This book is suitable for undergraduate students in computer science and engineering, for students in other disciplines who have good programming skills, and for professionals. Computer animation and graphics–once rare, complicated, and comparatively expensive–are now prevalent in everyday life from the computer screen to the movie screen. Interactive Computer Graphics: A Top-Down Approach with Shader-Based OpenGL®, 6e, is the only introduction to computer graphics text for undergraduates that fully integrates OpenGL 3.1 and emphasizes application-based programming. Using C and C++, the top-down, programming-oriented approach allows for coverage of engaging 3D material early in the text so readers immediately begin to create their own 3D graphics. Low-level algorithms (for topics such as line drawing and filling polygons) are presented after readers learn to create graphics.

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.