To allow for distributed implementations, there may be several error flags. If any single error flag has recorded an error, the value of that flag is returned and that flag is reset to GL_NO_ERROR when glGetError is called. If more than one flag has recorded an error, glGetError returns and clears an arbitrary error flag value. Thus, glGetError should always be called in a loop, until it returns GL_NO_ERROR, if all error flags are to be reset.

Initially, all error flags are set to GL_NO_ERROR.

The following errors are currently defined:

GL_NO_ERROR

No error has been recorded. The value of this symbolic constant is guaranteed to be 0.

GL_INVALID_ENUM

An unacceptable value is specified for an enumerated argument. The offending command is ignored and has no other side effect than to set the error flag.

GL_INVALID_VALUE

A numeric argument is out of range. The offending command is ignored and has no other side effect than to set the error flag.

GL_INVALID_OPERATION

The specified operation is not allowed in the current state. The offending command is ignored and has no other side effect than to set the error flag.

GL_INVALID_FRAMEBUFFER_OPERATION

The framebuffer object is not complete. The offending command is ignored and has no other side effect than to set the error flag.

GL_OUT_OF_MEMORY

There is not enough memory left to execute the command. The state of the GL is undefined, except for the state of the error flags, after this error is recorded.

When an error flag is set, results of a GL operation are undefined only if GL_OUT_OF_MEMORY has occurred. In all other cases, the command generating the error is ignored and has no effect on the GL state or frame buffer contents. If the generating command returns a value, it returns 0. If glGetError itself generates an error, it returns 0.