The OpenGL Utility Toolkit (GLUT) Programming Interface
- Multiplewindows for OpenGL rendering.
- Callback driven event processing.
- Sophisticated input devices.
- An “idle” routine and timers.
- A simple, cascading pop-up menu facility.
- Utility routines to generate various solid and wire frame objects.
- Support for bitmap and stroke fonts.
- Miscellaneous window management functions, including managing overlays.
An ANSI C implementation of GLUT for the X Window System [15] has been implemented by the author. Windows NT and OS/2 versions of GLUT are also available.
This documentation serves as both a specification and a programming guide. If you are interested in a brief introduction to programming with GLUT, look for the introductory OpenGL column [9] published in The X Journal. For a complete introduction to using GLUT, obtain the book Programming OpenGL for the XWindow System [10]. GLUT is also used by the 2nd edition of the OpenGL Programming Guide. Teachers and students interested in using GLUT in conjunction with a college-level computer graphics class should investigate Angel’s textbook Interactive Computer Graphics: A top-down approach with OpenGL [2] that uses GLUT for its OpenGL-based examples programs.
The remainder of this section describes GLUT’s design philosophy and usagemodel. The following sections specify the GLUT routines, grouped by functionality.
The final sections discuss usage advice, the FORTRAN binding, and implementation issues. AppendixA enumerates and annotates the logical programmer visible state maintained by GLUT. Appendix B presents the ANSI C GLUT API via its header file. Appendix C presents the FORTRAN GLUT API via its header file.
