MP2GL: prototyping 3D objects with metapost and OpenGL

metapost was created with 2D graphics in mind, and in spite of various extensions added during the last few years, it doesn’t seem well adapted for 3D technical graphics. However, there are cases where simple but realistic 3D graphics are needed, for instance for inclusion in an article, and there are also cases where 3D objects are mere 2D objects with added depth. In such cases, an approach combining metapost with an OpenGL environment proves very useful and allows for interesting applications, in particular the prototyping of 3D objects for use independently from metapost. Such an approach is also a smooth way to get introduced to OpenGL. MP2GL is our first attempt towards this direction.