Java Bindings for OpenGL

Core OpenGL API and GLU library calls are available from Java through a thin wrapper looking very much as the original OpenGL C API, Except GLU NURBS routines which are not exposed through the public API.

All platform specific libraries (available from the CGL API for Mac OS X, GLX for X Window System, and WGL for Microsoft Windows) are also abstracted out to create a platform independent way of selecting Framebuffer attributes and performing platform specific Framebuffer operations.

Platform-specific extensions are not included in the public API. Each implementation can choose to export some of these APIs via the GL.getPlatformGLExtensions() Archived February 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine and GL.getExtension(String) Archived February 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine method calls which return Objects whose data types are specific to the given implementation.

This example shows how to draw a polygon (without initialization or repaint code). Here is the reference C implementation:

int DrawGLScene(GLvoid) { glClear(GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT | GL_DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT); glLoadIdentity(); glTranslatef(-1.5f, 0.0f, -6.0f); // Move Left 1.5 Units glBegin(GL_TRIANGLES); //Drawing Using Triangles glVertex3f( 0.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f); // Top glVertex3f(-1.0f,-1.0f, 0.0f); // Bottom Left glVertex3f( 1.0f,-1.0f, 0.0f); // Bottom Right glEnd(); glTranslatef(3.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f); glBegin(GL_QUADS); // Draw A Quad glVertex3f(-1.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f); // Top Left glVertex3f( 1.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f); // Top Right glVertex3f( 1.0f,-1.0f, 0.0f); // Bottom Right glVertex3f(-1.0f,-1.0f, 0.0f); // Bottom Left glEnd(); glFlush(); return TRUE; }

Which translates to the following Java implementation:

public void display(GLAutoDrawable glDrawable) { final GL gl = glDrawable.getGL(); gl.glClear(GL.GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT | GL.GL_DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT); gl.glLoadIdentity(); gl.glTranslatef(-1.5f, 0.0f, -6.0f); // Move Left 1.5 Units gl.glBegin(GL.GL_TRIANGLES); // Drawing Using Triangles gl.glVertex3f( 0.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f); // Top gl.glVertex3f(-1.0f,-1.0f, 0.0f); // Bottom Left gl.glVertex3f( 1.0f,-1.0f, 0.0f); // Bottom Right gl.glEnd(); gl.glTranslatef(3.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f); gl.glBegin(GL.GL_QUADS); // Draw A Quad gl.glVertex3f(-1.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f); // Top Left gl.glVertex3f( 1.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f); // Top Right gl.glVertex3f( 1.0f,-1.0f, 0.0f); // Bottom Right gl.glVertex3f(-1.0f,-1.0f, 0.0f); // Bottom Left gl.glEnd(); gl.glFlush(); }

• Java OpenGL : The reference implementation, available on Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and Solaris platforms.