Hello!
I’m just starting out with OpenGL, on Windows. But, my first problem is where you can download it. I’ve searched on various sites, and looked here on the official site, but without success.
Can someone please tell me where you can download the OpenGL headers and libraries? (gl.h, glu.h, opengl32.lib, glu32.lib, opengl32.dll, glu32.dll)
Thanks in advance!
The dll files are already on your windows machine unless you are running a prehistoric windows95.
What you need is the import libraries (.lib files), but usually these are included with your compiler (Visual Studio, MinGW…) so what compiler are you using ?
Mikael
what are the import libraries good for? do they “put” what you use inside the exe and no need for the dll??? do they only add to the exe what you use or everything?? i would like to know!!
Originally posted by <Tommie>:
what are the import libraries good for? do they “put” what you use inside the exe and no need for the dll??? do they only add to the exe what you use or everything?? i would like to know!!
Functions in a DLL file must be loaded dynamically during run time. You can do that yourself with LoadLibrary/GetProcAddress if you like, but that can get quite messy if you have a lot of functions. The import library does that job automatically for you.
You don’t NEED the import library, but if you don’t use it, you have to manually load all functions before using them. Just like extensions and post-OpenGL 1.1, you have to load those functions manually becuase the import library doesn’t load them for you.
Originally posted by mikael_aronsson:
[b]The dll files are already on your windows machine unless you are running a prehistoric windows95.
What you need is the import libraries (.lib files), but usually these are included with your compiler (Visual Studio, MinGW…) so what compiler are you using ?
Mikael[/b]
I use MinGW, so I already have them? Thanks for the help!
Yes, you do! 