Question

I am trying to understand what the following code does:

glm::mat4 Projection = glm::perspective(35.0f, 1.0f, 0.1f, 100.0f);

Does it create a projection matrix? Clips off anything that is not in the user’s view?
I wasn’t able to find anything on the API page, and the only thing I could find in the pdf on their website was this:

gluPerspective:

glm::mat4 perspective(float fovy, float aspect, float zNear,
float zFar);
glm::dmat4 perspective(
double fovy, double aspect, double zNear,
double zFar);
From GLM_GTC_matrix_transform extension: <glm/gtc/matrix_transform.hpp>

But it doesn’t explain the parameters. Maybe I missed something.

Answer 1

It creates a projection matrix, i.e. the matrix that describes the set of linear equations that transforms vectors from eye space into clip space. Matrices really are not black magic. In the case of OpenGL they happen to be a 4-by-4 arrangement of numbers:

X_x Y_x Z_x T_x
X_y Y_y Z_y T_y
X_z Y_z Z_z T_z
X_w Y_w Z_w W_w

You can multply a 4-vector by a 4×4 matrix:

v' = M * v

v'_x = M_xx * v_x + M_yx * v_y + M_zx * v_z + M_tx * v_w
v'_y = M_xy * v_x + M_yy * v_y + M_zy * v_z + M_ty * v_w
v'_z = M_xz * v_x + M_yz * v_y + M_zz * v_z + M_tz * v_w
v'_w = M_xw * v_x + M_yw * v_y + M_zw * v_z + M_tw * v_w

After reaching clip space (i.e. after the projection step), the primitives are clipped. The vertices resulting from the clipping are then undergoing the perspective divide, i.e.

v'_x = v_x / v_w
v'_y = v_y / v_w
v'_z = v_z / v_w
( v_w = 1 = v_w / v_w )

And that’s it. There’s really nothing more going on in all those transformation steps than ordinary matrix-vector multiplication.

Now the cool thing about this is, that matrices can be used to describe the relative alignment of a coordinate system within another coordinate system. What the perspective transform does is, that it let’s the vertices z-values “slip” into their projected w-values as well. And by the perspective divide a non-unity w will cause “distortion” of the vertex coordinates. Vertices with small z will be divided by a small w, thus their coordinates “blow” up, whereas vertices with large z will be “squeezed”, which is what’s causing the perspective effect.