I've heard some bad things about the latest edition of Red Book, OpenGL Programming Guide (7th edition). Probably that is the reason that the 7th edition is much cheaper than the 6th one(Amazon). Though only the new edition covers 3.1 API details.
Which edition you experts suggest? I know basic 3D Graphics concepts, but didn't work with OpenGL directly before. I don't think I'll mostly need to work with new OpenGL 3.1 stuff, but I might. Main factors are price difference and usability of the book.
Thanks!
Piyush
Which edition of OpenGL Programming Guide you suggest?
The reason the 6th edition is more expensive is because it's out of print, not because it's better in any way.
If you're going to get the red book, definitely get the latest version. The only criticism about it is that it's not up to date enough, which is not really something that's going to be solved by getting an even older book.
If you do pick it up, I also like to recommend the orange book as well (click for box set). They compliment each other nicely.
Though I've also heard good things about the latest version of the superbible, but I haven't read it myself.
If you're going to get the red book, definitely get the latest version. The only criticism about it is that it's not up to date enough, which is not really something that's going to be solved by getting an even older book.
If you do pick it up, I also like to recommend the orange book as well (click for box set). They compliment each other nicely.
Though I've also heard good things about the latest version of the superbible, but I haven't read it myself.
Author
Thanks for your reply and resolving my confusion. I'll probably go for the box set, but I have just one more confusion. What does the superbible have which the official Programming Guide doesn't(or vice versa)?
I've heard that the superbible is better for beginners, as it's more of a tutorial format that leads you through examples of how to do things with up-to-date core opengl.
The OpenGL programming guide is more of a documentation dump, which is great when you need to find out the specifics of a function you want to use, but I think it might be a bit dense for a beginner. Also the red book contains all the old deprecated functionality side by side with the new stuff, which takes up a lot of space and can be confusing when it spends 100 pages explaining how to do something, with just a minor note on the side saying "All this stuff is deprecated" without really telling you how you're supposed to do it correctly.
I'd read some reviews of both and see which one sounds like it might fit you better. I use my opengl library a lot, but I also kind of already knew a good amount of opengl when I got it, so I knew what I was looking for when I needed something.
The OpenGL programming guide is more of a documentation dump, which is great when you need to find out the specifics of a function you want to use, but I think it might be a bit dense for a beginner. Also the red book contains all the old deprecated functionality side by side with the new stuff, which takes up a lot of space and can be confusing when it spends 100 pages explaining how to do something, with just a minor note on the side saying "All this stuff is deprecated" without really telling you how you're supposed to do it correctly.
I'd read some reviews of both and see which one sounds like it might fit you better. I use my opengl library a lot, but I also kind of already knew a good amount of opengl when I got it, so I knew what I was looking for when I needed something.
Author
Thanks again karwosts! Will read superbible's reviews and contents, and decide whether to buy that or the Official Guide along with the orange book.
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Piyush
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Piyush
I suggest you to read this..."tutorial": http://www.arcsynthesis.org/gltut/index.html
While not a full book, it really goes into details, and explains everything pretty well.
They use new OpenGL functionality without anything deprecated to begin with (there isn't even any mention of old functionality, which in my opinion is very good for begginers - less "what version am I using and what should I use/not use" confusion).
They use GL 3.3 if I remember correctly.
While not a full book, it really goes into details, and explains everything pretty well.
They use new OpenGL functionality without anything deprecated to begin with (there isn't even any mention of old functionality, which in my opinion is very good for begginers - less "what version am I using and what should I use/not use" confusion).
They use GL 3.3 if I remember correctly.
Author
Hi wolfscaptain,
Thanks for the link. It really looks clean and useful. I will have to learn the old API as well though :(, as my work requires it. Aah! Lot to learn! :)
Thanks for the link. It really looks clean and useful. I will have to learn the old API as well though :(, as my work requires it. Aah! Lot to learn! :)
Not a book, but try NeHe's gl site.
Easy to absorb gl code. A backward person like me took basically 4 days to cover the brunt of the tutorials.
Easy to absorb gl code. A backward person like me took basically 4 days to cover the brunt of the tutorials.
Author
@GMA965_X3100,
Yes, I have started looking into that as well. Heard a lot of good things about that site. Hopefully, in a few days I'll get a basic grasp of it. :)
Thanks everybody!
Piyush
Yes, I have started looking into that as well. Heard a lot of good things about that site. Hopefully, in a few days I'll get a basic grasp of it. :)
Thanks everybody!
Piyush
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