I am a C # programmer. I am also doing 3D modeling (Maya, 3ds max, ZBrush) I want to learn OpenGL + C ++. Found the book "OpenGL - Programming Guide, 4th Edition" Davis, Nader, Schreiner ...

Question: Is there any reason to read this book today (December 2015) if I want to use the latest version of OpenGL? Let me clarify - the question is not about the abstract “does it make sense”, but specifically about the relevance of this book today, in order to get up to speed as soon as possible and start writing 3D programs on the latest version of OpenGL.

For example here there are comments that mislead me. It says about the outdated graphics processing pipeline or something like that. And this comment is already 2 years old.

PS It is very difficult to give a lot in OpenGL today. Specifically, this does not concern the C ++ language, but the logic of the 3D type of the mysterious glMatrixMode(GL_PROJECTION),glOrtho.. , etc., 3D-mathematics. Therefore, I will be glad to any help in this matter.

Closed due to the fact that it is necessary to reformulate the question so that it was possible to give an objectively correct answer by the participants tutankhamun , Athari , Saidolim , VenZell , user194374 30 Dec '15 at 12:44

The question gives rise to endless debates and discussions based not on knowledge, but on opinions. To get an answer, rephrase your question so that it can be given an unambiguously correct answer, or delete the question altogether. If the question can be reformulated according to the rules set out in the certificate , edit it .

  • one
    No, it's the same in 2015 ... But seriously, the question here is rather not in relevance, but in the quality of the material presented. - AseN
  • @ 0xFFh about 2015 did not understand ... The book is poorly presented? Please advise then what to read "teapot" in this matter. - cvvvlad
  • one
    @cvvvlad relevance is a subjective concept. In any case, a book on the developing applied technology of 2006 will most likely be irrelevant. - PashaPash ♦

2 answers 2

No, this book is 2006, it makes no sense to even begin to look. There really opengl switched from a fixed pipeline to programmable shaders, and everything old has lost its relevance.

Here are current in Russian:

OpenGL ES 3.0. Developer's Guide

OpenGL 4. Shader language. Book of recipes

Both bought, well written, good translation. The first one, however, is rather a detailed guide on commands and syntax, the second is interesting from the point of view of the solutions already cited in it: all sorts of fog, lighting and so on. In Russian, this is all that is, from current books.

OpenGL Superbible, 6th edition - OpenGL SuperBible: Comprehensive Tutorial and Reference (6th Edition) http://rutracker.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4553108 in English.

The opengl book in English can be found quietly on rutracker: type opengl in the search - all that 2012,2013, 2014, 2015 can be watched, read, everything is more or less modern there:

http://rutracker.org/forum/tracker.php?nm=opengl

Another thing to keep in mind is that openGL has several different versions, they are similar in general. There is openGL ES for browsers and mobile devices - now it is very popular, I mostly work with it myself personally. For PC, in my opinion, openGL 4 version is now relevant.

If you want more material in Russian:

A good thread on w3bsit3-dns.com: Http://w3bsit3-dns.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=418429 and Startandroid. I started the cycle of lessons on openGL, but there is still little material there, so that they are there, where they will get and what they will write, I do not know. http://startandroid.ru/ru/uroki/vse-uroki-spiskom/397-urok-168-opengl-vvedenie.html

Separate articles on the camera, matrices can be found in gamedev.ru. Sometimes they help me a lot, the theory is well defined there sometimes.

  • Thank you so much for this amount of information! A specific answer to a specific question. After all, I could go in the wrong direction if it were not for your answers. Happy New Year! - cvvvlad

It does not have.

In general, I strongly advise you to learn OpenGL by tutorials, not by books. Some tutorials have a PDF version, which makes them very similar to books. The blog to which you referred, there is a selection of current tutorials , as well as the original series of tutorials in Russian. Now there are only 6 articles in the series, but more should appear soon.

  • Thank you so much for the answer! My comment to the answer @Evgeny Karavashkin also applies to you. THANK! - cvvvlad