From the Back Cover
OpenGL opens the door to the world of high-quality, high-performance 3D computer graphics. The preferred application programming interface for developing 3D applications, OpenGL is widely used in video game development, visualization and simulation, CAD, virtual reality, modeling, and computer-generated animation.
OpenGL? Distilled provides the fundamental information you need to start programming 3D graphics, from setting up an OpenGL development environment to creating realistic textures and shadows. Written in an engaging, easy-to-follow style, this book makes it easy to find the information you're looking for. You'll quickly learn the essential and most-often-used features of OpenGL 2.0, along with the best coding practices and troubleshooting tips.
Topics include
- Drawing and rendering geometric data such as points, lines, and polygons
- Controlling color and lighting to create elegant graphics
- Creating and orienting views
- Increasing image realism with texture mapping and shadows
- Improving rendering performance
- Preserving graphics integrity across platforms
A companion Web site includes complete source code examples, color versions of special effects described in the book, and additional resources.
About the Author
Paul Martz is a senior software engineer at SimAuthor, Inc., where he develops flight-data visualization software. He previously worked in the Graphics Software Lab at Hewlett-Packard, and the Workstation Graphics Division at Evans & Sutherland. While at Hewlett-Packard he led the effort to create the OpenGL technical FAQ and remains active in OpenGL newsgroups. Paul helped evaluate revisions to the OpenGL specifications and is currently an individual contributor to the OpenGL Architecture Review Board.
