OpenGL Insights

A Subset Approach to Using

OpenGL and OpenGL ES

Jesse Barker and Alexandros Frantzis

43.1 Introduction

The modern GPU is no longer a specialized processor with discrete bits of fixed func-

tionality, many of which are mutually exclusive. It is a powerful, fully programmable

compute engine, in most cases on par with or even surpassing the computational

power of the CPU.

The modern versions of the OpenGL and OpenGL ES APIs reflect this evolu-

tion, though much of the code written against them does not, which limits use on

many platforms. Many of the features that were removed from the core profile of

OpenGL or omitted from OpenGL ES, while not directly supported ...