Compiling OpenGL programs on Linux, OS X and Windows

Here’s a simple OpenGL program that does nothing:

#include <GL/gl.h>
#include <GL/glut.h>

void display()
{
}

int main(int argc, char **argv)
{
  glutInit(&argc, argv);
  glutDisplayFunc(display);
  glutMainLoop();
}

Assuming this program is saved in hello.c, you can compile it by typing:

gcc -o hello hello.c -lglut -lGLU -lGL

On Windows we have previously suggested students install xming or cygwin or a Linux virtual machine in VirtualBox.

A new alternative is to use Windows Subsystem for Linux aka WSL, which appeared late 2016. Tutorials about installing WSL along with an X server here and and here. We have only started experimenting with this, although some students used it last year.

On Mac OS X you need to change the #include directives slightly to:

#include <OpenGL/gl.h>
#include <OpenGL/glu.h>
#include <GLUT/glut.h>

and compile it by typing (in a terminal window):

gcc -Wno-deprecated-declarations -o hello hello.c -framework GLUT -framework OpenGL -framework Carbon

Using a makefile

You are required to use a makefile to compile your programs for all assignments. This makes it easy to recompile and test your program without typing the long gcc commands above.

A makefile is always called Makefile (with no extension). A simple makefile for Linux is:

LIBS = -lglut -lGLU -lGL
hello: hello.c
    gcc -o hello hello.c $(LIBS)

You must use a tab to indent the gcc line (spaces will not work).

Writing for Linux, OS X and Windows

It can be troublesome rewriting your program every time you switch computers. Follow these instructions to have your programs and makefiles work on any computer, regardless of what operating system it’s running on.

Use the following include directives:

#if _WIN32
#   include <Windows.h>
#endif
#if __APPLE__
#   include <OpenGL/gl.h>
#   include <OpenGL/glu.h>
#   include <GLUT/glut.h>
#else
#   include <GL/gl.h>
#   include <GL/glu.h>
#   include <GL/glut.h>
#endif

And use the following in your makefile:

# Linux (default)
TARGET = assignment
LDFLAGS = -lGL -lGLU -lglut
CFLAGS = -Wall -std=c99

# Windows (cygwin)
ifeq "$(OS)" "Windows_NT"
TARGET = assignment.exe
CFLAGS += -D_WIN32
endif

# OS X
ifeq "$(OSTYPE)" "darwin"
LDFLAGS = -framework Carbon -framework OpenGL -framework GLUT
CFLAGS += -D__APPLE__
endif

Remember to change the TARGET exe as appropriate

Compiling at home on OS X

Install the developer tools (they are included amongst the installation DVDs). This includes everything you need so that the Makefile above will work fine.

Compiling at home on Linux

Some Linux distributions (e.g., Ubuntu) require you to install special -dev packages alongside the main ones. For example, to get the OpenGL header files, you might need to look for an opengl-dev package.

There are too many distributions around for us to give you any more guidance than this. If you are having trouble finding a dependency, try Googling for compile opengl <your distro>, or post a message to the I3D discussion group.

Compiling in Cygwin

Cygwin is a Unix-like environment that runs on Windows. You can download it for free from the Cygwin website.

Run the Cygwin setup program to install or add additional Cygwin packages. To compile OpenGL programs, you’ll need at least these packages and their dependencies:

To compile an OpenGL program in Cygwin, type (in the Cygwin shell):

gcc -o hello.exe hello.c -lGL -lGLU -lglut

Due to a bug in Cygwin you must make sure the linker flags (-l …) are the last arguments given.

In order to run your program the X server needs to be run using the command:

startxwin

This will start a terminal window in which you can run your OpenGL program (note that this can be very slooooooooooooooow).

You must be careful to keep a UNIX Makefile up-to-date and check your work in Sutherland regularly. Students who develop solely on Windows often find that compatibility problems cause major headaches when it comes to submitting their assignments. Remember that if your assignment doesn’t compile and run in the Sutherland lab, you will likely receive zero marks.

Compiling in Visual Studio

Microsoft provides Visual Studio Community Edition for free.

These instructions apply to the Windows Desktop version of Visual C++.

You’ll need to download the glut binaries and headers for Windows. The source code for freeglut is on sourceforge, if you want to and know how to build it yourself. There is a prebuilt package for Windows. Download and extract the contents of the ZIP file in the folder you are using for OpenGL developoment. The zip file contains the dlls, libraries and headers. Copy the x66\freeglut.dll into all folders where you plan to run any executables using freeglut that you compile.

In Visual C++, add the location of the GLUT files to your project by following these steps:

You must be careful to keep a UNIX Makefile up-to-date and check your work in Sutherland regularly. Students who develop solely on Windows often find that compatibility problems cause headaches when it comes to submitting their assignments. Remember that if your assignment doesn’t compile and run in the Sutherland lab, you will likely receive zero marks.

Last modified March 14, 2019 at 20:05