   How do you opengl pros do it?
  Hi, i''m new to opengl, I just finished the first 5 nehe tuts and a bit of the red book. So far i have 2 cool 3d colored objects spinning around in front of me but i dont have a clue to as what is actually happening behind the scenes. To learn this stuff do you guys memorize all the syntax, i mean is being able to sit down with a black source file in front of you and be able to just write code off the top of your head what its about. Or do you use the reference manual heaps and just slowly begin to remember bits and pieces till it makes sense.And when u start a new project do u use a base code like nehe''s. I''m just curious to see what exactly it is i''m supposed to be taking in here. Any pointers for a newb?Thanks 
  I haven''t memorised all the pixelformatdescriptor stuff for Win32. I did it once, commented it to hell, and I just cut and paste from project to project now. As for GL functions, you just get to know them. The functions you use the most you''ll remember, ones you don''t use much, you won''t remember and you''ll have to look them up. Don''t spend time trying to memorise stuff, you''ll start to remember things as you code.   Death of one is a tragedy, death of a million is just a statistic. ;  Continue exactly as you are.  As long as you're learning and not just copying code.  The way it works is, your mind will automatically begin to memorize the stuff you really need (and therefore use the most frequently).  You'll never get to the point where you can write a complete game engine without outside references (whether the MSDN or your own notes or prior code), so don't stress too much to learn everything.  Just focus on concepts, and the details that seem to be recurring.  As for base code, I write my own from scratch with each new major project.  Many people have a standard framework they use (like NeHe's basecode).  This isn't as much of an issue if you use something like SDL or the GLUT, since most of the platform initialization details are abstracted for you.  (I personally think it's a point of pride to be able to write a basic Win32 app without even IntelliSense, but that's a personal ego issue )Pointers:1) Don't give up.2) Don't be a lamer.  3) Make cool stuff as soon as possible.  It's a real self esteem booster.Later,ZE.   //email me.//zealouselixir software.//msdn.//n00biez.//miscellaneous links [edited by - zealouselixir on July 31, 2003 4:23:36 PM];  At the beginning you don''t need to memorize everything. It just comes with time! After you typed the same function names for 100th time, you just have to memorize it Personally I don''t use other people''s framework, I always TRY to create my own  darkoneRegistered Linux User #317188 ;  Thanks for the tips guys, exactly what i needed;  and if you''re ever in need of a reference:http://www.cevis.uni-bremen.de/~uwe/opengl/opengl.htmlor anything else a google search for "OpenGL index" will find for you... and try to create a set of ''tools'' for you to use. i.e. try not to write the same stuff over and over again. For example, write a class that allows you to easily print text on screen, or manage textures etc.. that way your development time will speed up (once you''ve written them all )   -----------------------"Without a sense of humour we couldn''t react to a lot of things" ;  (off topic)Speaking of that reference mentioned above, why doesn''t it contain stuff like glVertexPointer? Is the vertex array functionality an extension? ;  Thats a opengl 1.0 reference.. you should look for atleast a  opengl 1.1 instead.. ;  ok, sorry... something like this then:http://www.talisman.org/opengl-1.1/Reference.html -----------------------"Without a sense of humour we couldn''t react to a lot of things" ;  ah thanks, i was getting slightly frustrated looking up every other command i used in a different place. 