Modern method of transforming modelview matrix in OpenGL?

Question

I've recently began learning OpenGL, starting with immediate mode, glPush/PopMatrix, and the glTranslate/Rotate/Scale functions. I've switched over to vertex buffer objects for storing geometry, but I'm still using the push/pop matrix and transform functions. Is there a newer, more efficient method of performing these operations?

I've heard of glMultMatrix, but some sources have said this is less efficient.

If at all relevant, I am using LWJGL with Java for rendering.

edit: Does anyone know about the performance impact of calling glViewport and gluPerspective, as well as other standard initialization functions? I have been told that it is often good practice to call these init functions along with the rendering code every update.

Answer 1

For modern OpenGL you want to write a vertex shader and multiply each vertex by the appropriate transform matrix in there. You'll want to pass in the matrices you need (probably model, view, and projection). You can calculate those matrices on the CPU on each render pass as needed. This means you won't need gluPerspective. You probably only need to call glViewport once unless you're trying to divide up the window and draw different things in each section. But I wouldn't expect it to cause any performance issues. You can always profile to see for sure.