Why is my OpenGL code not working - c++

Question

I'm a complete novice in OpenGL and have started following a book on this topic. The first program that they demonstrate is the Sierpinski Gasket program. Here's what the code looks like in the book:
#include<GL/glut.h>
#include<stdlib.h>
void myinit()
{
//attributes
glClearColor(1.0,1.0,1.0,1.0);
glColor3f(1.0,0.0,0.0); //draw in red
//set up viewing
glMatrixMode(GL_PROJECTION);
glLoadIdentity();
gluOrtho2D(0.0,50.0,0.0,50.0);
glMatrixMode(GL_MODELVIEW);
}
void display()
{
GLfloat vertices[3][2]={{0.0,0.0},{25.0,50.0},{50.0,0.0}}; //triangle
GLfloat p[2]={7.5,5.0}; //arbitrary point
glClear(GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT); //clear the window
glBegin(GL_POINTS);
//Gasket Program
for(int i=0;i<5000;i++){
int j=rand()%3;
//compute points halfway between random vertex and arbitrary point
p[0]=(vertices[j][0]+p[0])/2;
p[1]=(vertices[j][1]+p[1])/2;
//plot the point
glVertex2fv(p);
}
glEnd();
glFlush();
}
int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
glutInit(&argc, argv);
glutInitDisplayMode(GLUT_RGB | GLUT_DEPTH | GLUT_DOUBLE);
glutInitWindowSize(500,500);
glutInitWindowPosition(0,0);
glutCreateWindow("Sierpinski Gasket");
glutDisplayFunc(display);
myinit();
glutMainLoop();
return 0;
}
However, when I compile the program it only displays a window completely filled with white and nothing else. Why isn't the above code working the way it should?

Answer 1

Swap glFlush() for glutSwapBuffers():
#include<GL/glut.h>
void display()
{
glClearColor(1.0,1.0,1.0,1.0);
glClear(GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT); //clear the window
//set up viewing
glMatrixMode(GL_PROJECTION);
glLoadIdentity();
gluOrtho2D(0.0,50.0,0.0,50.0);
glMatrixMode(GL_MODELVIEW);
glLoadIdentity();
GLfloat vertices[3][2]={{0.0,0.0},{25.0,50.0},{50.0,0.0}}; //triangle
GLfloat p[2]={7.5,5.0}; //arbitrary point
glColor3f(1.0,0.0,0.0); //draw in red
glBegin(GL_POINTS);
//Gasket Program
for(int i=0;i<5000;i++)
{
int j=rand()%3;
//compute points halfway between random vertex and arbitrary point
p[0]=(vertices[j][0]+p[0])/2;
p[1]=(vertices[j][1]+p[1])/2;
//plot the point
glVertex2fv(p);
}
glEnd();
glutSwapBuffers();
}
int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
glutInit(&argc, argv);
glutInitDisplayMode(GLUT_RGB | GLUT_DOUBLE);
glutInitWindowSize(500,500);
glutCreateWindow("Sierpinski Gasket");
glutDisplayFunc(display);
glutMainLoop();
return 0;
}
glFlush() won't actually swap the back/front buffers requested by GLUT_DOUBLE. You need glutSwapBuffers() for that.