Hi, I am new to OpenGL (and C++ for that matter), but I have just finished 2 months of practice after a course of C++ that i learned from a book. I am now fairly proficient in C++, but I still am not sure how to go about producing graphics - which was the main aim that i started out to learn C++ with. Could anyone please point me in the right direction as to where I should go from here.
I am currently using DigitalMars compiler. Will this be good enough for use with openGL etc, or will I need some extra header files…
Since you are using Microsoft windows, a good place to start is nehe.gamedev.net. Lot of tutors on how to program graphics under openGL.
I do not know the digitalmars compiler, check in the include directory for a sub directory call /GL and for the following headers: gl.h, glu.h, glut.h(optional).
The most popular is Microsoft Visual C++, but there are some nice free ones out there like DEV-C++ which has support for opennGL.
X windows is the windowing system used by Unix and linux. Give a GUI like you would find under Microsoft windows.
While the openGL commands are the same from system to system, if the program example does not use a cross platform library (GLUT) then you can not compile it between systems. For example a openGL program that call x windows commands will not work on the Microsoft windows machine without first translating the x windows commands to MS windows commands.