Translate

Translate
public abstract void glTranslatef (float x, float y, float z) //OpenGL docs.
A translations added to the matrix makes the mesh appear as it has been moved. Translations are made along the axis and with no rotation added the axis are in there default state. Translation affects all the vertices in a polygon the same amount over the same axis. Translations are simply additions and subtractions to a current value. The image to the right shows a translation in 2 dimensions. The start point is {x:-2, y:1} we like to go to {x:1, y:3} so we add {x:3, y:2}.
A simple addition: {x:-2, y:1} + {x:3, y:2} = {x:-2 + 3, y:1 + 2} = {x:1, y:3}.
In 3 dimensions we do the same, if we are located at position: {x:1, y:1, z:0} and we like to move 3 units into the screen we add {x:0, y:0, z:-3} and end up at: {x:1, y:1, z:-3}.
In the last tutorial we moved the square 4 units into the screen just to be able to see the square. What we did was that we added {x:0, y:0, z:-4} to the current position. This is the code we used for the translation:
// Translates 4 units into the screen.
gl.glTranslatef(0, 0, -4); OpenGL docs.
If you do several translations after each other the order of the movement is along the X, Y and Z axis, in that order. On translate the order isn't so important but when we do a rotation it's really important.