Looks great so far. I've stopped buying a lot of programming books because they tend to be poor. However, this one looks good. It gives a great intro to using opengl es on Android. Won't be returning this one. OpenGL ES 2 for Android: A Quick-Start Guide (Pragmatic Programmers) OpenGL ES is a complicated subject at the best of times but this book does an excellent job of explaining the principles and concepts of OpenGL ES to an absolute beginner. From setting up the development environment to creating a mini 3D game and then covering some slightly advanced topics such as particles, sky boxes, height maps, occlusion, lighting, textures and so on, the pace is never too quick and everything is explained clearly with frequent use of colour diagrams and pictures. More detailed explanations of the maths involved is available in an appendix for those who are interested.The reader is naturally expected to be familiar with Java and the Android platform but the sample code is clear, fully explained and is presented gradually so that it's easy to understand what's going on. There is code on almost every page as the reader is shown how to build various OpenGL ES programs, with each chapter building on the previous one to improve and expand the application, be it the 3D air hockey game or live wallpaper.For someone who is looking to take their very first steps with OpenGL ES on Android, this book is a great choice and will quickly get you started. OpenGL ES 2 for Android: A Quick-Start Guide (Pragmatic Programmers) Brilliant book.If you don't believe me, check out the free stand alone tutorials at Book goes into detail. OpenGL ES 2 for Android: A Quick-Start Guide (Pragmatic Programmers) After trying to get my head around openGL for a number of years this book finally got me going, it's very well laid out, the examples are fully explained and it takes you through the basics of the main openGL concepts.The main problem with the book is that it is so out of date, some of the libraries it users ie FloatMath are discontinued so you need to change these to use the supported version, also it was written before openGL 3 was released, however all the gl2 code works fine on gl3.I would still highly recommend this book though as it's so well written and laid out. Just a shame it's not been updated with all the latest stuff. OpenGL ES 2 for Android: A Quick-Start Guide (Pragmatic Programmers) A very nice introduction to OpenGL on Android. It explains in detail the OpenGL side of things, as well as some of the complicated maths behind 3D graphics rendering. It also goes into detail about some of the fiddly OpenGL API calls, which might otherwise confuse a newcomer.I think the examples are a little simplistic, but I feel this is intentional as the book is about OpenGL specifically, not using OpenGL to write games. All the sample code is available on the publisher's website so once you're done with the book this acts as a good point of reference point for when you venture off to write your own code. Some simple lighting techniques are also outlined which provide a good basis for further learning.Over all I found this book very useful. I was originally hoping it would be geared towards game development, but now I believe it works better as the two subjects (3D graphics and games development) are difficult subjects for their own reasons and interleaving the explanation of the two subjects would probably be off putting for newcomers (such as myself) OpenGL ES 2 for Android: A Quick-Start Guide (Pragmatic Programmers)
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Android is booming like never before, with millions of devices shipping every day. It's never been a better time to learn how to create your own 3D games and live wallpaper for Android. You'll find out all about shaders and the OpenGL pipeline, and discover the power of OpenGL ES 2.0, which is much feature rich than its predecessor. If you can program in Java and you have a creative vision that you'd like to share with the world, then this is the book for you.
This book will teach you everything you need to know to create compelling graphics on Android. You'll learn the basics of OpenGL by building a simple game of air hockey, and along the way, you'll see how to initialize OpenGL and program the graphics pipeline using shaders. Each lesson builds upon the one before it, as you add colors, shading, 3D projections, touch interaction, and.
Then, you'll find out how to turn your idea into a live wallpaper that can run on the home screen. You'll learn about advanced effects involving particles, lighting models, and the depth buffer. You'll understand what to look for when debugging your program, and what to watch out for when deploying to the market.
OpenGL can be somewhat of a dark art to the uninitiated. As you read this book, you'll learn each new concept from first principles. You won't just learn about a feature; you'll also understand how it works, and why it works the way it does. Everything you learn is forward compatible with the just released OpenGL ES 3, and you can even apply these techniques to other platforms, such as iOS or HTML5 WebGL.
OpenGL ES 2 for Android: A Quick-Start Guide (Pragmatic Programmers)