I create a VBO in a function and I only want to return the VBO id.
I use glDrawArrays in another function and I want it to draw all the vertices in the VBO without needing to also pass the number of vertices. The VBO also contains texture coordinate data.
Thank you.
You need to return it, sorry. Data about the VBO might live somewhere far away from your CPU and be slow to access, so you need to keep locally whatever data you need.
Maybe it could be not useful for you application, you can use glGetBufferParameteriv with argument GL_BUFFER_SIZE: it returns the number of bytes of the buffer object.
It's difficoult to say that this is the solution, since you should know the internal format of the buffer element (and indeed, its size in bytes), in order to have the number of elements composing the buffer object.
For sure, the best solution is to keep most information in a class representing the buffer object, but as I can understand from your question this is hard to implement.
Related
I've recently been learning opengl via the tutorials on http://learnopengl.com/, but I've come to the issue that the array that you place into the GLbufferdata has to be of a fixed sized that you declare when you initialize. However in my program I want to have it such that a dynamic number of objects that can be created and deleted (done via a list) have parameters that appear on screen.
I've managed to make code that takes the data from the objects and converts it into and array of floats for the VBO and an array of integers for the EBO however these array can't seem to change size, so whilst my program can set the array to the correct size depending on how many objects there are to begin with I can't re-declare the array meaning that if I wanted to add more objects they would not be rendered.
I could of course set the array to be bigger than I need it, but that seems to be inefficient and circumventing the issue.
Thanks for the help, by the way :).
Edit: Here is a link to a more condensed version which should help outline the issue more concisely. Line 99/100 is where I create the array, however nothing shows up when compiled.
I don't sure, but I think that you can't dynamically change vertex buffer size after declaration (you can remove buffer and create one more which will be have needed size).
Better way is each object in your system must have own vertex buffer.
I am trying to understand these two, how to use them and how they are related. Let's say I want to create a simple terrain and a textured cube. For both objects I have the array of triangles vertices and for the cube I have an array containing the texture's data. My question is: how do I use VAOs and VBOs to create and render these two?
Would I have to create a VAO and VBO for each object?
or should create a VAO for each object's VBO (vertices, texture data, etc.)?
There are many tutorials and books but I still don't get the very idea of how these concepts must be understood and used.
Fundamentally, you need to understand two things:
Vertex Array Objects (VAOs) are conceptually nothing but thin state wrappers.
Vertex Buffer Objects (VBOs) store actual data.
Another way of thinking about this is that VAOs describe the data stored in one or more VBOs.
Think of VBOs (and buffer objects in general) as unstructured arrays of data stored in server (GPU) memory. You can layout your vertex data in multiple arrays if you want, or you can pack them into a single array. In either case, buffer objects boil down to locations where you will store data.
Vertex Array Objects track the actual pointers to VBO memory needed for draw commands.
They are a little bit more sophisticated than pointers as you would know them in a language like C, however. Vertex pointers keep track of the buffer object that was bound when they were specified, the offset into its address space, stride between vertex attributes and how to interpret the underlying data (e.g. whether to keep integer values or to convert them to floating-point [0.0,1.0] by normalizing to the data type's range).
For example, integer data is usually converted to floating-point, but it is the command you use to specify the vertex pointer (glVertexAttribPointer (...) vs. glVertexAttribIPointer (...)) that determines this behavior.
Vertex Array Objects also track the buffer object currently bound to GL_ELEMENT_ARRAY_BUFFER.
GL_ELEMENT_ARRAY_BUFFER is where the command: glDrawElements (...) sources its list of indices from (assuming a non-zero binding) and there is no glElementArrayPointer (...) command. glDrawElements (...) combines the pointer and draw command into a single operation, and will use the binding stored in the active Vertex Array Object to accomplish this.
With that out of the way, unless your objects share vertex data you are generally going to need a unique set of VBOs for each.
You can use a single VAO for your entire software if you want, or you can take advantage of the fact that changing the bound VAO changes nearly the entire set of states necessary to draw different objects.
Thus, drawing your terrain and cube could be as simple as changing the bound VAO. You may have to do more than that if you need to apply different textures to each of them, but the VAO takes care of all vertex data related setup.
Your question is not easily answerable here, but rather in a tutorial. You probably already know these two websites, but if not, I'm leaving the references.
OGLDEV
OpenGL-Tutorial.org
Now trying to elucidate your questions, a Vertex Array Object is an OpenGL object designed with the goal of reducing API overhead for draw calls. You can think of it as a container for a Vertex Buffer and its associated states. Something similar perhaps to the old display-lists.
Normally, there is a 1 to 1 relationship between a VAO and a VBO; that is, each VAO contains a unique VBO. But this is not strictly necessary. You could have several VAOs referencing the same VBO.
The simplest way to model this in code, I think, would be for you to have a VAO class/type and a method to attach a VBO to it. Then give an instance of VAO to each mesh. The mesh in turn can have a reference to a VBO type that may be its own or a shared one.
I have a couple questions about how OpenGL handles these drawing operations.
So lets say I pass OpenGL the pointer to my vertex array. Then I can call glDrawElements with an array of indexes. It will draw the requested shapes using those indexes in the vertex array correct?
After that glDrawElements call could I then do another glDawElements call with another set of indexes? Would it then draw the new index array using the original vertex array?
Does OpenGL keep my vertex data around for the next frame when I redo all of these calls? So the the next vertex pointer call would be a lot quicker?
Assuming the answer to the last three questions is yes, What if I want to do this on multiple vertex arrays every frame? I'm assuming doing this on any more than 1 vertex array would cause OpenGL to drop the last used array from graphics memory and start using the new one. But in my case the vertex arrays are never going to change. So what I want to know is does opengl keep my vertex arrays around in-case next time I send it vertex data it will be the same data? If not is there a way I can optimize this to allow something like this? Basically I want to draw procedurally between the vertexes using indicies without updating the vertex data, in order to reduce overhead and speed up complicated rendering that requires constant procedurally changing shapes that will always use the vertexes from the original vertex array. Is this possible or am I just fantasizing?
If I'm just fantasizing about my fourth question what are some good fast ways of drawing a whole lot of polygons each frame where only a few will change? Do I always have to pass in a totally new set of vertex data for even small changes? Does it already do this anyways when the vertex data doesn't change because I notice I cant really get around the vertex pointer call each frame.
Feel free to totally slam any logic errors I've made in my assertions. I'm trying to learn everything I can about how opengl works and it's entirely possible my current assumptions on how it works are all wrong.
1.So lets say I pass OpenGL the pointer to my vertex array. Then I can call glDrawElements with an array of indexes. It will draw the
requested shapes using those indexes in the vertex array correct?
Yes.
2.After that glDrawElements call could I then do another glDawElements
call with another set of indexes? Would it then draw the new index
array using the original vertex array?
Yes.
3.Does OpenGL keep my vertex data around for the next frame when I redo
all of these calls? So the the next vertex pointer call would be a lot
quicker?
Answering that is a bit more tricky than you might. The way you ask these questions makes me to assume that uou use client-side vertex arrays, that is, you have some arrays in your system memory and let your vertes pointers point directly to those. In that case, the answer is no. The GL cannot "cache" that data in any useful way. After the draw call is finished, it must assume that you might change the data, and it would have to compare every single bit to make sure you have not changed anything.
However, client side VAs are not the only way to have VAs in the GL - actually, they are completely outdated, deprecated since GL3.0 and been removed from modern versions of OpenGL. The modern way of doing thins is using Vertex Buffer Objects, which basically are buffers which are managed by the GL, but manipulated by the user. Buffer objects are just a chunk of memory, but you will need special GL calls to create them, read or write or change data and so on. And the buffer object might very well not be stored in system memory, but directly in VRAM, which is very useful for static data which is used over and over again. Have a look at the GL_ARB_vertex_buffer_object extension spec, which orignially introduced that feature in 2003 and became core in GL 1.5.
4.Assuming the answer to the last three questions is yes, What if I want
to do this on multiple vertex arrays every frame? I'm assuming doing
this on any more than 1 vertex array would cause OpenGL to drop the
last used array from graphics memory and start using the new one. But
in my case the vertex arrays are never going to change. So what I want
to know is does opengl keep my vertex arrays around in-case next time
I send it vertex data it will be the same data? If not is there a way
I can optimize this to allow something like this? Basically I want to
draw procedurally between the vertexes using indicies without updating
the vertex data, in order to reduce overhead and speed up complicated
rendering that requires constant procedurally changing shapes that
will always use the vertexes from the original vertex array. Is this
possible or am I just fantasizing?
VBOs are exactly what you are looking for, here.
5.If I'm just fantasizing about my fourth question what are some good
fast ways of drawing a whole lot of polygons each frame where only a
few will change? Do I always have to pass in a totally new set of
vertex data for even small changes? Does it already do this anyways
when the vertex data doesn't change because I notice I cant really get
around the vertex pointer call each frame.
You can also update just parts of a VBO. However, it might become inefficient if you have many small parts which are randomliy distributed in your buffer, it will be more efficient to update continous (sub-)regions. But that is a topic on it's own.
Yes
Yes
No. As soon as you create a Vertex Buffer Object (VBO) it will stay in the GPU memory. Otherwise vector data needs to be re-transferred (an old method of avoiding this was Display Lists). In both cases the performance of subsequent frames should stay similar (but much better with the VBO method): you can do the VBO creation and download before rendering the first frame.
The VBO was introduced to provide you exactly with this functionality. Just create several VBOs. Things get messy when you need more GPU memory than available though.
VBO is still the answer, and see Modifying only a specific element type of VBO buffer data?
It sounds like you should try something called Vertex Buffer Objects. It offers the same benefits as Vertex Arrays, but you can create multiple vertex buffers and store them in "named slots". This method has much better performance as data is stored directly in Graphic Card memory.
Here is a good tutorial in C++ to start with.
Would someone care to explain the difference to be between a VertexBuffer, a VertexArray, a VertexBufferObject, and a VertexArrayObject? I'm not even sure if these are all terms for different things, but I've seen all of them appear in the OpenGL spec.
I know that a VertexBuffer simply contains vertices and nothing else, once bound, and once I've set the vertex pointers, I can use DrawArrays to draw it. I've done it this way many times.
I am using what I think is a VertexArray, which stores the state of any vertex buffers that are set, and also any vertex pointers. Binding a VertexArray automatically binds the vertex buffer and sets the vertex pointers. I have used this (mostly) successfully too.
But what is a VertexBufferObject, and a VertexArrayObject? Are they better? Doesn't VertexArray give me everything I need?
A vertex array is simply some data in your program (inside your address space) that you tell OpenGL about by providing a pointer to it.
While more efficient than specifying every single vertex individually, they still have performance issues. The GL must make a copy at the time you call DrawElements (or a similar function), because that is the only time it can be certain that the data is valid (after all, nothing prevents you from overwriting the data right away). This means that there is a significant hindrance to parallelism, and thus a performance issue.
Vertex buffer objects ("vertex buffers") are raw blocks of data that you do not own, i.e. they are not in your address space. You can either copy data into the buffer object with Copy(Sub)Data or by temporarily mapping it to your address space. Once you unmap the buffer, it does no longer belong to you. The huge advantage is that now the GL can decide what to do with it, and when to upload it. It knows that the data will be valid, because you cannot access it. This makes CPU/GPU parallelism a lot easier.
Vertex array abjects are a bit of a misnomer. There are no vertices or arrays in them. They are merely a kind of "state description block" which encapsulate the bindings of one or several vertex buffer objects (including any VertexAttribPointer calls). As such, they are both a convenience function and somewhat more efficient (fewer function calls), but not strictly necessary. You could do anything that a VAO does by hand, too.
BufferObject: a GPU allocated memory buffer
Vertex Buffer Object: a BufferObject containing vertices informations (colors, position, custom data used by a shader, ...)
Pixel Buffer Object: a BufferObject containing pixel or texel informations. Mainly used to upload textures.
Element Buffer Object: a BufferObject containing indices (used by glDrawElements).
Vertex Array: memory used by gl*Pointer call. Might be host memory or a Vertex Buffer Object if it is bound using glBindBuffer command with GL_ARRAY_BUFFER.
Element Array: memory used by glDrawElements call. Might be host memory or an Element Buffer Object if it is bound using glBindBuffer command with GL_ELEMENT_ARRAY_BUFFER.
I have to draw a buffer that holds a couple thousand vertices. I am using a vbo to store the data.
I know I will have to update the VBO many times - but only in small parts at a time.
So I am wondering what the best method to doing so is:
Split VBO up into smaller VBOs (that hold like 300 verts) and then update individual VBOs with 1 call?
One big VBO and use lots of glBufferSubData() calls?
Use glMapBuffer() and one big VBO?
There is another option, which is a bit like option 3 - use one big VBO (probably with GL_STREAM_DRAW mode) that is reset each frame (by calling glBufferData with a NULL buffer pointer and the same size each time) then glMapBuffer-ed right away. The buffer is left mapped as it is filled in, then unmapped just before drawing. Repeat.
The call to glBufferData tells OpenGL that the old buffer contents aren't needed, so the glMapBuffer doesn't have to potentially wait to ensure the GPU is finished with by the GPU.
This approach seems to be the one officially sanctioned by the vertex_buffer_object extension. See the "Vertex arrays using a mapped buffer object" example:
http://www.opengl.org/registry/specs/ARB/vertex_buffer_object.txt
This suggests that OpenGL (or the driver?) will be watching for this sort of behaviour, and (when spotted) arrange things so that it is performed efficiently.
Doesn't sound like a good idea: it forces you to draw it in several calls while changing the bound buffer between each draw call.
Might do the trick if your buffer is huge.
The whole buffer will certainly be uploaded to the GPU. This will certainly be as efficient as one glBufferData, but you can do it asynchronously.
If think that glBufferData or glMapBuffer are the better solution if your buffer is small. 100000 * sizeof(float) * 3 ~= 1MB. There should be no problem with that.