OpenGL Shading Language
OpenGL Shading Language (GLSL) is a high-level shading language used to program shaders for graphics rendering in OpenGL applications. It allows developers to write custom vertex, fragment, geometry, tessellation, and compute shaders to control the graphics pipeline, enabling effects like lighting, shadows, and post-processing. GLSL is integrated directly into OpenGL and compiled at runtime for GPU execution.
Developers should learn GLSL when working with real-time 3D graphics in OpenGL-based applications, such as video games, simulations, or visualization tools, to create custom visual effects and optimize rendering performance. It is essential for tasks like implementing advanced lighting models (e.g., Phong shading), texture mapping, or GPU-based computations, as it provides low-level control over the graphics hardware.