I really cannot figure out what is going on here. I'm almost certain I have no non-OpenGL logic errors in my code and I've checked and rechecked my OpenGL calls and as far as I can tell they're all fine. Most likely it will prove to be something blindingly obvious.

Here are four more versions in increasing completeness:
Version 1 - pretty much an empty glut program. If this fails I think I can safely say it's something wrong with your system/drivers or glut. 99.9999% certain this will run fine. It'll just be a black screen.
Version 2 - basic rendering of the cube and torus using VBOs. No textures, no shaders. A very dark grey square on a black background.
Version 3 - basic rendering of the cube and torus using VBOs with textures. A black screen again because although there are textures, the shader that actually uses the textures is disabled.
Version 4 - cube and torus rendered using VBOs and textures with two of the shaders. A very dark unlit textured cube with a black torus spinning infront of it.

Feel free to give up on this is you get bored of it. Your help thus far has been greatly appreciated. If I do ever get it working though the result is quite cool [wink].

I've seen a number of downloads of the original program. Has anybody else actually tried running it?

Enigma

debug1 works: Black window. Can change focus without crashes but didn't spend much time doing that.

debug2 works: dark grey rect. The little green rects looks like it gets covered up at a set rate so I am assuming it is the rotating torus (which I can't see).
Oh - debug2 crashes occasionally while changing focus.

debug3 looks like debug2 except dimmer. Can get it to crash too.

debug4 crashes upon startup.

Give up if I get bored with it?? It is just getting interesting!! (/me grins)

Get a load of this: debug3 and debug4 *work* if I open up task manager so that it overlaps the rendering window *before* I start up those two versions. I can change focus, even drag the task manager window around... just as long as I don't fully drag the task manager off the window.

It's getting interesting...

Edit: When the task manager leaves the client portion of the window. I dragged it slowly just now and observed that it crashes at that point but the task manager window is still over the non-client frame.

I'll let you know anything else I can find that might help.

I downloaded it, ran fine and looks great! keep up the good work.

P4 3.0Ghz
GeforceFX 5700 256mb

It's sounding more and more like I'm killing something in the drivers. Here are my final two offerings for tonight:
Version 5 - As version 1 before but with the VBO and extension loading code hacked out. It now loads extensions explicitly instead of the lazy-loading system used before and everything is rendered in immediate mode from a bounds-checked array.
Version 6 - Fully working program but with the VBO and extension loading code hacked out. It now loads extensions explicitly instead of the lazy-loading system used before and everything is rendered in immediate mode from a bounds-checked array.

Enigma

Version 5 works
6 crashes like before.

I still can get 5 to crash when I click back and forth different windows.

Number 6 works with task manager on top as the previous ones did.

As a side note - your original version works if I have task manager opened on top of it.

Strangeness. Seems like it works ok when it opens under a window but not if it opens on top (of another window or just simply on the desktop). I set MSN Messenger to "always on top" and that has the same effect as task manager.

Good luck. I will check occasionally to see if you still are interested in continuing this at a later date - or even email me.

PS: If anyone else trys the app and posts any stats - please include the driver version for the video card. I'm wondering if that could be part of the problem?

Very neat ! :)

Now all you need is self-shadowing ;) j/k

System tested :
GeForce 5600 Ultra / Mandrake Linux 9.2 (running Wine 20040914) / NVIDIA driver 61.11
It's nice to see good GLSL support under linux. It's even better to make your app running flawlessly !

*thumbs up*

I only tried versions 1, 5 and 6, but only 5 worked. I think. It was entirely black except for a small green square near the middle, which occasionally got covered by either the torus's shadow, or the torus itself.
Versions 1 and 6 don't run due to an unexpected error in one of the shaders. Let me check on what it was exactly...

(1): error c0000: syntax error, unexpected $end at token ""
(1): error c0501: type name expected at token ""

I could probably just adjust those in my IDE, but I figured I'd let you know I'm getting those anyway.