10 Best OpenGL Software Programming Books

This updated third edition illustrates the mathematical concepts that a game developer needs to develop 3D computer graphics and game engines at the professional level. It starts at a fairly basic level in areas such as vector geometry and linear algebra, and then progresses to more advanced topics in 3D programming such as illumination and visibility determination. Particular attention is given to derivations of key results, ensuring that the reader is not forced to endure gaps in the theory. The book assumes a working knowledge of trigonometry and calculus, but also includes sections that review the important tools used from these disciplines, such as trigonometric identities, differential equations, and Taylor series. The third edition expands upon topics that include projections, shadows, physics, cloth simulation, and numerical methods. All of the illustrations have been updated, and the shader code has been updated to the latest high- level shading language specifications.

Learn the basics of rendering 2D/3D graphics using modern OpenGL ES 3+ and SDL2(which works on both desktop and mobile devices). So, you’d love to create computer games or 3D graphics software. But this stuff is really complicated. How to get started? In this tutorial series, we’ll take you from zero through to rendering 3D texture-mapped objects with lighting. By the time you’re done you’ll have the fundamentals of modern OpenGL down, and will be ready for bigger things. ## What You’ll Learn In short: modern OpenGL. You’ll avoid learning old outdated techniques you shouldn’t be using any more (unlike many other tutorials). Here’s an overview of what’s inside: * Tutorial 1: Create a window * Tutorial 2: Draw something * Tutorial 3: Add detail using texture mapping * Tutorial 4: Draw a simple 3D scene * Tutorial 5: Add a light to make it look more real * Tutorial 5a (bonus): Make objects move, a.k.a., frame-rate independent animation NOTE: You’ll get the most out of these tutorials if you also have the “Modern Graphics Programming Primer” book, which is designed to support the tutorials series. ## About the Author Hans de Ruiter is a software engineer with a background in computer vision and graphics. As a child/teenager he taught himself programming, constructed electronic circuits from kitsets, and also had a keen interest both science and in building things himself. He persued these interests further at university, going all the way through to a Ph.D. (at the University of Toronto). He’s written both graphics software and graphics drivers, giving him a broad understanding of how modern graphics cards work.

Over 70 recipes that cover advanced techniques for 3D programming such as lighting, shading, textures, particle systems, and image processing with OpenGL 4.6 #### Key Features * Explore techniques for implementing shadows using shadow maps and shadow volumes * Learn to use GLSL features such as compute, geometry, and tessellation shaders * Use GLSL to create a wide variety of modern, realistic visual effects #### Book Description OpenGL 4 Shading Language Cookbook, Third Edition provides easy-to-follow recipes that first walk you through the theory and background behind each technique, and then proceed to showcase and explain the GLSL and OpenGL code needed to implement them. The book begins by familiarizing you with beginner-level topics such as compiling and linking shader programs, saving and loading shader binaries (including SPIR-V), and using an OpenGL function loader library. We then proceed to cover basic lighting and shading effects. After that, you’ll learn to use textures, produce shadows, and use geometry and tessellation shaders. Topics such as particle systems, screen-space ambient occlusion, deferred rendering, depth-based tessellation, and physically based rendering will help you tackle advanced topics. OpenGL 4 Shading Language Cookbook, Third Edition also covers advanced topics such as shadow techniques (including the two of the most common techniques: shadow maps and shadow volumes). You will learn how to use noise in shaders and how to use compute shaders. The book 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. #### What you will learn * Compile, debug, and communicate with shader programs * Use compute shaders for physics, animation, and general computing * Learn about features such as shader storage buffer objects and image load/store * Utilize noise in shaders and learn how to use shaders in animations * Use textures for various effects including cube maps for reflection or refraction * Understand physically based reflection models and the SPIR-V Shader binary * Learn how to create shadows using shadow maps or shadow volumes * Create particle systems that simulate smoke, fire, and other effects #### Who this book is for If you are a graphics programmer looking to learn the GLSL shading language, this book is for you. A basic understanding of 3D graphics and programming experience with C++ are required. #### Table of Contents 1. Getting Started with GLSL 2. Working with GLSL programs 3. The Basics of GLSL Shaders 4. Lighting and Shading 5. Using Textures 6. Image Processing and Screen Space Techniques 7. Using Geometry and Tessellation Shaders 8. Shadows 9. Using Noise in Shaders 10. Particle Systems and Animation 11. Using Compute Shaders

Explore modern game programming and rendering techniques to build games using C++ programming language and its popular libraries #### Key Features * Learn how you can build basic 2D and complex 3D games with C++ * Understand shadows, texturing, lighting, and rendering in 3D game development using OpenGL * Uncover modern graphics programming techniques and GPU compute methods using the Vulkan API #### Book Description Although numerous languages are currently being used to develop games, C++ remains the standard for fabricating expert libraries and tool chains for game development. This book introduces you to the world of game development with C++. C++ Game Development By Example starts by touching upon the basic concepts of math, programming, and computer graphics and creating a simple side-scrolling action 2D game. You’ll build a solid foundation by studying basic game concepts such as creating game loops, rendering 2D game scenes using SFML, 2D sprite creation and animation, and collision detection. The book will help you advance to creating a 3D physics puzzle game using modern OpenGL and the Bullet physics engine. You’ll understand the graphics pipeline, which entails creating 3D objects using vertex and index buffers and rendering them to the scene using vertex and fragment shaders. Finally, you’ll create a basic project using the Vulkan library that’ll help you get to grips with creating swap chains, image views, render passes, and frame buffers for building high- performance graphics in your games. By the end of this book, you’ll be ready with 3 compelling projects created with SFML, the Vulkan API, and OpenGL, and you’ll be able take your game and graphics programming skills to the next level. #### What you will learn * Understand shaders and how to write a basic vertex and fragment shader * Build a Visual Studio project and add SFML to it * Discover how to create sprite animations and a game character class * Add sound effects and background music to your game * Grasp how to integrate Vulkan into Visual Studio * Create shaders and convert them to the SPIR-V binary format #### Who this book is for If you’re a developer keen to learn game development with C++ or get up to date with game development, this book is for you. Some knowledge of C++ programming is assumed. #### Table of Contents 1. C++ Concepts 2. Mathematics and Graphics Concepts 3. Setting Up Your Game 4. Creating your game 5. Finalizing your Game 6. Getting started with OpenGL 7. Building on the game objects 8. Enhancing your game with Collision, loop, and Lighting 9. Getting started with Vulkan 10. Preparing the Clear Screen 11. Creating Object Resources 12. Drawing Vulkan Objects

Learn animation programming from first principles and implement modern animation techniques that can be integrated into any game development workflow #### Key Features * Build a functional and production-ready modern animation system with complete features using C++ * Learn basic, advanced, and skinned animation programming with this step-by-step guide * Discover the math required to implement cutting edge animation techniques such as inverse kinematics and dual quaternions #### Book Description Animation is one of the most important parts of any game. Modern animation systems work directly with track-driven animation and provide support for advanced techniques such as inverse kinematics (IK), blend trees, and dual quaternion skinning. This book will walk you through everything you need to get an optimized, production-ready animation system up and running, and contains all the code required to build the animation system. You’ll start by learning the basic principles, and then delve into the core topics of animation programming by building a curve-based skinned animation system. You’ll implement different skinning techniques and explore advanced animation topics such as IK, animation blending, dual quaternion skinning, and crowd rendering. The animation system you will build following this book can be easily integrated into your next game development project. The book is intended to be read from start to finish, although each chapter is self-contained and can be read independently as well. By the end of this book, you’ll have implemented a modern animation system and got to grips with optimization concepts and advanced animation techniques. #### What you will learn * Get the hang of 3D vectors, matrices, and transforms, and their use in game development * Discover various techniques to smoothly blend animations * Get to grips with GLTF file format and its design decisions and data structures * Design an animation system by using animation tracks and implementing skinning * Optimize various aspects of animation systems such as skinned meshes, clip sampling, and pose palettes * Implement the IK technique for your game characters using CCD and FABRIK solvers * Understand dual quaternion skinning and how to render large instanced crowds #### Who this book is for This book is for professional, independent, and hobbyist developers interested in building a robust animation system from the ground up. Some knowledge of the C++ programming language will be helpful. #### Table of Contents 1. Creating a Game Window 2. Implementing Vectors 3. Implementing Matrices 4. Implementing Quaternions 5. Implementing Transforms 6. Building an Abstract Renderer 7. Exploring the glTF File Format 8. Creating Curves, Frames, and Tracks 9. Implementing Animation Clips 10. Mesh Skinning 11. Optimizing the Animation Pipeline 12. Blending between Animations 13. Implementing Inverse Kinematics 14. Using Dual Quaternions for Skinning 15. Rendering Instanced Crowds