CODEWITHSUNDEEP
openglgraphics
Salil
Salil

Reputation: 11

How to get started with graphics programming?

I'm a programming noob with; (a) Basic C++ skills and (b) Fair skills in computational programming (though that might not be of great help). I want to generate the Utah teapot for which I have the data set. I have read the NeHe tutorials, but I really want to get my hands dirty. So could you please tell me how to use OpenGL with Dev C++. I know Visual C++ (suggested by NeHe) is far more convenient, however, as I have mentioned earlier, I want to rough it a bit. Thanks a lot and have a nice day.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 1716

Answers (3)

El Marcel
El Marcel

Reputation: 1785

Don't worry about roughing it up. You'll be programming graphics which -with no implied modesty- is going to be rough enough without handicapping yourself.

Treat yourself and get Visual C++ is you're on windows.

If you want to get dirty, use only the OpenGL Core profile, and write your own shaders. Now that's a useful kind of dirty, and once you get past the brick wall learning curve, the world's your oyster.

Start with rendering the vertices as they appear. Later, you could write a geometry shader to render them as bezier points, as they were intended.

Upvotes: 0

Andrew Rasmussen
Andrew Rasmussen

Reputation: 15099

Are you having issues with getting your hands dirty, or having issues with using OpenGL with Dev C++?

If you want to learn OpenGL quickly (get your hands dirty) then simply pick a simple project and just DO it. Render a textured cube. Spin the cube based on arrow input. Render a heightmap. Render a cube on the heightmap that walks around based on arrow input. Make it jump with the space bar. Now you've essentially got the basis for a game, all you need is to import a model. Learn how to import models and get OpenGL to understand them.

If you're just having issues with Dev C++, then I would listen to what every one is telling you and use something else!. I think you can get a visual C++ express version for free, especially if you are a student at a University (most will have some sort of student MSDN subscription). Or as others have suggested, Code::Blocks is a great, free alternative.

Upvotes: 2

Riccardo Tramma
Riccardo Tramma

Reputation: 593


If you want to consider Eclipse as an option, I wrote an article about how to setup Eclipse to develop OpenGL (and GLUT) applications in C/C++ and Java in both Windows and Mac OS X. This could be a starting point if you are interested. It contains all the steps and all you need to know to have the system ready.

You can find it here:
Setup Eclipse to develop OpenGL & GLUT apps in Java & C/C++ on Windows & MAC OS X!

Upvotes: 0

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