DirectX
In this article, I will introduce the reader to DirectX 11. We will create a simple demo application that can be used to create more complex DirectX examples and demos. After reading this article, you should be able to create a DirectX application and render geometry using a simple vertex shader and pixel shader.
Understanding Quaternions
In this article I will attempt to explain the concept of Quaternions in an easy to understand way. I will explain how you might visualize a Quaternion as well as explain the different operations that can be applied to quaternions. I will also compare applications of matrices, euler angles, and quaternions and try to explain when you would want to use quaternions instead of Euler angles or matrices and when you would not.
NVIDIA Cg
In this article I will introduce the reader to shader programming using the Cg shader programming language. I will use OpenGL graphics API to communicate with the Cg shaders. This article does not explain how use OpenGL. If you require an introduction to OpenGL, you can follow my previous article titled Introduction to OpenGL.
OpenCL
In this article I will provide a brief introduction to OpenCL. OpenCL is a open standard for general purpose parallel programming across CPUs, GPUs, and other programmable parallel devices. I assume that the reader is familiar with the C/C++ programming languages. I will use Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 to show how you can setup a project that is compiled with the OpenCL API.
Postprocess Effect
In this article I will discuss how you can use OpenGL textures and buffers in a CUDA kernel. I will demonstrate a simple post-process effect that can be applied to off-screen textures and then rendered to the screen using a full-screen quad. I will assume the reader has some basic knowledge of C/C++ programming, OpenGL, and CUDA. If you lack OpenGL knowledge, you can refer to my previous article titled Introduction to OpenGL or if you have never done anything with CUDA, you can follow my previous article titled Introduction to CUDA.
CUDA Memory Model
In this article, I will introduce the different types of memory your CUDA program has access to. I will talk about the pros and cons for using each type of memory and I will also introduce a method to maximize your performance by taking advantage of the different kinds of memory.
I will assume that the reader already knows how to setup a project in Microsoft Visual Studio that takes advantage of the CUDA programming API. If you don’t know how to setup a project in Visual Studio that uses CUDA, I recommend you follow my previous article titled [Introduction to CUDA]
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NVIDIA CUDA
In this article, I will give a brief introduction to using NVIDIA’s CUDA programming API to perform General Purpose Graphics Processing Unit Programming (or just GPGPU Programming). I will also show how to setup a project in Visual Studio that uses the CUDA runtime API to create a simple CUDA program.
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Bob with Lamp (GPU Skinning)
This tutorial builds upon the previous article titled [Loading and Animating MD5 Models with OpenGL]. It is highly recommended that you read the previous article before following this one. In this tutorial, I will extend the MD5 model rendering to provide support for GPU skinning. I will also provide an example shader that will perform the vertex skinning in the vertex shader and do per-fragment lighting on the model using a single point light. For a complete discussion on lighting in CgFX, you can refer to my previous article titled [Transformation and Lighting in Cg].
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Bob with Lamp
In this article, I will show how you can load and animate models loaded from the MD5 model file format. In this article I will use OpenGL to render the models. I will not show how to setup an OpenGL application in this article. If you need to get a quick introduction on setting up an OpenGVL application, you can follow the “Beginning OpenGL for Game Programmers” article [here].
DirectX
In this article I will give a quick introduction to DirectX. I will use Visual Studio 2008 as a development environment for this tutorial and I will start by showing how to install DirectX and configure Visual Studio 2008 to start developing DirectX applications. I assume that the reader has basic programming knowledge in C++. If you require a math refresher, you can refer to my “3D Math Primer” articles on Coordinate Spaces, Vector Operations, and Matrices.