Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone would have a recommendation for a book(s) for shaders. I’d like to study the subject in depth. This is for beginner level (in shaders, not as a programmer).
Nvidia DeveloperZone has good online resources checkout the “Cg Tutorial” & the “GPU Gems” Books, and their shader authoring tool FX Composer.
Most of the GPU gems are descriptions of techniques that an experienced programmer could mess around with. Cutting edge stuff, sort of like long versions of journal papers.
The NVidea book with the elf girl on it was OK, but it isn’t really a manual. More like a some examples of the “new” feature for someone who already knew the basics.
I found the OpenGL Programmer’s Guide (the “Red Book”) the most helpful. It details things you will never need (like how to use ColorIndexMode.) But it does cover everything, with some useful examples. It’s about OpenGL, but CG isn’t much different.
This is currently cheap: Search | Packt Subscription and might be worth a look.
However, note that Packt are somewhat notorious for editing problems in their titles, code snippets not working etc. It’s specific to Unity, which has some advantages, but also means it appears to lack some fundamental stuff about Vert/Frag shaders. You can always check it out at Unity Shaders and Effects Cookbook - Kenny Lammers - Google Books first.