Mason Woo | Jackie Neider | Tom Davis | Dave Shreiner | OpenGL Architecture Review Board
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
1 Bound man pages
There are about 20 brief introductory pages at the beginning of the book that are the unique content. After that the book is basically bound manual pages for the APIs. If you don't like reading this material on a screen then you might consider buying the book.
I'm giving this book three stars because even though it's handy to have a reference manual such as this, I think they could have spent the time to do some cross referencing and some better graphical structuring to add value to the material. O'Reilly, for example, has some books (particularly the Nutshell books) which are little more than API references, but people pay for the cross-referencing and the information design. More care could have been taken on this book.
2 An OpenGL Companion
The fourth edition of "OpenGL Reference Manual" edited by Dave Shreiner provides an official command reference for the OpenGL graphics library version 1.4. Published by Addison Wesley (ISBN 0-321-17383-X) the text is approximately 760 pages and has a suggested retail price of $59.99.
First introduced in 1992, OpenGL is an industry standard graphical application programming interface (API) that supports 2D and 3D rendering across a host of platforms. The Architectural Review Board (ARB) governs the OpenGL API and oversees the adoption of new interface functions. Functions (or commands) within the API are usually simple and discrete. A developer calls a series of these small functions in sequence to specify rendering operations. To help utilize the library, the "OpenGL Reference Manual" supplies key functional documentation in a uniform manner.
The first two chapters provide an introduction to OpenGL, and an overview of the OpenGL architecture. The provided information is largely for reference rather than instruction. Generally, it is assumed the reader has a working knowledge of the pipeline already.
The third and fourth chapters list different groupings of the functional commands to provide the reader with several methods to index and reference functions. The third chapter details all each official OpenGL command categorized by functionality. The fourth chapter lists the various OpenGL constants that are compatible with each command.
Beginning with the fifth chapter, 160 official OpenGL commands are described. Listed alphabetically, every command has the following sections: Name, Function Prototype, Parameters, Description, Notes, Errors, See Also, and (sometimes when appropriate) Associated Gets. The coverage of each command spans an average of 3 pages.
The last two chapters describe fifty-two of the OpenGL Utility Library (GLU) and thirty-five OpenGL X-Windows extension commands. The reference format is identical but slightly shorter (averaging about 2 pages per command).
Overall, the organization and consistency is excellent. Often, material is duplicated per command to save the reader cross-referencing other sections of the book. Throughout the text, the wording is clear and unambiguous (if a bit dry) - exactly what you'd expect from a reference book of this nature.
The book does have a few shortcomings, however. There is only a small trace of sample source code. While the commands are presented alphabetically by class, the book contained no overall index. OpenGL Extensions (pixel and vertex shader commands, etc.) are not provided since they're not officially part of the Standard. Finally, having an electronic version of the text would have been a nice touch - especially one that integrated with the common development environments to provide context sensitive help or electronic searching.
The latest edition of the "OpenGL Reference Manual" is a great companion for OpenGL developers. To get the most from this book, readers unfamiliar or interested in learning the API should first read the "OpenGL Programming Guide, 4th Edition" (ISBN 0-3-211-73491) also published by Addison Wesley.
3 The best OpenGL book on the market ...unfortunately.
If you have a degree in Computer Science or Mathematics, this is the OpenGL book for you; otherwise, you'll want to start with something substantially simpler.
Even for those with the requisite pre-education, some parts of the book gloss over details a little too much, leaving you to experiment with the demonstration software to work out what things do. For example, the description of texture blending modes is very skimpy--if you want to know the difference between alpha, luminance and intensity textures, you'll need to look elsewhere.
Another problem is that the arrangement of information is sometimes perverse; while it may make sense from a reference point of view, learners will need to skip around in the book to learn things in a logical order. For instance, you're told how to define texture coordinate arrays, and texture mipmap generation is explained in detail, long before the book has gotten around to explaining how to actually paint a texture on a polygon.
Finally, with OpenGL at version 1.4, the book is in need of an update. I wish I could recommend a better book, but at the time of writing this really does seem to be the best one available.
4 Overrated, but there's barely anything better out there
This is not a good book for beginners at all. The explanations are very hard to follow and are rather boring. However, experienced OpenGL users will want to use this book, interestingly enough, as a kind of reference. Just because there doesn't seem to be any book out there that's better does not mean that this book deserves 5 stars.
I ended up learning by looking at people's code (the Nehe tutorials and others) and then referring back to selected sections in the red and blue book as well as asking on newsgroups and mailing lists before I could figure out things. In other words, with this book, you've still got your work cut out for you when learning OpenGL. However, once you start learning more, this book might become more invaluable.
5 Efficient Book !!! The Good and the Bad...
Straight to the facts...
This book is good on concepts and theory, a bit shadey in the area of actual code. To expand on that statement, some of the code is indeed buggy. You can work the logic errors easily by evaluating the code. But with that said, don't rely on the code all the time. The book's way of introducing and covering topics of geometry,algebra,trigonomtry, and physics is very comfortable. You will indeed learn the beautiful tricks of smoothing and shading/lighting when rendering your scenes.
If you are a beginner developer, know that this book is not intended as a good read at your level.
If you don't already know, OpenGL does not have any audio(music,sound,etc) capabilities. OpenGL is a Graphical Software Development Kit.
6 very helpful and in depth
This is a very helpful book for learning OpenGl. However, dont expect it to teach you C++, you had better already know that before you try to learn OpenGL. Good examples and easy to read.
7 All you need to get started...
I read the OpenGL Superbible before I read the Red book, and I have to say that I like the latter better. It has fewer typo's, its diagrams are clearer, and IMHO the explanations were easier to understand. Look at the diagrams in the Superbible to get what I mean! Many of them are either misleading or plain wrong. Since it's a visual thing, the diagrams ARE important. Thankfully, you won't go wrong with the Red book.
8 Artistic visions realised!
Admittedly inspired by the classic action game Tomb Raider. I have, since that day, dreamt of a world of three dimensional, hyperrealistic pleasures. Creating such a place became my goal in life, but it soon became obvious that a lack of programming knowledge and oppressive age-restrictive laws were standing firmly in my way. An incomplete middle-high-school mathematical education left me totally clueless, but sheer determination kept me going for far longer than I had imagined I could have. All was to no avail, however. Frustrated with Visual Basic and mspaint.exe. But, fate showed pity, and as I browsed, I was, by some miracle of divine intervention. Making the decision to postpone my alternative purchase was a difficult one, but bo am I glad I did. This book has been an invaluable tool in the realisation of my vision, and although my world is far from complete... the wireframe pleasures I witness are more than enough to keep me going late into the night.
9 A must buy ... !!!
I'm new to graphics programming. I started out by programming in DirectX, using LaMothe's "Windows Game Programming for Dummies". The book was OK, but due to the extreme confusion of DirectX, I wasn't able to understand past chapter 3.
So, if you're confused about DirectX and really need to program in OpenGL, that's the best book to buy. The book takes you step by step from scratch to building up your program. Tons of coding examples are included in the book, and are very well documented. What's good about this book is all the coding examples are based on the C language. So, if you're not a good C++ programmer, or a better C than a C++ programmer, then this is the book to get.
One drawback about the book, is it doesn't include a CD. So, you have to write all the code yourself. That gives you a hands-on experience. The book also doesn't include the GLUT library, and most of the examples in the book use it. So you have to download it. ...
10 Very good Book
Te book was put together very well in a logical and coherent order. The only problem I had with the book was doing some of the lighting calculations, a bit thougher then i expected, but i was able to figure it out with-out much trouble. Other then a few headaches (from math), the book was written and put together very well, and covers exactly what it is supposed to cover.
11 This is one amazing book.
This was my first pick and i would like to mention that i had no prior experience with Opengl. The book has been organized in a very understandable manner and the learning curve is not that bumpy.
12 For Programmers Only
This book is intended for people doing heavy OpenGL progs, don't buy it ir you're a casual user, go for it when doing ports, dealing with toolkits, etc
13 Concise e fast way to start programming with OpenGL
Very well writen, simple and excelent. Don't forget to download Mesa from www.mesa3d.org and take a look, also, on the OGL Reference Manual and the OpenGL Programming for The X Windows System by Mark Kilgaard
14 Definitely a must have
What can I say? This book lives up to its reputation of being THE book for learning OpenGL. It's extremely well written, contains easy to use and understand sample programs, is quite complete in its coverage, and it is entirely platform-independent. Anyone who wants to learn OpenGL should have this book.
15 Great OpenGL book for the college student
This book was used for CS 453 (Computer Graphics I) at Washington University in St. Louis. I find it to be very informative and a good book to use for learning the basics of computer graphics.
16 Absoultely Essential
It is vital that you have this book when programming in OpenGL, especially when learning and you have not yet memorized even the more common prototypes. This book is NOT a replacement for the OpenGL Programming Guide, it is meant to acompany it and be a more useful reference once you have read the Programming Guide. Very VERY usefull. Well Organized, imporant infomation jumps right out at you and details are available on the same page. Overall one of the best references I've used for any language or API.
17 this book is so lame
i am a professional game programmer and i think this book sucks. it was so so so out of date and it cost a little to much for a piece of crap. i would suggest getting the Opengl Super Bible.
i write better code.
18 A must have
Absolutely necessary if you plan on using OpenGL in any serious fashion. The Third Edition includes OpenGL 1.2 API descriptions and extensions. As the title says, this is not a book to read (that's what the Programming Guide is for), but to reference.
19 Great book, but not for beginners...
This book goes into great detail on OpenGL, with some very helpful examples and lots of code fragments. All the examples from the book can be found on the enclosed CD. A little too complex for people who are new to C++ though. I found myself struggling with this book at first but, when my grasp of the language became better, this became a gold mine of information.
20 I am happy!
What more can you say my friend?, this book is what IT IS: OpenGL by the people who made it!
Could not be no bettttter.
Thank you to the ARB people. Looking forward to more, more and more...
Buy this book if you are serious with OpenGL, period.
21 Fantastic
This is by far the best and most useful OpenGL book that I own. Not only does this book do a great job on teaching OpenGL functions and format, but it delves into the concepts of 2D and 3D graphics theory. The chapters are organized very well and cover their respective topics rather thoroughly. Be weary, however, as this book does assume you have a bit of experience with some graphics concepts, matrix math, and of course, C programming. Overall, if you ever plan on using OpenGL, this book is a must have!
22 This book gets better every edition
This is the best place to start learning about OpenGL and it has enough depth and scope to keep you refering to it at an advanced level. I am pleased that each edition gets better. Not only by adding the new features of the latest release of OpenGL but also revising the older chapters to improve their clarity. You really can't go that wrong with this book but be aware that there are some vector and matrix calculations here that assume you have prior knowledge of why it works. Overall a good balance of theory, code samples and math. Also, if you are using an earlier version of OpenGL (1.0 or 1.1) can still use this book, just make sure you watch out for the comments as to which features are available in which version.
23 An essential piece of equipment for an OpenGL programmer
This is an excellent book on OpenGL. This may not be for the absolute beginner in computer graphics (it does assume you understand some concepts of computer generated graphics) but for those that understand the fundamentals of graphics, this is a superb book. Commands are organized nicely into numbers of tables for eacy access along with extensive indexes for reference. Not only does it explain the commands that OpenGL uses, it goes into what happens behind the scenes (what OpenGL does "for you") when you invoke a command. This can make determining if an effect is too taxing on your processor to bother with. For someone that knows a little something about computer graphics (you don't really have to know much) and is learning OpenGL, this is an essential piece of equipment.
24 Incredible book
This is one of the best graphics books I have read. If you have any interest in graphics programming, you should own this book.
25 Excellent place to start learning 3D programming
Before I started reading this book, I tried learning from the Direct3D on-line documentation. I had no previous knowledge in polygons at all. I had managed to hack up an unlit polygon, but I still never knew what I was doing. After much frustration (help files are never helpful) I decided to bite the bullet and buy a book on OpenGL. This book has been the best investment I have made so far to my programming career. Even if you want to use a different 3d API, you should start with this book, because OpenGL is EASY to learn. In fact, I can even understand D3D documentation now!
26 They do it again!, The best Book for OpenGL!
This is the Book for OpenGL Programing,They explane everything about the API and its a good reference for it. This is the book if you want to program OpenGL!. Keep going guys nice job! :-)
27 The book is a must have!
I found this book to be great, from an in depth introduction to shaddows and textures with OpenGL. I also found the refrences for Apple OpenGL (ALG), X-Windows OpenGL (GLX), and Win32 OpenGL (WGL) to be very helpful. The book is a must have for any 3D graphics or game programmer. Even explains advanced topics like shaddows and curved surfaces!
28 The definitive reference guide to the OpenGL API
This book isn't about how to write a game; this book is about the OpenGL API and how to effectively use it to generate great 3d graphics. Every concept is outlined in an easy to follow, step by step manner. Every chapter outlines exactly what is covered in that chapter with plenty of cross-references to other chapters. If you are seeking a book about how to make the next Quake, this isn't it. If you need to find out what OpenGL is, how to use it, and how to make your graphics programs fly, THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU. 'Nuff said.
29 Highly recommended
This book is the definitive reference for OpenGL programming, both as a reference for the experienced OpenGL programmer and for the experienced programmer with no real 3D experience. The book has good explanations and plenty of pictures and diagrams that give a novice a clear view of 3D programming in OpenGL. Highly recommended for those wanting to get a deep understanding, but not a beginners book.
30 A must for OpenGL programmers
This book is a must for those wanting to fully exploit the power of OpenGL. In this 3rd Edition, the authors have included the newest features of OpenGL, Version 1.2. In particular, the discussion about multitexturing and imaging subset deserves a special mention, since they represent the latest rendering techniques available in form of a standard library.
Although all features, from the most basic to the most advanced technique, are covered in this book, it is not an introductory graphics text book. Readers should have a basic knowledge about computer graphics in order to benefit from this book. Also, it is useful to be familiar with 2D/3D geometry and other graphics libraries. As code fragments and samples are written in C, experience with this programming language is also required.
I recommend this book for any serious OpenGL programmer, perhaps complemented with the "OpenGL Reference Manual" and "Programming OpenGL for the X Window System" by Mark Kilgard.
31 Updated OpenGL coverage; best practical 3D book
The 3rd Edition of the "OpenGL Programming Guide" is an important upgrade to what is the definitive introduction to OpenGL programming. I was pleased to participate in the technical review of this book so I can attest to (and I guess be held indirectly accountable for) the book's completeness and accuracy.
If you are interested in practical 3D programming using the latest in 3D hardware acceleration and you want a straightforward and portable programming interface, OpenGL is definitely the way to go, and this book is what you need to get started.
Since the last update two years ago, OpenGL 1.2 and the OpenGL multitexturing extension have been standardized. This Guide has complete explanations and tutorial coverage on all new OpenGL 1.2 features and the multitexturing extension.
OpenGL 1.2 is packed with new features like volume textures, image processing capabilities, more image formats, etc, etc. The book covers _all_ the new stuff in OpenGL 1.2. OpenGL multitexturing is already widely available. Games such as the much anticipated "Quake III: Arena" use OpenGL multitexturing, and I expect lots of other 3D games will be using multitexturing as well.
Since the book uses the OpenGL Utility Toolkit (GLUT), all the examples can be compiled and run on basically all OpenGL implemenetations, independent of operating system (Linux, Windows 95/NT, IRIX, MacOS, etc). The updated book also contains appendices that detail operating system specific OpenGL usage.
If you are a newbie to OpenGL, this is definitely the book to start with.
But I bet most OpenGL programmers already have an earlier edition of this book so the big question is whether the new edition is worth it. If you still have the 1st edition, getting the 3rd is a no-brainer. If you have the 2nd edition, the main benefit of the 3rd edition is the new coverage of OpenGL 1.2 and multitexturing and the improved coverage of operating system support.
- Mark Kilgard, author of the OpenGL Utility Tookit (GLUT) and "Programming OpenGL for the X Window System"
32 Should be in every serious 3D programmer's library
The Opengl Programming Guide has become a standard to which other 3D programming books are compared. It serves two basic functions: a tutorial of topical 3D concepts inherent in todays 3D graphics hardware/software and an instructional manual offering a precise explanation of the functional calls with supporting attributes/arguments defined by the OpenGL Application Programming Interface. The book is extremely well organized and allows readers to focus on specific topics while still maintaining perspective of the entire rendering pipeline. It is comprehensive, up-to-date and easy to read making it my first choice for clarifying all 3D technical issues. I cannot imagine a serious 3D programmer or software architect not having this book included in their personal library.
33 Excellent resource for the OpenGL programmer
An excellent resource for anyone moving to OpenGL or wanting examples and discussions while learning graphics programming with OpenGL. Continues the approach of the second edition and adds coverage of several advanced areas. Not a graphics text in itself, but a very good supplement to a text in any course using OpenGL -- I put my personal copy of the second edition in my lab and it was used heavily.
34 reference
Yes.... all you get is all of the functions listed in alphabetical order.... how to use them, different ways you can use them, what kinds of errors will spawn from a function, and also, what kinds of functions to coincide with the use of it. The OpenGL programmers Guide is excellent by itself... this just tells you what's inside (function wise) ... doesn't tutor you on anything, that's why you always need a programmers reference..... you necessairly don't need this book with the programmers guide, you'll get along fine with it. But this is a quick reference, and that's never bad
35 Just What it says
This book is just what it claims to be, a reference manual for OpenGL.If you're looking for a tutorial text on either OpenGL or Graphics Programming in general, I would recommend looking elsewhere.
36 Just What it says
This book is just what it claims to be, a reference manual for OpenGL.If you're looking for a tutorial text on either OpenGL or Graphics Programming in general, I would recommend looking elsewhere.
