Setting up OpenGL on MacOS


So you've been wanting to setup OpenGL on MacOS? Here's the place to learn what you need and how you need to do it.

What You'll Need:

First and foremost, you'll need a compiler. By far the best and most popular on the Macintosh is Metrowerks Codewarrior. If you're a student, get the educational version - there's no difference between it and the professional version and it'll cost you a lot less.

Next, you'll need the OpenGL SDK (that's Software Development Kit) from Apple. Now we're ready to create an OpenGL program!

Getting Started with GLUT:

Ok, here is the beginning of the program, where we include headers: 
	#include <GL/gl.h>
	#include <GL/glu.h>
	#include <GL/glut.h>
	#include "tk.h"
The first is the standard OpenGL calls, the other three provide additional calls which we will use in our programs.

Next, we define some constants: 
	#define kWindowWidth	400
	#define kWindowHeight	300
We use these for the height and width of our window. Next, the function prototypes: 
	GLvoid InitGL(GLvoid);
	GLvoid DrawGLScene(GLvoid);
	GLvoid ReSizeGLScene(int Width, int Height);
... and the main() function: 
	int main(int argc, char** argv)
	{

		glutInit(&argc, argv);
		glutInitDisplayMode (GLUT_DOUBLE | GLUT_RGB | GLUT_DEPTH);
		glutInitWindowSize (kWindowWidth, kWindowHeight);
		glutInitWindowPosition (100, 100);
		glutCreateWindow (argv[0]);

		InitGL();

		glutDisplayFunc(DrawGLScene);
		glutReshapeFunc(ReSizeGLScene);

		glutMainLoop();

		return 0;
	}
glutInit(), glutInitDisplayMode(), glutInitWindowSize(), glutInitWindowPosition(), and glutCreateWindow() all set up our OpenGL program. InitGL() does the same thing in the Mac program as in the Windows program. glutDisplayFunc(DrawGLScene) tells GLUT that we want the DrawGLScene function to be used when we want to draw the scene. glutReshapeFunc(ReSizeGLScene) tells GLUT that we want the ReSizeGLScene function to be used if the window is resized.

Later, we will use glutKeyboardFunc(), which tells GLUT which function we want to use when a key is pressed, and glutIdleFunc() which tells GLUT which function it will call repeatedly (we'll use it to spin stuff in space).

Finally, glutMainLoop() starts the program. Once this is called, it will only return to the main() function when the program is quitting.

You're done!

Well, that's about it. Most everything else is the same as NeHe's examples. I suggest you look at the Read Me included with the MacOS ports, as it has more detail on specific changes from the examples themselves.

Have fun!

Tony Parker, asp@usc.edu