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# docs.GL

OpenGL 4
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# glGetActiveAttrib

## Name

glGetActiveAttrib — Returns information about an active attribute variable for the specified program object

## C Specification

`void glGetActiveAttrib(` | GLuint program,
| GLuint index,
| GLsizei bufSize,
| GLsizei *length,
| GLint *size,
| GLenum *type,
| GLchar *name`)`;

## Parameters

`program`

  Specifies the program object to be queried.

`index`

  Specifies the index of the attribute variable to be queried.

`bufSize`

  Specifies the maximum number of characters OpenGL is allowed to write in the character buffer indicated by `name`.

`length`

  Returns the number of characters actually written by OpenGL in the string indicated by `name` (excluding the null terminator) if a value other than `NULL` is passed.

`size`

  Returns the size of the attribute variable.

`type`

  Returns the data type of the attribute variable.

`name`

  Returns a null terminated string containing the name of the attribute variable.

## Description

`glGetActiveAttrib` returns information about an active attribute variable in the program object specified by `program`. The number of active attributes can be obtained by calling glGetProgram with the value `GL_ACTIVE_ATTRIBUTES`. A value of 0 for `index` selects the first active attribute variable. Permissible values for `index` range from zero to the number of active attribute variables minus one.

A vertex shader may use either built-in attribute variables, user-defined attribute variables, or both. Built-in attribute variables have a prefix of "gl_" and reference conventional OpenGL vertex attribtes (e.g., `gl_Vertex`, `gl_Normal`, etc., see the OpenGL Shading Language specification for a complete list.) User-defined attribute variables have arbitrary names and obtain their values through numbered generic vertex attributes. An attribute variable (either built-in or user-defined) is considered active if it is determined during the link operation that it may be accessed during program execution. Therefore, `program` should have previously been the target of a call to glLinkProgram, but it is not necessary for it to have been linked successfully.

The size of the character buffer required to store the longest attribute variable name in `program` can be obtained by calling glGetProgram with the value `GL_ACTIVE_ATTRIBUTE_MAX_LENGTH`. This value should be used to allocate a buffer of sufficient size to store the returned attribute name. The size of this character buffer is passed in `bufSize`, and a pointer to this character buffer is passed in `name`.

`glGetActiveAttrib` returns the name of the attribute variable indicated by `index`, storing it in the character buffer specified by `name`. The string returned will be null terminated. The actual number of characters written into this buffer is returned in `length`, and this count does not include the null termination character. If the length of the returned string is not required, a value of `NULL` can be passed in the `length` argument.

The `type` argument specifies a pointer to a variable into which the attribute variable's data type will be written. The symbolic constants `GL_FLOAT`, `GL_FLOAT_VEC2`, `GL_FLOAT_VEC3`, `GL_FLOAT_VEC4`, `GL_FLOAT_MAT2`, `GL_FLOAT_MAT3`, `GL_FLOAT_MAT4`, `GL_FLOAT_MAT2x3`, `GL_FLOAT_MAT2x4`, `GL_FLOAT_MAT3x2`, `GL_FLOAT_MAT3x4`, `GL_FLOAT_MAT4x2`, `GL_FLOAT_MAT4x3`, `GL_INT`, `GL_INT_VEC2`, `GL_INT_VEC3`, `GL_INT_VEC4`, `GL_UNSIGNED_INT`, `GL_UNSIGNED_INT_VEC2`, `GL_UNSIGNED_INT_VEC3`, `GL_UNSIGNED_INT_VEC4`, `GL_DOUBLE`, `GL_DOUBLE_VEC2`, `GL_DOUBLE_VEC3`, `GL_DOUBLE_VEC4`, `GL_DOUBLE_MAT2`, `GL_DOUBLE_MAT3`, `GL_DOUBLE_MAT4`, `GL_DOUBLE_MAT2x3`, `GL_DOUBLE_MAT2x4`, `GL_DOUBLE_MAT3x2`, `GL_DOUBLE_MAT3x4`, `GL_DOUBLE_MAT4x2`, or `GL_DOUBLE_MAT4x3` may be returned. The `size` argument will return the size of the attribute, in units of the type returned in `type`.

The list of active attribute variables may include both built-in attribute variables (which begin with the prefix "gl_") as well as user-defined attribute variable names.

This function will return as much information as it can about the specified active attribute variable. If no information is available, `length` will be 0, and `name` will be an empty string. This situation could occur if this function is called after a link operation that failed. If an error occurs, the return values `length`, `size`, `type`, and `name` will be unmodified.

## Errors

`GL_INVALID_VALUE` is generated if `program` is not a value generated by OpenGL.

`GL_INVALID_OPERATION` is generated if `program` is not a program object.

`GL_INVALID_VALUE` is generated if `index` is greater than or equal to the number of active attribute variables in `program`.

`GL_INVALID_VALUE` is generated if `bufSize` is less than 0.

## Associated Gets

glGet with argument `GL_MAX_VERTEX_ATTRIBS`.

glGetProgram with argument `GL_ACTIVE_ATTRIBUTES` or `GL_ACTIVE_ATTRIBUTE_MAX_LENGTH`.

glIsProgram

## Tutorials

Anton Gerdelan - OpenGL 4 Shaders

## Version Support

| OpenGL Version
--- | ---
Function / Feature Name | 2.0 | 2.1 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.5
`glGetActiveAttrib` | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔

## See Also

glBindAttribLocation, glLinkProgram, glVertexAttrib, glVertexAttribPointer

## Copyright

Copyright © 2003-2005 3Dlabs Inc. Ltd. Copyright © 2010-2014 Khronos Group. This material may be distributed subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Open Publication License, v 1.0, 8 June 1999. https://opencontent.org/openpub/.

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