Open the Possibilities with OpenGL Bootcamp, September 11-15, 2006

OpenGL Bootcamp delves deeply into the subject and transforms the student from novice to expert in this powerful visualization technology in five, content-rich days of intense instruction. At the onset of class, students begin the creation of their first OpenGL application and use this as a model to investigate the OpenGL architecture and develop familiarity with OpenGL fundamentals. Once this foundation is built, the class builds each successive layer of advanced topics in 2D and 3D design, including: - an examination of APIs like GLUT and NSOpenGLView for adding OpenGL to a Mac OS X application - viewing and model transformation, projection transformations and clipping plane - hidden surface removal, depth buffers and z-fighting - load and display textures and how to animate them - an examination of colors, lighting and blending - optimization of static and dynamic data - an exploration of ARB vertex and vertex shader programming models - an examination of ARB fragment and fragment shader programming models

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) June 19, 2006 -- Open the Possibilities with OpenGL Bootcamp, September 11-15, 2006.

The Big Nerd Ranch, Inc. announced the newest addition to its roster of five-day, intensive courses for programmers and system administrators, OpenGL Bootcamp with instructor Rocco Bowling. The class, slated for September 11-15, 2006, offers an exciting and unique twist on the standard OpenGL class. OpenGL has already achieved star status in the realm of game development and most courses available on this technology emphasize this aspect of its utility. In contrast, the Big Nerd Ranch's OpenGL Bootcamp elevates OpenGL's possibilities and offers students the opportunity to delve into more advanced and sophisticated uses for this robust graphic visualization language and provides them with the knowledge and experience to apply OpenGL in ways beyond the average. There is an enormous and unmet demand for OpenGL programmers in a spectrum of industries; from the military, government agencies (NASA, NSA, CIA and FBI), and government contractors, to medical research organizations and pharmaceuticals and research laboratories.

Students who have attended Big Nerd Ranch's Cocoa Bootcamp have already been introduced to some of the fundamentals of OpenGL, however, OpenGL Bootcamp delves deeply into the subject and transforms the student from novice to expert in this powerful visualization technology in five, content-rich days of intense instruction. At the onset of class, students begin the creation of their first OpenGL application and use this as a model to investigate the OpenGL architecture and develop familiarity with OpenGL fundamentals. Once this foundation is built, the class builds each successive layer of advanced topics in 2D and 3D design, including:

- an examination of APIs like GLUT and NSOpenGLView for adding OpenGL to a Mac OS X application
- viewing and model transformation, projection transformations and clipping plane
- hidden surface removal, depth buffers and z-fighting
- load and display textures and how to animate them
- an examination of colors, lighting and blending
- optimization of static and dynamic data
- an exploration of ARB vertex and vertex shader programming models
- an examination of ARB fragment and fragment shader programming models

"As problem sets explode in complexity, radical gains in performance have resulted from moving traditional graphics processing from the CPU to graphics hardware," commented bootcamp instructor, Rocco Bowling. "If you are doing any work concerning graphics, then you must know OpenGL and this class is the fastest way to master the ideas and techniques of OpenGL programming. This bootcamp will arm you with the knowledge you need to make your 2D and 3D visualizations fly! By taking full advantage of hardware acceleration, shaders, blending, textures and video we'll help you get the most out of your data. Learn how OpenGL works, what functionality it does and does not provide, various optimization methods for static and dynamic data, and much more."

While no previous experience in OpenGL is required, students attending the class should be familiar with a procedural programming language like C and demonstrate a basic understanding of trigonometry and vector mathematics. The class is conducted on a Mac OS X platform, but the topics covered in the class are usable on any OpenGL supported platform. The primary text for the class is OpenGL Programming Guide, 5th Edition.

Rocco Bowling has been developing OpenGL software since the Classic Mac OS era. His OpenGL applications have received numerous awards and accolades, including two Apple Design Awards for Best Mac OS X Product and Best Mac OS X Technology Adoption. He has partnered with game publishing powerhouse Freeverse Software to release two commercial entertainment titles and is a regular participant in the annual uDevGame Mac Game Programming contest. Rocco has spent the past few years performing advanced OpenGL visualization research for the National Security Agency. From networks to news, Rocco has applied his ingenuity and programming prowess to solving some of the world's most unique visualization problems.

For a full course syllabus, please visit www.bignerdranch.com/opengl.shtml.

The Big Nerd Ranch incorporates intensive training classes for Unix and Mac OS X programmers in a retreat setting outside Atlanta, GA and in Europe. Class price of $3500 includes lodging, all meals, original instruction materials, 24-hour lab access, and transportation to and from the Atlanta airport. Students are encouraged to bring independent projects to class, allowing for input from classmates and individual instructor attention. For more information, call 678-595-6773 or visit www.bignerdranch.com.

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