I’m a complete newbie to OpenGL, and I noticed that a number of replies to newbie questions on this forum direct us to the site nehe.gamedev.net
My problem is this: on that site the author very clearly states that if the reader doesn’t know VC++ then he/she shouldn’t be asking about OpenGL in the first place.
In a nutshell, I’d like to know if it’s at all possible to work with OpenGL using C++ and absolutely no knowledge of VC++.
Thanks for your time.
VC++ is just an integrated development environment. There’s not much learning to get you started, but you do need to set include paths and files etc in the GUI.
VC++ has a command line interface, afterall it includes a compiler, I wouldn’t advise paying for it and missing out on the IDE.
There are other compilers available including gcc so no you don’t need VC++.
On windows you’ll need knowledge of win32 to do any decent coding unless you use some other API like GLUT that completely hides that but you’ll be limited to what those API’s offer.
Finally this is a generic development question. You really should learn to write code on a windows platform first. The best way is Visual Studio, that’s why people have been telling you to learn that first. They’re telling you to go learn the basics of developing any kind of code on Windows first.
Once you’re up and compiling you’re welcome to ask OpenGL questions. Compiler and generic development questions for Windows are off topic around here.