In Detail

OpenGL Shading Language (GLSL) is a programming language used for customizing parts of the OpenGL graphics pipeline that were formerly fixed-function, and are executed directly on the GPU. It provides programmers with unprecedented flexibility for implementing effects and optimizations utilizing the power of modern GPUs. With Version 4, the language has been further refined to provide programmers with greater power and flexibility, with new stages such as tessellation and compute.

OpenGL 4 Shading Language Cookbook provides easy-to-follow examples that first walk you through the theory and background behind each technique, and then go on to provide and explain the GLSL and OpenGL code needed to implement it. Beginner level through to advanced techniques are presented including topics such as texturing, screen-space techniques, lighting, shading, tessellation shaders, geometry shaders, compute shaders, and shadows.

OpenGL Shading Language 4 Cookbook is a practical guide that takes you from the fundamentals of programming with modern GLSL and OpenGL, through to advanced techniques. The recipes build upon each other and take you quickly from novice to advanced level code.

You’ll see essential lighting and shading techniques; examples that demonstrate how to make use of textures for a wide variety of effects and as part of other techniques; examples of screen-space techniques including HDR rendering, bloom, and blur; shadowing techniques; tessellation, geometry, and compute shaders; how to use noise effectively; and animation with particle systems.

OpenGL Shading Language 4 Cookbook provides examples of modern shading techniques that can be used as a starting point for programmers to expand upon to produce modern, interactive, 3D computer graphics applications.

Approach

OpenGL Shading Language 4 Cookbook is a hands-on guide that gets straight to the point – actually creating graphics, instead of just theoretical learning. Each recipe is specifically tailored to satisfy your appetite for producing real-time 3-D graphics using the latest GLSL specification.

Who this book is for

This book is for OpenGL programmers looking to use the modern features of GLSL 4 to create real-time, three-dimensional graphics. Familiarity with OpenGL programming, along with the typical 3D coordinate systems, projections, and transformations is assumed. It can also be useful for experienced GLSL programmers who are looking to implement the techniques that are presented here.