.VERT File Extension

GLSL is a high-level shading language with syntax similar to the C programming language. The Open Graphics Library (OpenGL) uses VERT and .FRAG shaders to render 2D and 3D graphics in many different applications. For example, Minecraft, Adobe After Effects, Blender, and Avogadro all use OpenGL to render graphics.

What are shaders?

Shaders add depth to 3D graphics by altering their appearance. A shader might alter a graphic's color, light, darkness, hue, saturation, or contrast. For example, a shader might adjust the angle at which a light source hits a point, altering how an object is lit.

Shaders run on a computer's graphics processing unit (GPU), not its central processing unit (CPU). This allows the CPU to focus on executing application code, instead of rendering graphics.

What are the different types of GLSL shaders?

There are two prominent types of GLSL shaders:

• Vertex - Manipulates a vertex, which is the point of a triangle 3D model mesh where two lines meet; determines the coordinates of a vertex, and on a large scale, the placement of graphics on the screen; called once per vertex
• Fragment - Also known as a texture shader; shades a fragment, which is a pixel in a rasterized triangle that makes up a 3D image; used to process color, shadows, and other effects

You can open VERT files with the tools included with the OpenGL SDK (cross-platform). You can also open and edit VERT files with source code editors, such as Microsoft Visual Studio Code (cross-platform), and plain text editors, such as Microsoft Notepad (bundled with Windows), Apple TextEdit (bundled with macOS), or gedit (Linux).