glCreateShader

glCreateShader is an OpenGL function used to create a shader object of a specific type. It returns a non-zero handle (GLuint) that represents a new shader object. If an error occurs, such as an invalid shader type or resource exhaustion, the function returns 0. The created shader object holds the source code and compilation state independently of any program objects it may later be attached to.

The shader type is specified by a GLenum value, typically GL_VERTEX_SHADER, GL_FRAGMENT_SHADER, GL_GEOMETRY_SHADER, or other shader types supported by the current OpenGL version. After obtaining the shader handle, you provide the shader source code with glShaderSource and compile the shader with glCompileShader. Compilation results are queried with glGetShaderiv using GL_COMPILE_STATUS, and any diagnostic messages can be retrieved with glGetShaderInfoLog.

To use the shader in rendering, the compiled shader object is attached to a program object via glAttachShader, and the program is linked with glLinkProgram. For resource management, the shader object is deleted with glDeleteShader when it is no longer needed, typically after the program has been linked (or when it is safe to discard the standalone source). Deleting a shader that is still attached to a program does not affect the program until it is linked successfully.

glCreateShader is part of the shader creation workflow in OpenGL and is complemented by glCreateProgram, glAttachShader, glLinkProgram, glUseProgram, and related debugging and validation steps.