The Unofficial OpenGL Software Development Kit is a collection of libraries and utilities that will help you get started working with OpenGL. It provides a unified, cross-platform build system to make compiling the disparate libraries easier.

Many of the components of the SDK are C++ libraries.

Each component of the SDK specifies the terms under which they are distributed. All licenses used by components are approximately like the MIT license in permissivity. The parts of the SDK responsible for maintaining the build, as well as all examples, are distributed under the MIT License.

The library components are:

GL Load: Used to gain access to OpenGL's functions.
GL Image: Used for loading image files into memory and into OpenGL textures.
GL Utility: Provides a variety of generally useful functionality. It a wide variety of features including:
GL Mesh: A mechanism for rendering mesh data. It provides an immediate mode interface that can replace glBegin/glEnd, as well as a mesh class. It also provides a number of sample mesh objects, for doing simple tasks.
OpenGL Mathematics: Provides useful math classes and functions for OpenGL, using a GLSL-like syntax.
GLFW: A tool for creating and managing an OpenGL window. It can be used to handle input.
FreeGLUT: A tool for creating and managing an OpenGL window. It can be used to handle input, as well as render a few basic shapes.
Boost: A C++ utility library distributed with and used by the SDK.
OpenGL Loader Generator: A command-line script tool for generating OpenGL loader code.

The SDK also comes with a number of examples, which are in the examples directory.

Installation and Use

Installation of the SDK is simple. Download the most recent version of the distribution and unzip the file to a directory of your choice. Then follow the instructions for building the SDK components.

Once the SDK has been successfully built, follow the instructions for using the SDK to use it.

Support

The SDK is undergoing further development. The list of changes and new features from prior versions is available.

Bugs or feature requests should be filed in the Bitbucket issue tracker or the SourceForge issue tracker. Questions or other inquiries can be directed to the SDK's discussion forum.

You can look on the troubleshooting page for information about combating common problems.

Request for Aid

The Unofficial GL SDK is still in Alpha at present. Currently, the SDK is missing the following libraries:

Mesh loading: A library for loading files into GL Mesh meshes.

The main issue is finding good, well-maintained libraries that can do these. Libraries that rely on compatibility profiles are not acceptable for the SDK, yet most of the available libraries that perform these tasks do.

They do not have to be C++, but they should have no additional dependencies outside of the absolutely necessary. For instance, FreeType2 would be essential for any beyond the most basic font library, as there's no way anyone should be expected to reinvent that wheel. But outside of something that essential, there should be no extra dependencies.

The MIT License is preferable, but similar BSD-style licenses are also accepted. Since the SDK uses static linking (for ease of use reasons), GPL and LGPL libraries are not acceptable.