I'm trying to figure out what is the simplest way to create a windowless OpenGL program for offscreen rendering.
Currently I use this, and it works fine so far: (error checks removed here for clarity)
BOOL create_opengl_context(){
GLuint PixelFormat;
static PIXELFORMATDESCRIPTOR pfd;
hDC = GetDC(NULL);
PixelFormat = ChoosePixelFormat(hDC, &pfd);
SetPixelFormat(hDC, PixelFormat, &pfd);
hRC = wglCreateContext(hDC);
wglMakeCurrent(hDC, hRC);
}
Is this safe to use? What is the "standard" way to create a windowless OpenGL program?
Edit: I'm using FBO for the offscreen rendering.
The old method for purely windowless OpenGL is using a PBuffer. On Windows this requires the creation of a intermediate OpenGL context using a regular window to obtain the required extension function pointers. On X11/GLX it works without further ado.
The modern way to implement off-screen rendering is using a regular, but hidden window with the usual OpenGL context and a FBO as render target.
The bleeding edge, and yet not very well supported method (except on certain embedded devices) is using EGL for drawable creation.