Start with OpenGL 3.3. Once you master it, moving to OpenGL 4.x (for Compute Shaders) or Vulkan is a natural progression.
OpenGL 3.3 provides everything necessary for a modern rendering engine: open gl 3.3
Starting with version 3.2, OpenGL introduced "profiles" to handle legacy code. Understanding these is essential for modern development: Start with OpenGL 3
This covers every desktop and laptop sold in the last 12+ years, plus many embedded systems (e.g., Raspberry Pi 4 with Mesa). In contrast, OpenGL 4.x requires GPU hardware from ~2013+ and is less common on integrated graphics. plus many embedded systems (e.g.
OpenGL 3.3 (released March 2010) is not the newest version, but it is arguably the most for modern GPU programming. Here is why you should target it.
Start with OpenGL 3.3. Once you master it, moving to OpenGL 4.x (for Compute Shaders) or Vulkan is a natural progression.
OpenGL 3.3 provides everything necessary for a modern rendering engine:
Starting with version 3.2, OpenGL introduced "profiles" to handle legacy code. Understanding these is essential for modern development:
This covers every desktop and laptop sold in the last 12+ years, plus many embedded systems (e.g., Raspberry Pi 4 with Mesa). In contrast, OpenGL 4.x requires GPU hardware from ~2013+ and is less common on integrated graphics.
OpenGL 3.3 (released March 2010) is not the newest version, but it is arguably the most for modern GPU programming. Here is why you should target it.