WebGLRenderingContext: drawArrays() method

Baseline Widely available

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since July 2015.

Note: This feature is available in Web Workers.

The WebGLRenderingContext.drawArrays() method of the WebGL API renders primitives from array data.

Syntax

js
drawArrays(mode, first, count)

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.

Note: If mode is POINTS, gl_PointSize may need to be set for drawArrays to render, as its value is unknown if not explicitly written. Only some GPUs set its default as 1.0.

first

A GLint specifying the starting index in the array of vector points.

count

A GLsizei specifying the number of indices to be rendered.

Return value

None (undefined).

Exceptions

  • If mode is not one of the accepted values, a gl.INVALID_ENUM error is thrown.
  • If first or count are negative, a gl.INVALID_VALUE error is thrown.
  • if gl.CURRENT_PROGRAM is null, a gl.INVALID_OPERATION error is thrown.

Examples

js
gl.drawArrays(gl.POINTS, 0, 8);

Specifications

Specification
WebGL Specification
# 5.14.11

Browser compatibility

desktop mobile
Chrome
Edge
Firefox
Opera
Safari
Chrome Android
Firefox for Android
Opera Android
Safari on iOS
Samsung Internet
WebView Android
WebView on iOS
drawArrays
Chrome – Full support
Chrome 9 (Release date: 2011-02-03)
footnote Full support
Edge – Full support
Edge 12 (Release date: 2015-07-29)
footnote Full support
Firefox – Full support
Firefox 4 (Release date: 2011-03-22)
footnote Full support
Opera – Full support
Opera 12 (Release date: 2012-06-14)
footnote Full support
Safari – Full support
Safari 5.1 (Release date: 2011-07-20)
footnote Full support
Chrome Android – Full support
Chrome Android 25 (Release date: 2013-02-27)
footnote Full support
Firefox for Android – Full support
Firefox for Android 4 (Release date: 2011-03-29)
footnote Full support
Opera Android – Full support
Opera Android 12 (Release date: 2012-02-25)
footnote Full support
Safari on iOS – Full support
Safari on iOS 8 (Release date: 2014-09-17)
footnote Full support
Samsung Internet – Full support
Samsung Internet 1.5 (Release date: 2013-09-25)
footnote Full support
WebView Android – Full support
WebView Android 4.4.3 (Release date: 2014-06-02)
footnote Full support
WebView on iOS – Full support
WebView on iOS 8 (Release date: 2014-09-17)
footnote Full support

Legend

Tip: you can click/tap on a cell for more information.

Full support
Full support

See also