How do I get the address of wglCreatePbufferARB if I do not have a valid OpenGL rendering context (i.e. if I do not need an on-screen window)?
There seems to be no sample code around dealing with this case!?!?
you have to create a temporary window just to get a gl context. it does not have to be visible. or you could use the desktop window, but i beleive that’s considered kinda rude… after all, you don’t own it.
You can’t. You need to create a (maybe hidden) window, set a pixel format, create a rendering context, get the procedure address, and clean up everything again.
If all you’re after is an off screen renderer, then maybe you can try Mesa . It has a real off screen renderer, without the need of creating hidden windows and stuff like that.