What This Guide Contains

• Chapter 1, "OpenGL on Silicon Graphics Systems," introduces the major issues involved in using OpenGL on Silicon Graphics systems.

• Chapter 2, "OpenGL and X: Getting Started," first provides background information for working with OpenGL and the X Window System. You then learn how to display some OpenGL code in an X window with the help of a simple example program.

• Chapter 3, "OpenGL and X: Examples," first presents two example programs that illustrate how to create a window using IRIS IM or Xlib. It then explains how to integrate text with your OpenGL program.

• Chapter 4, "OpenGL and X: Advanced Topics," helps you refine your programs. It discusses how to use overlays and popups. It also provides information about pixmaps, visuals and colormaps, and animation.

• Chapter 5, "Introduction to OpenGL Extensions," explains what OpenGL extensions are and how to check for OpenGL and GLX extension availability.

• Chapter 6, "Texturing Extensions," explains how to use the texturing extensions, providing example code as appropriate.

• Chapter 7, "Imaging and Blending Extensions," explains how to use extensions for color conversion (abgr, color table, color matrix), the convolution extension, the histogram/minmax extension, the packed pixel extension, and four color blending extensions.

• Chapter 8, "Miscellaneous OpenGL Extensions," explains how to use the polygon offset extension, the vertex array extension, and the multisampling extension.

• Chapter 9, "Extensions to GLX," explains how to use extensions to GLX, the OpenGL extension to the X Window System.

• Chapter 10, "Debugging OpenGL Programs," explains how to use the OpenGL debugger (ogldebug) and provides some debugging hints.

• Chapter 11, "Tuning Graphics Applications: Fundamentals," discusses basic principles of tuning graphics applications: pipeline tuning, tuning animations, optimizing cache and memory use, and benchmarking. You need this information as a background for the chapters that follow.

• Chapter 12, "Tuning the Pipeline," explains how to tune the different parts of the graphics pipeline for an OpenGL program. Example code fragments illustrate how to write your program for optimum performance.

• Chapter 13, "Tuning Graphics Applications: Examples," provides a detailed discussion of the tuning process for a small example program. It also provides a code fragment that's helpful for drawing pixels fast.

• Chapter 14, "System-Specific Tuning," provides information on tuning some specific Silicon Graphics systems: low-end systems, Indigo2 IMPACT(TM) systems, and RealityEngine(TM) systems.

• Appendix A, "OpenGL and IRIS GL," helps you port your IRIS GL(TM) program to OpenGL by providing a table that contrasts IRIS GL functions and equivalent OpenGL functionality (including extensions).

• Appendix B, "Benchmarks," lists a sample benchmarking program.

• Appendix C, "Benchmarking Libraries: libpdb and libisfast," discusses two libraries you can use for benchmarking drawing operations and maintaining a database of the results.