OpenGL GLSL - Text rendering query

[Chebmaster]

This is a really bad advice. See this: Nvidia: Deprecation Myths.

You are wrong.
I was not talking about "below 3.3". I was talking about "certain techniques below 2".

OpenGL 2.1 is *ancient* now - but it's what you should use for learning.
OpenGL *below* 2, though... It's not just deprecated, it's not just "left to rot" -- you will have to relearn *everything* you learned because those legacy-squared techniques do not scale.

I performed benchmarking myself and I found that glBegin-style code begins to lag at about 20 000 vertices. That's how badly "left to rot" it is. That's how inefficiently it is emulated.

So, you learn this, you acquire really bad habits learning it you may even begin making libraries for future use... and then you will have to relearn 50%. You will have to scrap your libraries or salvage what you could of them them using really ugly hacks. You will have to fight your bad habits.

I've been there. I've done that. I speak from experience.
It cost me months of my free time.
I become sad when I see people walking unawares into the same trap.

P.S. The glBegin technique grew outdated in 20th century, between Quake 2 and Quake 3. If you look at Open Arena sources you will see just half a dozen places where glBegin is used and the vast majority of them are for rendering a single fullscreen quad.
Long before Crysis. Long before Oblivion. Carmack saw them unfit in 1999.
Nuff said.

and I challenge you to prove different: do the benchmarks!

I definitely will (I'm curious myself how much better my new class is) but it may take weeks: my game engine is currently down for rehauling.
I can only say that when my subdivided rotating sphere was still working, the difference between glBegin and the new class was difference between SwapBuffers taking most of the allotted frame time and taking a silver of it (intel HD3000)