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Asked: 2026-06-07T06:21:07+00:00

if this topic is a duplicate, I’m sorry, but I couldn’t find the information

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if this topic is a duplicate, I’m sorry, but I couldn’t find the information I am asking anywhere.

I had started learning OpenGL, and I had even made a very simple game using OpenGL ES 1.1 some years ago for iOS. However, I have abandoned it in favor of other projects. The last version of OpenGL I checked out was 2.1, and frankly, I just checked it out without giving it too much attention before abandoning it for my full time iOS employment.

Now, I want to pick it up again. However, the books I have cover OpenGL 2.5 (Red Book), OpenGL ES 2.0 (I hadn’t have the chance to open it) and OpenGL Shading language (I can’t remember which one, but I bought it at the same time I bought the Red Book). I have read that OpenGL 3.0 and above changed dramatically the rendering pipeline making it fully programmable, and that’s why it dropped support for older features, getting also rid of obsolete and bloating functions.

I have two computers with OS X 10.7.4, a Macbook with GeForce 9400M, and an iMac with ATI Radeon HD 6750 Mobility, both of which I believe are in compliance with OpenGL 3.0 (at least with most features).

Giving all this information, here are my main questions:

  1. Are there any good start up tutorials in OpenGL 3.0+?
  2. Are there any good start up tutorials in OpenGL 3.0 + for OS X? All I could find was outdated tutorials for fixed pipeline
  3. Are the books I already have going to help me or will I need to buy their newest versions due to the shift in the OpenGL pipeline?
  4. Is there something I have misunderstood or that I am missing?

My target is mainly OS X, iOS and Android, therefore I am not interested in platform-specific resources and information. I understand that every platform has its own implementation and extensions to the OpenGL API, but I wan to be as platform-independent as possible. I am not specifying any language in my question, since I am proficient in C/C++/ObjC and the Android OpenGL Java implementation is not that different from what I hear.

Time is not an issue, nor my mathematical/programming skills. And I also don’t want to initially learn how to use any wrappers/frameworks around OpenGL, before I learn the basics of OpenGL before learning abstract notions and frameworks around it.

Thank in advance for all the information and directions you can give me regarding this matter.

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    Answer to question 3:

    An excellent book about OpenGL ES 2.0 is OpenGL ES 2.0 Programming Guide by Aaftab Munshi. As OpenGL ES 2.0 is roughly a subset of OpenGL 3.0+, this book might be useful for OpenGL 3.0+ developers as well.

    There is no really good book about OpenGL 3.0+. The currently available editions of the OpenGL Red Book mainly focus on old-style deprecated OpenGL programming and can not be recommended.
    There will be a new edition of the OpenGL Red Book available in January 2013
    with 85% new material and focus on modern OpenGL programming. Wait with the Red Book until then.

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