The impact of OpenGL 3.X and 4.0 on the teaching of computer graphics: panel discussion
Mike J. Bailey, RICHARD S. WEISS, Robert R. Lewis, DAVID A. WOLFF, Genevieve Orr · Journal of computing sciences in colleges · 2010
The Khronos Group recently released two major updates to the OpenGL specification, versions 3.3 and 4.0, containing many exciting new features that offer greater speed, flexibility, and a much greater range of graphics capabilities. However, a number of standard long-time features, such as glBegin/glEnd and the fixed pipeline, are scheduled to go away. The loss of these older and simpler features will make teaching graphics at the introductory level more challenging because it will force the introduction of more complex code and material earlier in the course. This panel will give an overview of the main changes in OpenGL, focusing most on those features which will have the greatest impact our introductory graphics courses. The panelists will offer advice and suggestions for how instructors can incorporate the new versions into their courses in a way that is comprehensible to the students and yet also uses some of the new and exciting OpenGL features.