Homework 0: Not to be submitted (in class discussion next week)

This project guides you through steps to run OpenGL/GLUT in the CS/IMGD zoolab (part A), and optionally set up OpenGL/GLUT on your home machine (part B).

Homework 0 (Part A): Using OpenGL/GLUT in the CS/IMGD Zoolab

OpenGL/GLUT will only run on computers with the right hardware (graphics card). The new WPI CS/IMGD Zoolab has PCs with adequate hardware for this class. We shall use this lab for this class. For this part (A) of the homework, you have to physically go to the CS/IMGD zoolab and follow the steps below.

Step 1: Finding out what version of OpenGL your graphics card support: The very first thing you need to do is determine if your video card can support GPU programming. Specifically, you are looking to see if your graphic card supports OpenGL version 3.3 or later. To determine your card's capabilities for you, try the Glinfo application located here: (GLinfo2.exe). This application will tell you what OpenGL version your card supports and a list of extensions your card supports. Run the GLinfo2 application, make sure you have OpenGL 3.3 or higher.

Step 2: Running a working Shader application : If your machine supports OpenGL 3.3 or higher, it supports OpenGL programs with shaders. Next, try downloading the following full blown application that uses shaders and playing with it. The rendering application to test your machine's shader abilities is located here GLSLDemo.zip. GLSLDemo is a Win32-only application. Although the source code is provided on the authors Website, it will only work on machines that support OpenGL shaders. Unzip the application to a computer with a programmable GPU. The executable file is located in the "bin" directory of the demo application. Double-click on the executable to open the application. Try playing with it by changing the shape rendered, the textures used and other rendering modes. If GLSLDemo runs okay, you are done with this test!

Step 3: Compiling Shader application : Download and unzip the following zip file [ Here ] . This zip archive contains a working OpenGL program. All you have to do in this test is to compile this working program and run it. Visual Studio 10 is already installed on the Zoolab machines. Open the folder \GLSLExperiment\GLSLExperiment_files\ and double-click on the Visual Studio file GLSLExperiment_files.sln to open it. Hit Ctrl-F5 to compile and run the program. It should display a colorful graphics shape on a white background on the screen. If the shape is drawn, you are done with this test! You are now able to compile OpenGL and shader programs.

Homework 0 (Part B)

This part is optional. You only have to do it if you have chosen to install OpenGL on your home machine. Please note that I shall now give some help in setting up your home machine to run OpenGL/GLUT and GLEW. Since there are so many different machines on the market, I cannot provide help for all machines. You can use the Zoolab for all projects. However, if you want to set up your home machine for convenience, the following instructions will help. But it will be your responsibility to get things to work on your home machine and I will not answer questions regarding your home machine. You should also note that even if you develop your project solutions on your home machine, you will be required to make your project run on the zoolab machines before submission. If you want the easiest path, you can just go to the zoolab, work on your projects there and submit there.

Setting up OpenGL and GLUT on your home machine

Step 1: Check your graphics card and run GLSLDemo Perform steps 1 and 2 of part A above to check your graphics card and run GLSLDemo if your graphics card is adequate.

Step 2. Install visual Studio 10: If you are working on any WPI CCC Windows machine Visual Studio 10 should already be installed. Check this! If you are using your own machine, you can obtain a copy of Visual Studio 10 from the [ WPI CCC ]

Step 3. Install FreeGLUT and GLEW: The following websites will provide you step by step instructions for installing Freeglut and GLEW on your home machine.

• How to install FreeGLUT and GLEW
• OpenGL online Book website: installing FreeGLUT and GLEW, and using Visual Studio 10

Download at least version 2.8.0 of Freeglut and install the 32-bit version even if you have a 64-bit machine. Freeglut is available at:
http://www.transmissionzero.co.uk/software/freeglut-devel/

Download at least version 1.9 of GLEW. Note: Download the 32-bit version of GLEW even if you have a 64-bit machine. GLEW is available at:
http://glew.sourceforge.net/index.html

Note: The installation instructions above require that you have access to the Windows system directory and Visual C++ include and lib folders. If you are unable to access any of these folders, as a shortcut, you can simply include your GLEW and GLUT headers, library and DLL files into your program's Visual Studio project.

Step 4. Test your FreeGLUT and GLEW installations: Test your Visual studio, FreeGLUT and GLEW installations repeating step 3 of part A above. Just download the zip archive of the working program like before, compile it and run. If your program draws the colorful shape on a white background, your machine can now render OpenGL and GLEW programs.

mailto:emmanuel@cs.wpi.edu