Re: [Plplot-devel] Using Window's raw API for shapes and text

[<he...@co...>]

Alan,<br><br>One potential downside of the newer Direct2D/DirectWrite APIs is that they aren't supported on Windows XP.  I know I have users of my application still using XP.  I can't tell without some more research, but I think Windows 10 even supports GDI/GDI+.<br><br>If the case for using Direct2D/DirectWrite is compelling enough, maybe they could be supported in addition to GDI and only used if the detected OS is > WinXP?<br><br>Thanks,<br><br>Aaron.<br><br>Sent from XFINITY Connect Mobile App<br>-----Original Message-----<br><br>From: ir...@be...<br>To: he...@co...<br>Cc: Plp...@li...<br>Sent: 2015-05-13 23:11:24 GMT<br>Subject: RE: [Plplot-devel] Using Window's raw API for shapes and text<br><br>On 2015-05-13 21:44-0500 Aaron Hexamer wrote:<br><br>> Would it be developed using the GDI?  If so, then maybe wingdi?<br><br>Hi Aaron:<br><br>To respond to your first question even though I am not<br>that familiar with Windows, I did look up the article at<br><http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_Device_Interface>, and it<br>appears that is an old API that has been replaced with the Direct2D<br><http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct2D> API.<br>I then followed up with some google<br>searching to find<br><https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ff729481(v=vs.85).aspx><br>which implies you can use gdi for graphics and DirectWrite for text or<br>Direct2D for graphics and DirectWrite for text.  Furthermore,<br><http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DirectWrite> says one of the features is<br><br>"Comprehensive support for Unicode, with over 20 scripts providing<br>layout and rendering of every language supported in Windows."<br><br>So that superficially sounds like exactly what we want to use (in<br>combination with either GDI or Direct2D), but remember my Windows<br>knowledge is quite limited and this research just took me a few<br>minutes of google searching so if our Windows developers have a<br>different preference for the Windows API that is used to render<br>unicode text, then we should adopt that preference.<br><br>@Aaron: I do think your general idea of the win+API name is better<br>than winwidgets. So I would be happy to use wingdi or windirect2d<br>depending on the decision about which one is used in conjunction with<br>DirectWrite.<br><br>@Jim, Arjen, and Phil:<br><br>As our most active Windows developers please chime in about what<br>Windows API you think we should use to render unicode text, and the<br>name you would like to see for what is currently called the wingcc<br>device driver.<br><br>Alan<br>__________________________<br>Alan W. Irwin<br><br>Astronomical research affiliation with Department of Physics and Astronomy,<br>University of Victoria (astrowww.phys.uvic.ca).<br><br>Programming affiliations with the FreeEOS equation-of-state<br>implementation for stellar interiors (freeeos.sf.net); the Time<br>Ephemerides project (timeephem.sf.net); PLplot scientific plotting<br>software package (plplot.sf.net); the libLASi project<br>(unifont.org/lasi); the Loads of Linux Links project (loll.sf.net);<br>and the Linux Brochure Project (lbproject.sf.net).<br>__________________________<br><br>Linux-powered Science<br>__________________________<br>