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OpenGL Extension Wrangler

lastmod 2018-01-18created 2014-04-116 edits

The OpenGL Extension Wrangler Library (GLEW) is a cross-platform open-source C/C++ extension loading library. GLEW provides efficient run-time mechanisms for determining which OpenGL extensions are supported on the target platform. OpenGL core and extension functionality is exposed in a single header file. GLEW has been tested on a variety of operating systems, including Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, Irix, and Solaris.

About GLEW

Toward the end of the last post, the code used in the example used the OpenGL 2.x API, which cannot be used in version 3.x. In other words, OpenGL has poor compatibility between versions. Also, OpenGL does not provide a separate SDK, so you have to develop with the version set up on each OS. In this situation, it is hard to develop for a version higher than the one set up on the OS. GLEW is what fills this gap. So, to study OpenGL 3.0 and above, we need GLEW.

GLEW is short for The OpenGL Extension Wrangler Library, a cross-platform open-source C/C++ extension library. GLEW is a single header file that provides OpenGL's new features. Because it provides features that OpenGL does not provide by default, there is no guarantee that it works well on every computer, but it provides quite useful features. According to the description on the web page, GLEW has been tested on a variety of operating systems, including Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, Irix, and Solaris.

Why use it?

Because OpenGL is not a single library, you cannot simply link it to a project. So we get help from a library like GLEW. Just by including a header file like glew.h, you can easily use OpenGL's features.

Relationship between GLSL and GLEW

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