The Big Nerd Ranch, Inc. announced today the return of Rocco Bowling's OpenGL Bootcamp for April 30 - May 4, 2007. This unique and innovative five-day course offers a new twist on the standard OpenGL training class, by focusing on advanced level visualization techniques and elevating the materials beyond simply video game development instruction. OpenGL has become the standard-bearer in the visualization of 2D and 3D images in a spectrum of fields, from the military and government agencies, to medical research and pharmaceuticals, in addition to video gaming. Through the vision and dedication of the OpenGL community and the OpenGL ARB, OpenGL excels in cross-platform portability and scalability, adaptable to a variety of hardware environments from individual workstations to supercomputers.
OpenGL Bootcamp provides the level of in-depth training needed to take full advantage of hardware acceleration, shaders and blending, integrating video and optimization methods for static and dynamic data. The class is segmented into 20-25 sections where brief lectures are augmented by anywhere from 30-90 minutes of hands-on exercises, allowing students to immediately put their newfound knowledge into practical use. Key topics include:
Overview of OpenGL architecture and using GLUT, NSOpenGL and other APIs to add OpenGL to Mac OS X applications
Frame-based versus time-based animation
Viewing, modeling and projection transformations
Hidden surface removal, load, display and animate textures and display video
Colors, lighting and blending
Techniques to develop user interaction
Vertex and fragment programs and vertex and fragment shaders
In a recent review of the class and Rocco Bowling's energetic and informative instruction, Mark Dalrymple (co-author of Core Mac OS X and Unix Programming) wrote, "A huge amount of OpenGL API is covered. Along the way we met most everything in between, such as textures, colors, materials, normals, loading model files, optimization of static and dynamic data, mouse clicking on objects, fonts and text, and on and on. One of the big strengths of a course like this, being with an expert, is learning what you don't need to know. There's a lot of stuff in the Red Book that's there for historical reasons, but are not terribly relevant for modern OpenGL programming."
Students attending the class receive a copy of "OpenGL Programming Guide: The Official Guide to Learning OpenGL," Version 2 (commonly referred to as the Red Book) as the primary text for the class. No previous experience in OpenGL is required for the class, but students should be knowledgeable in a procedural programming language like C and have a basic understanding of trigonometry and vector mathematics.
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.
The Big Nerd Ranch incorporates intensive training classes for Unix and Mac OS X programmers in a retreat setting outside Atlanta, GA. Class price of $ 3500 includes lodging, all meals, original instruction materials, 24-hour lab access, and ground 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 http://www.bignerdranch.com.
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