of cube-mapped textures, multisampling, depth textures and shadowing, multitexturing, and register combiners. In addition, this book documents all OpenGL Utility Library functions (GLU 1.3) and the OpenGL extension to the X Window System (GLX 1.3). A comprehensive reference section documents each set of related OpenGL commands. Each reference page contains: *A description of the command's parameters *The command's effect on rendering and how OpenGL's state is modified *Examples *References to related functions *Errors generated by each function This book also includes a conceptual overview of OpenGL, a summary of commands and routines, a chapter on defined constants and associated commands, and descriptions of the multitexturing and imaging subset ARB extensions. The OpenGL Technical Library provides tutorial and reference books for OpenGL. The Library enables programmers to gain a practical understanding of OpenGL and shows them how to unlock its full potential. Originally developed by SGI, the Library continues to evolve under the auspices of the Architecture Review Board (ARB), an industry consortium responsible for guiding the evolution of OpenGL and related technologies. The OpenGL ARB is composed of leaders in the computer graphics industry: 3Dlabs, Apple, ATI, Dell, Evans & Sutherland, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Matrox, NVIDIA, SGI, and Sun Microsystems.
by Tomas Akenine-Moller
by Francis S Hill Jr.
