What Is OpenGL?
OpenGL is a Graphics rendering API which is operating system independent, window system independent and has high-quality color images composed of geometric and image primitives.
OpenGL APIs can use following …

• Gl
  • OpenGL API implementation (http://www.opengl.org)
• Glu
  • OpenGL Utility
• Glut – GLUT (OpenGL Utility Toolkit) – Glut is portable windowing API and it is not officially part of OpenGL.
  • OpenGL Utility Toolkit (http://www.opengl.org/resources/libraries/glut/)
• FLTK
  • FlashLight ToolKit (http://www.fltk.org/)
• GLEW…

Now lets see How to install OpenGL on out Ubuntu OS.

Now because GLUT (OpenGL Utility Toolkit) depends upon OpenGL and a number of other related libraries, if we install GLUT then OpenGL will be automatically be installed.

Run the following commands to install OpenGL.

$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install libglu1-mesa-dev freeglut3-dev mesa-common-dev

Now to test if OpenGl libraries are working fine on our Linux, we will create a C++ program and test it.

So create a following C++ Program.

#include <GL/glut.h>

void displayMe(void)
{
    glClear(GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT);
    glBegin(GL_POLYGON);
        glVertex3f(0.5, 0.0, 0.5);
        glVertex3f(0.5, 0.0, 0.0);
        glVertex3f(0.0, 0.5, 0.0);
        glVertex3f(0.0, 0.0, 0.5);
    glEnd();
    glFlush();
}

int main(int argc, char** argv)
{
    glutInit(&argc, argv);
    glutInitDisplayMode(GLUT_SINGLE);
    glutInitWindowSize(400, 300);
    glutInitWindowPosition(100, 100);
    glutCreateWindow("Hello world!");
    glutDisplayFunc(displayMe);
    glutMainLoop();
    return 0;
}

Now give the command below to compile your code.

$ g++ main.cpp -o firstOpenGlApp -lglut -lGLU -lGL

Now run your OpenGl program with following command

$ ./firstOpenGlApp

OUTPUT:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If a window pops up when you run the program, then OpenGL is working on your Ubuntu OS.