This week’s recommended resource is the latest (5th) edition of the OpenGL Superbible from Richard Wright and Addison-Wesley publishing.

OpenGL® SuperBible, Fifth Edition is the definitive programmer’s guide, tutorial, and reference for the world’s leading 3D API for real-time computer graphics, OpenGL 3.3. The best all-around introduction to OpenGL for developers at all levels of experience, it clearly explains both the API and essential associated programming concepts. Readers will find up-to-date, hands-on guidance on all facets of modern OpenGL development, including transformations, texture mapping, shaders, advanced buffers, geometry management, and much more. Fully revised to reflect ARB’s latest official specification (3.3), this edition also contains a new start-to-finish tutorial on OpenGL for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

Coverage includes

  • A practical introduction to the essentials of real-time 3D graphics
  • Core OpenGL 3.3 techniques for rendering, transformations, and texturing
  • Writing your own shaders, with examples to get you started
  • Cross-platform OpenGL: Windows (including Windows 7), Mac OS X, GNU/Linux, UNIX, and embedded systems
  • OpenGL programming for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad: step-by-step guidance and complete example programs
  • Advanced buffer techniques, including full-definition rendering with floating point buffers and textures
  • Fragment operations: controlling the end of the graphics pipeline
  • Advanced shader usage and geometry management
  • A fully updated API reference, now based on the official ARB (Core) OpenGL 3.3 manual pages
  • New bonus materials and sample code on a companion Web site, www.starstonesoftware.com/OpenGL

I’ve been looking over this book for the last few days (they were kind enough to provide me a review copy) and I’m impressed.  While it, admittedly, doesn’t mention anything about the new OpenGL4.0 or 4.1 specs, it does a great job covering OpenGL3.3.  It opens with all of the basics of geometry, matrix math, and texturing, before moving into buffer objects, vertex and pixel shaders, and geometry queries.  It even gets platform specific at the end, detailing things you need to know about the specifics of using OpenGL 3.3 on Windows, OSX, or Linux, and contains a chapter on OpenGL ES for mobile devices, including a chapter or two specifically for the iPhone.

I highly recommend it, and you can find this book and many others in the VizWorld Store.

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