1991-2006
Silicon Graphics, Inc.
2010-2013
Khronos Group
glDrawArrays
3G

# glDrawArrays

render primitives from array data

## C Specification

                    void glDrawArrays
                    GLenum mode
                    GLint first
                    GLsizei count

## Parameters

`mode`

  Specifies what kind of primitives to render. Symbolic constants `GL_POINTS`, `GL_LINE_STRIP`, `GL_LINE_LOOP`, `GL_LINES`, `GL_LINE_STRIP_ADJACENCY`, `GL_LINES_ADJACENCY`, `GL_TRIANGLE_STRIP`, `GL_TRIANGLE_FAN`, `GL_TRIANGLES`, `GL_TRIANGLE_STRIP_ADJACENCY`, `GL_TRIANGLES_ADJACENCY` and `GL_PATCHES` are accepted.

`first`

  Specifies the starting index in the enabled arrays.

`count`

  Specifies the number of indices to be rendered.

## Description

`glDrawArrays` specifies multiple geometric primitives with very few subroutine calls. Instead of calling a GL procedure to pass each individual vertex, normal, texture coordinate, edge flag, or color, you can prespecify separate arrays of vertices, normals, and colors and use them to construct a sequence of primitives with a single call to `glDrawArrays`.

When `glDrawArrays` is called, it uses `count` sequential elements from each enabled array to construct a sequence of geometric primitives, beginning with element `first`. `mode` specifies what kind of primitives are constructed and how the array elements construct those primitives.

Vertex attributes that are modified by `glDrawArrays` have an unspecified value after `glDrawArrays` returns. Attributes that aren't modified remain well defined.

## Notes

`GL_LINE_STRIP_ADJACENCY`, `GL_LINES_ADJACENCY`, `GL_TRIANGLE_STRIP_ADJACENCY` and `GL_TRIANGLES_ADJACENCY` are available only if the GL version is 3.2 or greater.

## Errors

`GL_INVALID_ENUM` is generated if `mode` is not an accepted value.

`GL_INVALID_VALUE` is generated if `count` is negative.

`GL_INVALID_OPERATION` is generated if a non-zero buffer object name is bound to an enabled array and the buffer object's data store is currently mapped.

`GL_INVALID_OPERATION` is generated if a geometry shader is active and `mode` is incompatible with the input primitive type of the geometry shader in the currently installed program object.

## See Also

glDrawArraysInstanced, glDrawElements, glDrawRangeElements,

## Copyright

Copyright 1991-2006 Silicon Graphics, Inc. Copyright 2010-2013 Khronos Group. This document is licensed under the SGI Free Software B License. For details, see http://oss.sgi.com/projects/FreeB/.