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/*!
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@page context_guide Context guide
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@tableofcontents
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This guide introduces the OpenGL and OpenGL ES context related functions of
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GLFW. For details on a specific function in this category, see the @ref
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context. There are also guides for the other areas of the GLFW API.
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- @ref intro_guide
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- @ref window_guide
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- @ref vulkan_guide
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- @ref monitor_guide
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- @ref input_guide
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@section context_object Context objects
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A window object encapsulates both a top-level window and an OpenGL or OpenGL ES
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context. It is created with @ref glfwCreateWindow and destroyed with @ref
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glfwDestroyWindow or @ref glfwTerminate. See @ref window_creation for more
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information.
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As the window and context are inseparably linked, the window object also serves
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as the context handle.
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To test the creation of various kinds of contexts and see their properties, run
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the `glfwinfo` test program.
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@note Vulkan does not have a context and the Vulkan instance is created via the
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Vulkan API itself. If you will be using Vulkan to render to a window, disable
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context creation by setting the [GLFW_CLIENT_API](@ref window_hints_ctx) hint to
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`GLFW_NO_API`. For more information, see the @ref vulkan_guide.
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@subsection context_hints Context creation hints
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There are a number of hints, specified using @ref glfwWindowHint, related to
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what kind of context is created. See
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[context related hints](@ref window_hints_ctx) in the window guide.
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@subsection context_sharing Context object sharing
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When creating a window and its OpenGL or OpenGL ES context with @ref
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glfwCreateWindow, you can specify another window whose context the new one
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should share its objects (textures, vertex and element buffers, etc.) with.
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@code
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GLFWwindow* second_window = glfwCreateWindow(640, 480, "Second Window", NULL, first_window);
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@endcode
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Object sharing is implemented by the operating system and graphics driver. On
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platforms where it is possible to choose which types of objects are shared, GLFW
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requests that all types are shared.
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See the relevant chapter of the [OpenGL](https://www.opengl.org/registry/) or
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[OpenGL ES](http://www.khronos.org/opengles/) reference documents for more
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information. The name and number of this chapter unfortunately varies between
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versions and APIs, but has at times been named _Shared Objects and Multiple
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Contexts_.
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GLFW comes with a simple object sharing test program called `sharing`.
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@subsection context_offscreen Offscreen contexts
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GLFW doesn't support creating contexts without an associated window. However,
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contexts with hidden windows can be created with the
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[GLFW_VISIBLE](@ref window_hints_wnd) window hint.
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@code
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glfwWindowHint(GLFW_VISIBLE, GLFW_FALSE);
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GLFWwindow* offscreen_context = glfwCreateWindow(640, 480, "", NULL, NULL);
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@endcode
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The window never needs to be shown and its context can be used as a plain
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offscreen context. Depending on the window manager, the size of a hidden
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window's framebuffer may not be usable or modifiable, so framebuffer
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objects are recommended for rendering with such contexts.
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You should still [process events](@ref events) as long as you have at least one
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window, even if none of them are visible.
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__OS X:__ The first time a window is created the menu bar is populated with
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common commands like Hide, Quit and About. This is not desirable for example
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when writing a command-line only application. The menu bar setup can be
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disabled with a [compile-time option](@ref compile_options_osx).
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@subsection context_less Windows without contexts
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You can disable context creation by setting the
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[GLFW_CLIENT_API](@ref window_hints_ctx) hint to `GLFW_NO_API`. Windows without
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contexts must not be passed to @ref glfwMakeContextCurrent or @ref
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glfwSwapBuffers.
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@section context_current Current context
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Before you can make OpenGL or OpenGL ES calls, you need to have a current
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context of the correct type. A context can only be current for a single thread
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at a time, and a thread can only have a single context current at a time.
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The context of a window is made current with @ref glfwMakeContextCurrent.
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@code
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glfwMakeContextCurrent(window);
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@endcode
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The window of the current context is returned by @ref glfwGetCurrentContext.
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@code
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GLFWwindow* window = glfwGetCurrentContext();
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@endcode
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The following GLFW functions require a context to be current. Calling any these
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functions without a current context will generate a @ref GLFW_NO_CURRENT_CONTEXT
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error.
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- @ref glfwSwapInterval
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- @ref glfwExtensionSupported
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- @ref glfwGetProcAddress
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@section context_swap Buffer swapping
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Buffer swapping is part of the window and framebuffer, not the context. See
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@ref buffer_swap.
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@section context_glext OpenGL and OpenGL ES extensions
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One of the benefits of OpenGL and OpenGL ES is their extensibility.
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Hardware vendors may include extensions in their implementations that extend the
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API before that functionality is included in a new version of the OpenGL or
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OpenGL ES specification, and some extensions are never included and remain
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as extensions until they become obsolete.
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An extension is defined by:
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- An extension name (e.g. `GL_ARB_debug_output`)
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- New OpenGL tokens (e.g. `GL_DEBUG_SEVERITY_HIGH_ARB`)
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- New OpenGL functions (e.g. `glGetDebugMessageLogARB`)
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Note the `ARB` affix, which stands for Architecture Review Board and is used
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for official extensions. The extension above was created by the ARB, but there
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are many different affixes, like `NV` for Nvidia and `AMD` for, well, AMD. Any
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group may also use the generic `EXT` affix. Lists of extensions, together with
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their specifications, can be found at the
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[OpenGL Registry](http://www.opengl.org/registry/) and
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[OpenGL ES Registry](https://www.khronos.org/registry/gles/).
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@subsection context_glext_auto Loading extension with a loader library
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An extension loader library is the easiest and best way to access both OpenGL and
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OpenGL ES extensions and modern versions of the core OpenGL or OpenGL ES APIs.
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They will take care of all the details of declaring and loading everything you
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need. One such library is [glad](https://github.com/Dav1dde/glad) and there are
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several others.
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The following example will use glad but all extension loader libraries work
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similarly.
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First you need to generate the source files using the glad Python script. This
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example generates a loader for any version of OpenGL, which is the default for
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both GLFW and glad, but loaders for OpenGL ES, as well as loaders for specific
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API versions and extension sets can be generated. The generated files are
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written to the `output` directory.
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@code{.sh}
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python main.py --generator c --no-loader --out-path output
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@endcode
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The `--no-loader` option is added because GLFW already provides a function for
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loading OpenGL and OpenGL ES function pointers, one that automatically uses the
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selected context creation API, and glad can call this instead of having to
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implement its own. There are several other command-line options as well. See
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the glad documentation for details.
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Add the generated `output/src/glad.c`, `output/include/glad/glad.h` and
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`output/include/KHR/khrplatform.h` files to your build. Then you need to
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include the glad header file, which will replace the OpenGL header of your
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development environment. By including the glad header before the GLFW header,
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it suppresses the development environment's OpenGL or OpenGL ES header.
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@code
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#include <glad/glad.h>
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#include <GLFW/glfw3.h>
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@endcode
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Finally you need to initialize glad once you have a suitable current context.
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@code
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window = glfwCreateWindow(640, 480, "My Window", NULL, NULL);
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if (!window)
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{
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...
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}
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glfwMakeContextCurrent(window);
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gladLoadGLLoader((GLADloadproc) glfwGetProcAddress);
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@endcode
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Once glad has been loaded, you have access to all OpenGL core and extension
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functions supported by both the context you created and the glad loader you
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generated and you are ready to start rendering.
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You can specify a minimum required OpenGL or OpenGL ES version with
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[context hints](@ref window_hints_ctx). If your needs are more complex, you can
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check the actual OpenGL or OpenGL ES version with
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[context attributes](@ref window_attribs_ctx), or you can check whether
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a specific version is supported by the current context with the
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`GLAD_GL_VERSION_x_x` booleans.
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@code
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if (GLAD_GL_VERSION_3_2)
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{
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// Call OpenGL 3.2+ specific code
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}
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@endcode
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To check whether a specific extension is supported, use the `GLAD_GL_xxx`
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booleans.
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@code
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if (GLAD_GL_ARB_debug_output)
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{
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// Use GL_ARB_debug_output
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}
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@endcode
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@subsection context_glext_manual Loading extensions manually
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__Do not use this technique__ unless it is absolutely necessary. An
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[extension loader library](@ref context_glext_auto) will save you a ton of
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tedious, repetitive, error prone work.
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To use a certain extension, you must first check whether the context supports
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that extension and then, if it introduces new functions, retrieve the pointers
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to those functions. GLFW provides @ref glfwExtensionSupported and @ref
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glfwGetProcAddress for manual loading of extensions and new API functions.
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This section will demonstrate manual loading of OpenGL extensions. The loading
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of OpenGL ES extensions is identical except for the name of the extension header.
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@subsubsection context_glext_header The glext.h header
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The `glext.h` extension header is a continually updated file that defines the
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interfaces for all OpenGL extensions. The latest version of this can always be
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found at the [OpenGL Registry](http://www.opengl.org/registry/). There are also
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extension headers for the various versions of OpenGL ES at the
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[OpenGL ES Registry](https://www.khronos.org/registry/gles/). It it strongly
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recommended that you use your own copy of the extension header, as the one
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included in your development environment may be several years out of date and
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may not include the extensions you wish to use.
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The header defines function pointer types for all functions of all extensions it
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supports. These have names like `PFNGLGETDEBUGMESSAGELOGARBPROC` (for
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`glGetDebugMessageLogARB`), i.e. the name is made uppercase and `PFN` (pointer
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to function) and `PROC` (procedure) are added to the ends.
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To include the extension header, define [GLFW_INCLUDE_GLEXT](@ref build_macros)
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before including the GLFW header.
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@code
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#define GLFW_INCLUDE_GLEXT
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#include <GLFW/glfw3.h>
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@endcode
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@subsubsection context_glext_string Checking for extensions
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A given machine may not actually support the extension (it may have older
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drivers or a graphics card that lacks the necessary hardware features), so it
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is necessary to check at run-time whether the context supports the extension.
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This is done with @ref glfwExtensionSupported.
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@code
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if (glfwExtensionSupported("GL_ARB_debug_output"))
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{
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// The extension is supported by the current context
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}
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@endcode
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The argument is a null terminated ASCII string with the extension name. If the
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extension is supported, @ref glfwExtensionSupported returns `GLFW_TRUE`,
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otherwise it returns `GLFW_FALSE`.
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@subsubsection context_glext_proc Fetching function pointers
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Many extensions, though not all, require the use of new OpenGL functions.
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These functions often do not have entry points in the client API libraries of
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your operating system, making it necessary to fetch them at run time. You can
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retrieve pointers to these functions with @ref glfwGetProcAddress.
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@code
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PFNGLGETDEBUGMESSAGELOGARBPROC pfnGetDebugMessageLog = glfwGetProcAddress("glGetDebugMessageLogARB");
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@endcode
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In general, you should avoid giving the function pointer variables the (exact)
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same name as the function, as this may confuse your linker. Instead, you can
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use a different prefix, like above, or some other naming scheme.
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Now that all the pieces have been introduced, here is what they might look like
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when used together.
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@code
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#define GLFW_INCLUDE_GLEXT
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#include <GLFW/glfw3.h>
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#define glGetDebugMessageLogARB pfnGetDebugMessageLog
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PFNGLGETDEBUGMESSAGELOGARBPROC pfnGetDebugMessageLog;
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// Flag indicating whether the extension is supported
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int has_ARB_debug_output = 0;
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void load_extensions(void)
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{
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if (glfwExtensionSupported("GL_ARB_debug_output"))
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{
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pfnGetDebugMessageLog = (PFNGLGETDEBUGMESSAGELOGARBPROC)
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glfwGetProcAddress("glGetDebugMessageLogARB");
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has_ARB_debug_output = 1;
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}
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}
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void some_function(void)
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{
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if (has_ARB_debug_output)
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{
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// Now the extension function can be called as usual
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glGetDebugMessageLogARB(...);
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}
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}
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@endcode
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*/
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