The WebGLRenderingContext.bufferData()
method of the WebGL API initializes and creates the buffer object's data store.
Syntax
// WebGL1: void gl.bufferData(target, size, usage); void gl.bufferData(target, ArrayBuffer? srcData, usage); void gl.bufferData(target, ArrayBufferView srcData, usage); // WebGL2: void gl.bufferData(target, ArrayBufferView srcData, usage, srcOffset, length);
Parameters
- target
- A
GLenum
specifying the binding point (target). Possible values:gl.ARRAY_BUFFER
: Buffer containing vertex attributes, such as vertex coordinates, texture coordinate data, or vertex color data.gl.ELEMENT_ARRAY_BUFFER
: Buffer used for element indices.- When using a WebGL 2 context, the following values are available additionally:
gl.COPY_READ_BUFFER
: Buffer for copying from one buffer object to another.gl.COPY_WRITE_BUFFER
: Buffer for copying from one buffer object to another.gl.TRANSFORM_FEEDBACK_BUFFER
: Buffer for transform feedback operations.gl.UNIFORM_BUFFER
: Buffer used for storing uniform blocks.gl.PIXEL_PACK_BUFFER
: Buffer used for pixel transfer operations.gl.PIXEL_UNPACK_BUFFER
: Buffer used for pixel transfer operations.
- size
- A
GLsizeiptr
setting the size of the buffer object's data store. - srcData Optional
- An
ArrayBuffer
,SharedArrayBuffer
or one of theArrayBufferView
typed array types that will be copied into the data store. Ifnull
, a data store is still created, but the content is uninitialized and undefined. - usage
- A
GLenum
specifying the usage pattern of the data store. Possible values:gl.STATIC_DRAW
: Contents of the buffer are likely to be used often and not change often. Contents are written to the buffer, but not read.gl.DYNAMIC_DRAW
: Contents of the buffer are likely to be used often and change often. Contents are written to the buffer, but not read.gl.STREAM_DRAW
: Contents of the buffer are likely to not be used often. Contents are written to the buffer, but not read.- When using a WebGL 2 context, the following values are available additionally:
gl.STATIC_READ
: Contents of the buffer are likely to be used often and not change often. Contents are read from the buffer, but not written.gl.DYNAMIC_READ
: Contents of the buffer are likely to be used often and change often. Contents are read from the buffer, but not written.gl.STREAM_READ
: Contents of the buffer are likely to not be used often. Contents are read from the buffer, but not written.gl.STATIC_COPY
: Contents of the buffer are likely to be used often and not change often. Contents are neither written or read by the user.gl.DYNAMIC_COPY
: Contents of the buffer are likely to be used often and change often. Contents are neither written or read by the user.gl.STREAM_COPY
: Contents of the buffer are likely to be used often and not change often. Contents are neither written or read by the user.
- srcOffset
- A
GLuint
specifying the element index offset where to start reading the buffer. length
Optional- A
GLuint
defaulting to 0.
Return value
None.
Exceptions
- A
gl.OUT_OF_MEMORY
error is thrown if the context is unable to create a data store with the givensize
. - A
gl.INVALID_VALUE
error is thrown ifsize
is negative. - A
gl.INVALID_ENUM
error is thrown iftarget
orusage
are not one of the allowed enums.
Examples
Using bufferData
var canvas = document.getElementById('canvas'); var gl = canvas.getContext('webgl'); var buffer = gl.createBuffer(); gl.bindBuffer(gl.ARRAY_BUFFER, buffer); gl.bufferData(gl.ARRAY_BUFFER, 1024, gl.STATIC_DRAW);
Getting buffer information
To check the current buffer usage and buffer size, use the WebGLRenderingContext.getBufferParameter()
method.
gl.getBufferParameter(gl.ARRAY_BUFFER, gl.BUFFER_SIZE); gl.getBufferParameter(gl.ARRAY_BUFFER, gl.BUFFER_USAGE);
Specifications
Specification | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|
WebGL 1.0 The definition of 'bufferData' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Initial definition. |
OpenGL ES 2.0 The definition of 'glBufferData' in that specification. |
Standard | Man page of the OpenGL API. |
OpenGL ES 3.0 The definition of 'glBufferData' in that specification. |
Standard | Man page of the (similar) OpenGL ES 3 API. Adds new target buffers:gl.COPY_READ_BUFFER ,gl.COPY_WRITE_BUFFER ,gl.TRANSFORM_FEEDBACK_BUFFER ,gl.UNIFORM_BUFFER ,gl.PIXEL_PACK_BUFFER ,gl.PIXEL_UNPACK_BUFFER Adds new usage hints:gl.STATIC_READ ,gl.DYNAMIC_READ ,gl.STREAM_READ ,gl.STATIC_COPY ,gl.DYNAMIC_COPY ,gl.STREAM_COPY . |
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 | 9 | 4.0 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 5.1 |
WebGL2 | 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 | (Yes) | 25 | (Yes) | (Yes) | 11 | 12 | 8.1 |
WebGL2 | (No) | (No) | (No) | 51.0 | (No) | (No) | (No) |