The Packed Pixels Extension

The Packed Pixels Extension

The packed pixels extension, EXT_packed_pixels, provides support for packed pixels in host memory. A packed pixel is represented entirely by one unsigned byte, unsigned short, or unsigned integer. The fields within the packed pixel are not proper machine types, but the pixel as a whole is. Thus the pixel storage modes, such as GL_PACK_SKIP_PIXELS, GL_PACK_ROW_LENGTH, and so on, and their unpacking counterparts, all work correctly with packed pixels.

Why Use the Packed Pixels Extension?
Using Packed Pixels
What the Different Pixel Types Mean