Rotate

Rotate
public abstract void glRotatef(float angle, float x, float y, float z)//OpenGL docs.
Rotating is what it sounds like. You add a rotation to the matrix making it appears like the mesh are rotated. With no translation before the rotation is around the origo. The x, y and z values defines the vector to rotate around. The angle value is the number of degrees to rotate.
If you remember these three things you will manage rotation quite easy.
1. The rotation value are in degrees. Most frameworks and math functions on computers use radians but OpenGL use degrees.
2. When doing several rotations the order are important. If you like to restore a rotation you negate the angle or all the axis like this: glRotatef(angle, x, y, z) is restored with glRotatef(angle, -x, -y, -z) or glRotatef(-angle, x, y, z).
But if you do several rotations after each other like this:
gl.glRotatef(90f, 1.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f); // OpenGL docs.
gl.glRotatef(90f, 0.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f); // OpenGL docs.
gl.glRotatef(90f, 0.0f, 0.0f, 1.0f); // OpenGL docs.
And want to restore the mesh to it's original position you can't just negate the angle like this:
gl.glRotatef(90f, -1.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f); // OpenGL docs.
gl.glRotatef(90f, 0.0f, -1.0f, 0.0f); // OpenGL docs.
gl.glRotatef(90f, 0.0f, 0.0f, -1.0f); // OpenGL docs.
You have to revert the order of the rotations as well like this:
gl.glRotatef(90f, 0.0f, 0.0f, -1.0f); // OpenGL docs.
gl.glRotatef(90f, 0.0f, -1.0f, 0.0f); // OpenGL docs.
gl.glRotatef(90f, -1.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f); // OpenGL docs.
The order of several rotations is important.
3. If you look from the positive end towards the origin of the axis the positive rotation is counter-clockwise. If you take a pencil in your hand, let the point be in the same direction as your thumb, as in the picture below, then aligns the pencil with the x-axis. Let the pencil's point be aligned with the positive direction of the axis. Your other fingers will now point in the positive direction of the rotation over that axis.