lehquan / mdn-model-view-projection

Understanding WebGL coordinate spaces

Model View Projection

Understanding WebGL coordinate spaces

This content kit explores how to take data within a WebGL project, and project it into the proper spaces to display it on the screen. It assumes a knowledge of basic matrix math using translation, scale, and rotation matrices. It explains the three core matrices that are typically used to represent a 3d object: the model, view and projection matrices.

Lesson	JSFiddle	Code	Time Estimation
Clip Space	JSFiddle	01-clip-space	15 min
Homogeneous Coordinates	JSFiddle	02-homogeneous-coordinates	15 min
Model Matrix	JSFiddle	03-model-transform	15 min
Divide by W	JSFiddle	04-divide-by-w	15 min
Simple Projection	JSFiddle	05-simple-projection	15 min
Perspective Matrix	JSFiddle	06-perspective-matrix	15 min
View Matrix	JSFiddle	07-view-matrix	15 min

Getting started (10 min)

The lessons can either be worked online from JSFiddle, or downloaded and explored locally. The content of the lessons is mixed in with the code. The script.js files contain most of the lesson, while the index.html contains the HTML and shader code. To download these files either grab the zip file or run git clone [email protected]:TatumCreative/mdn-model-view-projection.git from the command line.

Working locally checklist

1. Verify that WebGL works on your machine.
2. Download the lesson files to your machine.
3. Open the lessons in the browser:

• Either open the index.html files from the lessons in your browser
• Or if you are serving files with a local webserver, make sure and serve them from the root directory of the content kit so that the shared js files can be correctly loaded in.

Working on JSFiddle checklist

1. Verify that WebGL works on your machine.
2. Visit the JSFiddle links

Lesson requirements

These lessons require a browser and device that support WebGL. The browsers that support these features are Firefox 4+, Google Chrome 9+, Opera 12+, Safari 5.1+ and Internet Explorer 11+. Be aware that not all devices support WebGL even if the browsers do. There are many tutorials available throughout the web on graphics programming, but this content kit specifically targets web developers. It's assumed that the audience is familiar with an intermediate level web development, markup, and JavaScript.

Updates and Correction

Submit an issue or a pull request for any corrections or updates. For a history of the updates visit the commit history.