Can I use OpenGL books to learn LWJGL?

General Discussions
#1

Hi guys. I’m not sure this is the right topic to post this, if not, please forgive me.

I started to learn LWJGL and found that not mutch good book or tutorial is available on the net. Yes, I’ve found the github book and lots of other, very beginner tutorials.

My question is that, am I correct, that LWJGL is almost OpenGL, “just” has a wrapper on top of it? Is that correct?
If so, would it be a good idea if I buy an OpenGL book from the Amazon? Because there is no LWJGL book and I have lot of spare time on public transport, and like read books while travelling then try it myself alone on my pc. Also, I like to work offline.

My experiences: 15 years web developing, 4 years Java developing (business), 3-4 month Unity developing.

Before you ask why I don’t continue with Unity: actually I like it, but C#, MonoDevelop and VS are not my genre. Also, I advanced too fast, didn’t understand the basics and I wasnt forced to. And, I also have to keep up2date my java knowledge somehow. So please, don’t offtopic it.

Thank you!

#2

Why are you learning the low level graphics pipeline? I learned the stuff myself so the question comes from general curiosity, that’s all.

ThinMatrix on youtube has an excellent series on OpenGL where he programs with java, see here. Although he ends up creating a 3D game, the initial stages he’s rendering 2D stuff and I think it’s one of the best series on OpenGL on youtube. He’s also referencing an OpenGL book which specifies the API from C/C++ so I think the functions are very similar if not downright identical.

#3

Hi. Thank four for your answer.

Actually, I learn it, because:

  • I was very good at math in school, but I had no chance to use for almost 10 years now, so would be super good if that knowledge can be refreshed
  • Love Java and would be also good if I can learn something new (game developing) and I can use my fav. language for that
  • I’m a father of one, and a leader of a dev. team (so I don’t code mutch) at a kind of startup company. If I just start learning a new stuff (for eg.: C#), I’ll pretty soon forget some of the Java knowledge I currently have, and if my company fails (hope not for sure), I’ll have a halfwaykindof java knowledge and a C# juniorkindof knowledge. And I don’t want that risk.
  • I also like tweaking the code, so math and deep code understanding is no problem
#4

You can use OpenGL books to learn how to use the OpenGL part of LWGJL. Keep in mind that LWJGL consists of several bindings to popular APIs and libraries such as OpenGL, OpenAL, OpenCL, Vulkan, and a whole bunch of other stuff. If you just want to learn how to use OpenGL with LWJGL, it’s perfectly fine to use OpenGL books. I personally recommend the OpenGL Superbible or the ever-popular OpenGL Programming Guide, the official guide to learning OpenGL (more commonly known as the OpenGL Red Book).

#5

Hi, thank you!

Actually, my goal is not to learn opengl, but learn programming 3d games with Java. I found that the best for that is lwjgl right now. If it’s almost equivalent to opengl, it’s ok.
Yes, I know that it has several bindings, like Vulkan and others, but thank you to pointed it out.

You were almost correct, I want to use lwjgl with opengl :slight_smile: So, if I buy a good book you recommended about opengl, it’ll help a lot advancing in develop using lwjgl, am I right?

Btw, the gitbook recommends a 3d game book (https://www.amazon.com/Math-Primer-Graphics-Game-Development/dp/1568817231/ref=dp_ob_title_bk), which seems like a giant source of 3d math - like it, but as I saw it has around 900 pages, it’s not the book I can read on the train :smiley:

#6

The books I mentioned in my post are undoubtedly useful, but the way I learned how to use OpenGL is by watching Thinmatrix’s videos and referring to learnopengl.com. It isn’t possible to rely solely on OpenGL books to learn LWJGL, because all of the examples in the book are in C/C++ and also because depending on whether you use LWJGL 2 or 3, the process of creating a window can be different. Most OpenGL books use GLM for all of the math stuff, but it’s best to use JOML when you’re using LWJGL.

My suggestion is that you watch a couple of ThinMatrix’s tutorials and refer to learnopengl.com if you want to learn a little more. There’s an offline book version of learnopengl, you could download that. OpenGL isn’t one of those things that you could learn just by reading a book and practising a couple of times. It’s pretty low-level and it takes a little getting used to. It took me an entire year to feel comfortable with OpenGL. Good luck :slight_smile:

#7

Yeah, challenge accepted! Thank you for your suggestions! :slight_smile:

#8

Yes, you can use most OpenGL books to learn LWJGL.
but don’t forget that lwjgl isn’t just ogl but opanal, glfw, vulkan and few more apis inside one lib.
btw if you need some free sources I suggest you to pay a visit to: https://learnopengl.com/ great tutorials.