The glBindTexture function enables the creation of a named texture that is bound to a texture target.
void glBindTexture(
GLenum target,
GLuint texture
);
The glBindTexture function enables you to create a named texture. Calling glBindTexture with target set to GL_TEXTURE_1D or GL_TEXTURE_2D, and texture set to the name of the new texture you have created binds the texture name to the appropriate texture target. When a texture is bound to a target, the previous binding for that target is no longer in effect.
Texture names are unsigned integers with the value zero reserved to represent the default texture for each texture target. Texture names and the corresponding texture contents are local to the shared display-list space of the current OpenGL rendering context; two rendering contexts share texture names only if they also share display lists. You can generate a set of new texture names using glGenTextures.
When a texture is first bound, it assumes the dimensionality of its texture target; a texture bound to GL_TEXTURE_1D becomes one-dimensional and a texture bound to GL_TEXTURE_2D becomes two-dimensional. Operations you perform on a texture target also affect a texture bound to the target. When you query a texture target, the return value is the state of the texture bound to it. Texture targets become aliases for textures currently bound to them.
When you bind a texture with glBindTexture, the binding remains active until a different texture is bound to the same target or you delete the bound texture with the glDeleteTextures function. Once you create a named texture you can bind it to a texture target that has the same dimensionality as often as needed.
It is usually much faster to use glBindTexture to bind an existing named texture to one of the texture targets than it is to reload the texture image using glTexImage1D or glTexImage2D. For additional control of texturing performance, use glPrioritizeTextures.
You can include calls to glBindTexture in display lists.
Note The glBindTexture function is only available in OpenGL version 1.1 or later.
The following functions retrieve information related to glBindTexture:
glGet with argument GL_TEXTURE_1D_BINDING
glGet with argument GL_TEXTURE_2D_BINDING
The following are the error codes generated and their conditions.
| Error Code | Condition |
|---|---|
| GL_INVALID_ENUM | target was not an accepted value. |
| GL_INVALID_OPERATION | texture did not have the same dimensionality as target. |
| GL_INVALID_OPERATION | glBindTexture was called between a call to glBegin and the corresponding call to glEnd. |
glAreTexturesResident, glDeleteTextures, glGenTextures, glGet, glGetTexParameter, glIsTexture, glPrioritizeTextures, glTexImage1D, glTexImage2D, glTexParameter