OpenGL Shading Language [Paperback]

“As the ‘Red Book’ is known to be the gold standard for OpenGL, the ‘Orange Book’ is considered to be the gold standard for the OpenGL Shading Language. With Randi’s extensive knowledge of OpenGL and GLSL, you can be assured you will be learning from a graphics industry veteran. Within the pages of the second edition you can find topics from beginning shader development to advanced topics such as the spherical harmonic lighting model and more.”

—David Tommeraasen, CEO/Programmer, Plasma Software

“This will be the definitive guide for OpenGL shaders; no other book goes into this detail. Rost has done an excellent job at setting the stage for shader development, what the purpose is, how to do it, and how it all fits together. The book includes great examples and details, as well as good additional coverage of 2.0 changes!”

—Jeffery Galinovsky, Director of Emerging Market, Platform Development, Intel Corporation

“The coverage in this new edition of the book is pitched just right to help many new shader-writers get started, but with enough deep information for the ‘old hands.’”

—Marc Olano, Assistant Professor, University of Maryland

“This is a really great book on GLSL—well written and organized, very accessible, and with good real-world examples and sample code. The topics flow naturally and easily, explanatory code fragments are inserted in very logical places to illustrate concepts, and, all in all, this book makes an excellent tutorial as well as a reference.”

—John Carey, Chief Technology Officer, C.O.R.E. Feature Animation

“OpenGL® Shading Language provides a timely, thorough, and entertaining introduction to the only OpenGL ARB-approved high-level shading language in existence. Whether an expert or a novice, there are gems to be discovered throughout the book, and the reference pages will be your constant companion as you dig into the depths of the shading APIs. From algorithms to APIs, this book has you covered.”

—Bob Kuehne, CEO, Blue Newt Software

“Computer graphics and rendering technologies just took a giant leap forward with hardware vendors rapidly adopting the new OpenGL Shading Language. This book presents a detailed treatment of these exciting technologies in a way that is extremely helpful for visualization and game developers.”

—Andy McGovern, Founder, Virtual Geographics, Inc.

“The OpenGL Shading Language is at the epicenter of the programmable graphics revolution, and Randi Rost has been at the center of the development of this significant new industry standard. If you need the inside track on how to use the OpenGL Shading Language to unleash new visual effects and unlock the supercomputer hiding inside the new generation of graphics hardware, then this is the book for you.”

—Neil Trevett, Senior Vice President, Market Development, 3Dlabs

OpenGL® Shading Language, Third Edition, extensively updated for OpenGL 3.1, is the experienced application programmer’s guide to writing shaders. Part reference, part tutorial, this book thoroughly explains the shift from fixed-functionality graphics hardware to the new era of programmable graphics hardware and the additions to the OpenGL API that support this programmability. With OpenGL and shaders written in the OpenGL Shading Language, applications can perform better, achieving stunning graphics effects by using the capabilities of both the visual processing unit and the central processing unit.

In this book, you will find a detailed introduction to the OpenGL Shading Language (GLSL) and the new OpenGL function calls that support it. The text begins by describing the syntax and semantics of this high-level programming language. Once this foundation has been established, the book explores the creation and manipulation of shaders using new OpenGL function calls.

OpenGL® Shading Language, Third Edition, includes updated descriptions for the language and all the GLSL entry points added though OpenGL 3.1, as well as updated chapters that discuss transformations, lighting, shadows, and surface characteristics. The third edition also features shaders that have been updated to OpenGL Shading Language Version 1.40 and their underlying algorithms, including

• Traditional OpenGL fixed functionality
• Stored textures and procedural textures
• Image-based lighting
• Lighting with spherical harmonics
• Ambient occlusion and shadow mapping
• Volume shadows using deferred lighting
• Ward’s BRDF model

The color plate section illustrates the power and sophistication of the OpenGL Shading Language. The API Function Reference at the end of the book is an excellent guide to the

API entry points that support the OpenGL Shading Language.