Beginning WebGL for HTML5

by Brian Danchilla

Beginning WebGL for HTML5 gets you rapidly up to speed with WebGL, a powerful new graphics language within the browser. You'll render realistic scenes with advanced lighting models, shadows, blending and textures. You'll also use mathematics to model fractals and particle systems. Going beyond that, Beginning WebGL for HTML5 presents advanced vertex and fragment shader usage for creating stunning, top-end results. You'll benefit from using modern frameworks to rapidly develop complex scenes, and make use of many tools to help improve rendering performance and debugging. Beginning WebGL for HTML5 builds your critical WebGL development skills while being enjoyable at each step of the way. Quickly get up to speed with WebGL Render realistic scenes Work faster with frameworks Improve rendering performance What you?ll learn A scene setup and rendering refresher Advanced GLSL usages Rendering realistic scenes with lighting, blending, reflections, shadows and more The current state of WebGL mobile support Performance optimizations Enhancing productivity by using existing frameworks and loading models Who this book is for

BeginningWebGL for HTML5 is for the graphics enthusiast who is ready to bring their skillset to the next level and create more realistic, beautiful scenes. Beginning WebGL for HTML5 is a great choice for someone with existing OpenGL or Canvas 2D knowledge wanting to transition to WebGL. It is an excellent choice for those wanting to have high performance graphics coded in minimal time.

379 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 2012

Reviews

[Lyle Appleyard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy for this book through a Goodreads Giveaway contest.

I started to read this book awhile ago, but then stopped for the summer. I had worked as a computer programmer several years ago, so this book was of interest to me. I have read several technical books of software. I try to read them during the day when I am a little more alert. If I read them at night, I don't concentrate as much. I want to be able to concentrate when I am reading these type of books.

This book did need concentration to read. It is very technical. you need some knowledge of JavaScript to understand it. There is many lines of code to follow. Fortunately, there is a website where you can download the code and not have to type it all in to test it. I had few problems with some of the code. Or maybe my expectations were wrong.

The book was not hard to read. It took you through all levels of development. It had everything I would expect of a technical book. If I were to start working in this technology, I would be going back to it.

If you are into graphics for websites, then this book is for you. Otherwise, this won't interest you. It will all be over your head.

[Shawnda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway and I wanted to make sure I really went through it to give it an honest review. After my lengthy journey reading this book, I've come to the conclusion that this is a great beginner's book for an intermediate/advanced HTML coder. The examples given make for some really cool projects and act as excellent building blocks for your own ideas. The only problem I had with the book was the pages and pages of code with only a sparse explanation of its purpose or the reason for using it. If the author added more description for the code provided instead of assuming the reading would pick it up from the code, I think the book would be top-notch and a great reference book. As it stands now, be prepared to do a little detective work to figure out what's going on in the code so you can produce stunning results.