Re: [Plib-users] Readable user docs for PUI?

[Steve B. <st...@sj...>]

Fay John F Dr CTR USAF 46 SK wrote:
> Even though this is a PLIB mailing list, I personally have no problem
> with people recommending other software packages.  The PLIB libraries
> are being offered free of charge with the LGPL license in the hope that
> people will find them useful; the primary focus is on enabling people to
> do things.
>   
Yes - no problem.  If another package is better suited than PUI to doing 
the job - then by all means let us discuss that.

The problems I had with GLUI (which resulted in me writing PUI in the 
first place) was that it didn't 'play nicely' with other rendering 
software.  It wants to "own the main loop" - PUI can be invoked as a 
subroutine call at any point in the rendering cycle you like.   That was 
a long time ago though - it's possible that GLUI has evolved ways to 
play more nicely with a primarily-non-GUI interactive application.  PUI 
may well be better suited on those grounds alone.

I believe you can easily attach PUI widgets to 3D surfaces - I did that 
a LONG time ago though and lots has changed since then.   I think you 
can just get into pu.cxx and write a new function that is just like 
puDisplay() but calls your own code instead of using 
puSetOpenGLState().  Take out the glViewport() call, the glOrtho() and 
the two glLoadIdentity() calls and push whatever transform you want onto 
the stack instead.  PUI disables depth-testing, fog and lighting - and 
you may need to change that too.  The biggest problem (IIRC) as in 
transforming your mouse coordinates when you feed them to puMouse().

You can even make PUI draw a software cursor so that your control panels 
have cursors that move around in perspective and such.

If you are concerned about LGPL issues, you could avoid modifying PUI 
altogether by writing:

   extern void puCleanUpJunk(void);
   void my_puDisplay ( void )
   {
        ...set up your opengl state...
        glDisable ( GL_CULL_FACE  ) ;
        puCleanUpJunk () ;
        puGetUltimateLiveInterface () -> draw ( 0, 0 ) ;
        puDrawCursor ( myCursor_x, myCursor_y ) ;
        puRefresh = FALSE ;
        ...restore opengl state...
   }