This is an experimental technology
Because this technology's specification has not stabilized, check the compatibility table for usage in various browsers. Also note that the syntax and behavior of an experimental technology is subject to change in future versions of browsers as the specification changes.
The WebGL2RenderingContext.drawElementsInstanced()
method of the WebGL 2 API renders primitives from array data like the gl.drawElements()
method. In addition, it can execute multiple instances of a set of elements.
Note: When using WebGL 1, the ANGLE_instanced_arrays
extension can provide this method, too.
Syntax
void gl.drawElementsInstanced(mode, count, type, offset, instanceCount);
Parameters
mode
- A
GLenum
specifying the type primitive to render. Possible values are:gl.POINTS
: Draws a single dot.gl.LINE_STRIP
: Draws a straight line to the next vertex.gl.LINE_LOOP
: Draws a straight line to the next vertex, and connects the last vertex back to the first.gl.LINES
: Draws a line between a pair of vertices.gl.TRIANGLE_STRIP
gl.TRIANGLE_FAN
gl.TRIANGLES
: Draws a triangle for a group of three vertices.
- count
- A
GLsizei
specifying the number of elements to be rendered. - type
- A
GLenum
specifying the type of the values in the element array buffer. Possible values are:gl.UNSIGNED_BYTE
gl.UNSIGNED_SHORT
- When using the
OES_element_index_uint
extension:gl.UNSIGNED_INT
- offset
- A
GLintptr
specifying an offset in the element array buffer. Must be a valid multiple of the size of the giventype
. - instanceCount
- A
GLsizei
specifying the number of instances of the set of elements to execute.
Return value
None.
Exceptions
- If
mode
is not one of the accepted values, agl.INVALID_ENUM
error is thrown. - If
offset
is a valid multiple of the size of the given type, agl.INVALID_OPERATION
error is thrown. - If
count
orinstanceCount
are negative, agl.INVALID_VALUE
error is thrown.
Examples
gl.drawElementsInstanced(gl.POINTS, 2, gl.UNSIGNED_SHORT, 0, 4);
Specifications
Specification | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|
WebGL 2.0 The definition of 'drawElementsInstanced' in that specification. |
Editor's Draft | Initial definition for WebGL. |
OpenGL ES 3.0 The definition of 'glDrawElementsInstanced' in that specification. |
Standard | Man page of the (similar) OpenGL API. |
Browser compatibility
The compatibility table in this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.
Feature | Chrome | Firefox | Edge | Internet Explorer | Opera | Safari |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic Support | 56 | 51.0 | (No) | (No) | 43 | (No) |
Feature | Android | Chrome for Android | Edge mobile | Firefox for Android | IE mobile | Opera Android | iOS Safari |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic Support | (No) | (No) | (No) | (No) | (No) | (No) | (No) |