Kouichi Matsuda - WebGL Programming Guide: Interactive 3D Graphics Programming with WebGL

Praise for
WebGL Programming Guide

WebGL provides one of the final features for creating applications that deliver the desktop application experience in a web browser, and the WebGL Programming Guide leads the way in creating those applications. Its coverage of all aspects of using WebGLJavaScript, OpenGL ES, and fundamental graphics techniquesdelivers a thorough education on everything you need to get going. Web-based applications are the wave of the future, and this book will get you ahead of the curve!

Dave Shreiner, Coauthor of The OpenGL Programming Guide, Eighth Edition; Series Editor, OpenGL Library (Addison Wesley)

HTML5 is evolving the Web into a highly capable application platform supporting beautiful, engaging, and fully interactive applications that run portably across many diverse systems. WebGL is a vital part of HTML5, as it enables web programmers to access the full power and functionality of state-of-the-art 3D graphics acceleration. WebGL has been designed to run securely on any web-capable system and will unleash a new wave of developer innovation in connected 3D web-content, applications, and user interfaces. This book will enable web developers to fully understand this new wave of web functionality and leverage the exciting opportunities it creates.

Neil Trevett, Vice President Mobile Content, NVIDIA; President, The Khronos Group

With clear explanations supported by beautiful 3D renderings, this book does wonders in transforming a complex topic into something approachable and appealing. Even without denying the sophistication of WebGL, it is an accessible resource that beginners should consider picking up before anything else.

Evan Burchard, Author, Web Game Developers Cookbook (Addison Wesley)

Both authors have a strong OpenGL background and transfer this knowledge nicely over to WebGL, resulting in an excellent guide for beginners as well as advanced readers.

Daniel Haehn, Research Software Developer, Boston Childrens Hospital

WebGL Programming Guide provides a straightforward and easy-to-follow look at the mechanics of building 3D applications for the Web without relying on bulky libraries or wrappers. A great resource for developers seeking an introduction to 3D development concepts mixed with cutting-edge web technology.

Brandon Jones, Software Engineer, Google

This is more great work from a brilliant researcher. Kouichi Matsuda shows clear and concise steps to bring the novice along the path of understanding WebGL. This is a complex topic, but he makes it possible for anyone to start using this exciting new web technology. And he includes basic 3D concepts to lay the foundation for further learning. This will be a great addition to any web designers library.

Chris Marrin, WebGL Spec. Editor

WebGL Programming Guide is a great way to go from a WebGL newbie to a WebGL expert. WebGL, though simple in concept, requires a lot of 3D math knowledge, and WebGL Programming Guide helps you build this knowledge so youll be able to understand and apply it to your programs. Even if you end up using some other WebGL 3D library, the knowledge learned in WebGL Programming Guide will help you understand what those libraries are doing and therefore allow you to tame them to your applications specific needs. Heck, even if you eventually want to program desktop OpenGL and/or DirectX, WebGL Programming Guide is a great start as most 3D books are outdated relative to current 3D technology. WebGL Programming Guide will give you the foundation for fully understanding modern 3D graphics.

Gregg Tavares, An Implementer of WebGL in Chrome

Interactive 3D Graphics Programming with WebGL

Kouichi Matsuda
Rodger Lea

Upper Saddle River, NJ Boston Indianapolis San Francisco
New York Toronto Montreal London Munich Paris Madrid
Cape Town Sydney Tokyo Singapore Mexico City

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and the publisher was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters or in all capitals. OpenGL is a registered trademark and the OpenGL ES logo is a trademark of Silicon Graphics Inc. Khronos and WebGL are trademarks of the Khronos Group Inc. Google, Google Chrome, and Android are trademarks of Google Inc. The Firefox web browser is a registered trademark of the Mozilla Foundation. Apple, iPhone, Macintosh, Safari and their logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Microsoft, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Windows, Windows 7, and Windows 8 is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Nvidia and Nvidia Geforce are trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation. AMD and Radeon are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

The authors and publisher have taken care in the preparation of this book, but make no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of the use of the information or programs contained herein.

The publisher offers excellent discounts on this book when ordered in quantity for bulk purchases or special sales, which may include electronic versions and/or custom covers and content particular to your business, training goals, marketing focus, and branding interests. For more information, please contact:

U.S. Corporate and Government Sales
(800) 382-3419

For sales outside the United States, please contact:

International Sales

Visit us on the Web: http://informit.com/aw

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013936083

Copyright 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is protected by copyright, and permission must be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458, or you may fax your request to (201) 236-3290.

ISBN-13: 978-0-321-90292-4
ISBN-10: 0-321-90292-0

Text printed in the United States on recycled paper at Edwards Brothers Malloy in Ann Arbor, Michigan

First printing: June 2013

Editor-in-Chief
Mark Taub

Executive Editor
Laura Lewin

Development Editor
Sheri Cain

Managing Editor
Krista Hansing

Senior Project Editor
Lori Lyons

Copy Editor
Gill Editorial Services

Senior Indexer
Cheryl Lenser

Proofreader
Paula Lowell

Technical Reviewers
Jeff Gilbert
Daniel Haehn
Rick Rafey

Editorial Assistant
Olivia Basegio

Interior Designer
Mark Shirar

Cover Designer
Chuti Prasertsith

Senior Compositor
Gloria Schurick

Graphics
Laura Robbins

Manufacturing Buyer
Dan Uhrig

Thoughts are filled along with time, the distant days will not return,