WebGLRenderingContext: bindBuffer() method

The WebGLRenderingContext.bindBuffer() method of the WebGL API binds a given WebGLBuffer to a target.

Syntax

bindBuffer(target, buffer)

Parameters

target

A GLenum specifying the binding point (target). Possible values:

gl.ARRAY_BUFFER

Buffer containing vertex attributes, such as vertex coordinates, texture coordinate data, or vertex color data.

gl.ELEMENT_ARRAY_BUFFER

Buffer used for element indices.

When using a WebGL 2 context, the following values are available additionally:

gl.COPY_READ_BUFFER

Buffer for copying from one buffer object to another.

gl.COPY_WRITE_BUFFER

Buffer for copying from one buffer object to another.

gl.TRANSFORM_FEEDBACK_BUFFER

Buffer for transform feedback operations.

gl.UNIFORM_BUFFER

Buffer used for storing uniform blocks.

gl.PIXEL_PACK_BUFFER

Buffer used for pixel transfer operations.

gl.PIXEL_UNPACK_BUFFER

Buffer used for pixel transfer operations.

buffer

A WebGLBuffer to bind.

Return value

None (undefined).

Exceptions

Only one target can be bound to a given WebGLBuffer. An attempt to bind the buffer to another target will throw an INVALID_OPERATION error and the current buffer binding will remain the same.

A WebGLBuffer which has been marked for deletion with deleteBuffer cannot be (re-)bound. An attempt to do so will generate an INVALID_OPERATION error, and the current binding will remain untouched.

Examples

Binding a buffer to a target

const canvas = document.getElementById("canvas");
const gl = canvas.getContext("webgl");
const buffer = gl.createBuffer();

gl.bindBuffer(gl.ARRAY_BUFFER, buffer);

Getting current bindings

To check the current buffer bindings, query the ARRAY_BUFFER_BINDING and ELEMENT_ARRAY_BUFFER_BINDING constants.

gl.getParameter(gl.ARRAY_BUFFER_BINDING);
gl.getParameter(gl.ELEMENT_ARRAY_BUFFER_BINDING);

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also

• WebGLRenderingContext.createBuffer()
• WebGLRenderingContext.deleteBuffer()
• WebGLRenderingContext.isBuffer()
• Other buffers: WebGLFramebuffer, WebGLRenderbuffer