WebGL Beginner's Guide

In Detail
WebGL is a new web technology that brings hardware-accelerated 3D graphics to the browser without installing additional software. As WebGL is based on OpenGL and brings in a new concept of 3D graphics programming to web development, it may seem unfamiliar to even experienced Web developers.

Packed with many examples, this book shows how WebGL can be easy to learn despite its unfriendly appearance. Each chapter addresses one of the important aspects of 3D graphics programming and presents different alternatives for its implementation. The topics are always associated with exercises that will allow the reader to put the concepts to the test in an immediate manner.

WebGL Beginner's Guide presents a clear road map to learning WebGL. Each chapter starts with a summary of the learning goals for the chapter, followed by a detailed description of each topic. The book offers example-rich, up-to-date introductions to a wide range of essential WebGL topics, including drawing, color, texture, transformations, framebuffers, light, surfaces, geometry, and more. With each chapter, you will “level up” your 3D graphics programming skills. This book will become your trustworthy companion filled with the information required to develop cool-looking 3D web applications with WebGL and JavaScript.

Approach
This book is a step-by-step tutorial that includes complete source code for all of the examples covered. Every chapter builds on top of the previous one thereby giving the reader an immediate feeling of progression. Each block of code is explained, and 3D web development concepts are diagrammed and covered in detail.

Who this book is for
This book is written for JavaScript developers who are interested in 3D web development. A basic understanding of the DOM object model and the jQuery library is ideal but not required. No prior WebGL knowledge is expected.