The Best OpenGL Books for Beginners

Over 70 recipes that cover advanced techniques for 3D programming such as Lighting, Shading, Textures, Particle Systems, and Image processing with OpenGL 4.6. Key Features. Explore techniques for implementing shadows using shadow maps and shadow volumesLearn to use GLSL features such as compute, geometry, and tessellation shadersUse GLSL to create a wide variety of modern, realistic visual effectsBook Description.

OpenGL 4 Shading Language Cookbook, Third Edition provides easy-to-follow recipes that first walk you through the theory and background behind each technique, and then proceed to showcase and explain the GLSL and OpenGL code needed to implement them. The book begins by familiarizing you with beginner-level topics such as compiling and linking shader programs, saving and loading shader binaries (including SPIR-V), and using an OpenGL function loader library. We then proceed to cover basic lighting and shading effects. After that, you'll learn to use textures, produce shadows, and use geometry and tessellation shaders. Topics such as particle systems, screen-space ambient occlusion, deferred rendering, depth-based tessellation, and physically based rendering will help you tackle advanced topics. OpenGL 4 Shading Language Cookbook, Third Edition also covers advanced topics such as shadow techniques (including the two of the most common techniques: shadow maps and shadow volumes). You will learn how to use noise in shaders and how to use compute shaders. The book provides examples of modern shading techniques that can be used as a starting point for programmers to expand upon to produce modern, interactive, 3D computer-graphics applications. What you will learn. Compile, debug, and communicate with shader programsUse compute shaders for physics, animation, and general computingLearn about features such as shader storage buffer objects and image load/storeUtilize noise in shaders and learn how to use shaders in animationsUse textures for various effects including cube maps for reflection or refractionUnderstand physically based reflection models and the SPIR-V Shader binaryLearn how to create shadows using shadow maps or shadow volumesCreate particle systems that simulate smoke, fire, and other effectsWho this book is for:. If you are a graphics programmer looking to learn the GLSL shading language, this book is for you. A basic understanding of 3D graphics and programming experience with C++ are required.

OpenGL ES 2.0 is the industry&;s leading software interface and graphics library for rendering sophisticated 3D graphics on handheld and embedded devices. With OpenGL ES 2.0, the full programmability of shaders is now available on small and portable devices&;including cell phones, PDAs, consoles, appliances, and vehicles. However, OpenGL ES differs significantly from OpenGL. Graphics programmers and mobile developers have had very little information about it&;until now. In the OpenGL® ES 2.0 Programming Guide, three leading authorities on the Open GL ES 2.

0 interface&;including the specification&;s editor&;provide start-to-finish guidance for maximizing the interface&;s value in a wide range of high-performance applications. The authors cover the entire API, including Khronos-ratified extensions. Using detailed C-based code examples, they demonstrate how to set up and program every aspect of the graphics pipeline. You&;ll move from introductory techniques all the way to advanced per-pixel lighting, particle systems, and performance optimization. Coverage includes:. Shaders in depth: creating shader objects, compiling shaders, checking for compile errors, attaching shader objects to program objects, and linking final program objectsThe OpenGL ES Shading Language: variables, types, constructors, structures, arrays, attributes, uniforms, varyings, precision qualifiers, and invarianceInputting geometry into the graphics pipeline, and assembling geometry into primitivesVertex shaders, their special variables, and their use in per-vertex lighting, skinning, and other applicationsUsing fragment shaders&;including examples of multitexturing, fog, alpha test, and user clip planesFragment operations: scissor test, stencil test, depth test, multisampling, blending, and ditheringAdvanced rendering: per-pixel lighting with normal maps, environment mapping, particle systems, image post-processing, and projective texturingReal-world programming challenges: platform diversity, C++ portability, OpenKODE, and platform-specific shader binaries.

OpenGL® ES™ is the industry’s leading software interface and graphics library for rendering sophisticated 3D graphics on handheld and embedded devices. The newest version, OpenGL ES 3.0, makes it possible to create stunning visuals for new games and apps, without compromising device performance or battery life. In the OpenGL ® ES ™ 3.0 Programming Guide, Second Edition, the authors cover the entire API and Shading Language. They carefully introduce OpenGL ES 3.0 features such as shadow mapping, instancing, multiple render targets, uniform buffer objects, texture compression, program binaries, and transform feedback.

Through detailed, downloadable C-based code examples, you’ll learn how to set up and program every aspect of the graphics pipeline. Step by step, you’ll move from introductory techniques all the way to advanced per-pixel lighting and particle systems. Throughout, you’ll find cutting-edge tips for optimizing performance, maximizing efficiency with both the API and hardware, and fully leveraging OpenGL ES 3.0 in a wide spectrum of applications. All code has been built and tested on iOS 7, Android 4.3, Windows (OpenGL ES 3.0 Emulation), and Ubuntu Linux, and the authors demonstrate how to build OpenGL ES code for each platform. Coverage includes EGL API: communicating with the native windowing system, choosing configurations, and creating rendering contexts and surfaces Shaders: creating and attaching shader objects; compiling shaders; checking for compile errors; creating, linking, and querying program objects; and using source shaders and program binaries OpenGL ES Shading Language: variables, types, constructors, structures, arrays, attributes, uniform blocks, I/O variables, precision qualifiers, and invariance Geometry, vertices, and primitives: inputting geometry into the pipeline, and assembling it into primitives 2D/3D, Cubemap, Array texturing: creation, loading, and rendering; texture wrap modes, filtering, and formats; compressed textures, sampler objects, immutable textures, pixel unpack buffer objects, and mipmapping Fragment shaders: multitexturing, fog, alpha test, and user clip planes Fragment operations: scissor, stencil, and depth tests; multisampling, blending, and dithering Framebuffer objects: rendering to offscreen surfaces for advanced effects Advanced rendering: per-pixel lighting, environment mapping, particle systems, image post-processing, procedural textures, shadow mapping, terrain, and projective texturing Sync objects and fences: synchronizing within host application and GPU execution This edition of the book includes a color insert of the OpenGL ES 3.0 API and OpenGL ES Shading Language 3.0 Reference Cards created by Khronos. The reference cards contain a complete list of all of the functions in OpenGL ES 3.0 along with all of the types, operators, qualifiers, built-ins, and functions in the OpenGL ES Shading Language.