OpenGL ES 2 - load and display image

Question

Hi guys,

I'm having trouble finding any examples of OpenGL ES 2 (C++) loading/displaying images. Been looking for last 3 hours but all I found so far is for iPhone or "Look Ma! A triangle!" or it's unbelievably complicated (at least for me).

I'm just looking for something super easy (for a not very smart person). All I need is to load 2 jpg images, display one of them and then display another one in a second or two...

Thanks :)

Answer 1

You didn't specify what platform.

Loading of images is the process of reading a binary file format and possibly decompressing the data. That is not part of the OpenGL or OpenGL-ES spec.

If you want to load and display textures, the easiest way to do it is use some library that already does all the hard work for you. Here are a few resources that show you the library and the roll it your own approach:

• Tutorial of loading various image formats using SDL and SDL_image
• Load bitmaps in C++ on windows and other desktop platforms
• Tutorial loading sprites using Cocos2d
• More details on the bitmap file format