10.0 Introduction

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The Graphics Device Interface (GDI) is a system library designed to allow device-independent access to a system's hardware. At the heart of GDI is the device context that contains information about a hardware device and renders data to the device. Regardless of the device context and which device it refers to, the underlying rendering API for GDI is similar for most devices. In other words, you can render a string to two devices using the same API calls even if one device is the main computer display or an attached printer. However, using GDI within the confines of a WIN32-based application can be cumbersome and difficult to master for even the most basic rendering tasks .

GDI+ is the logical evolution of GDI designed to address the degree of difficulty that accompanies GDI as well as add new features that either were nonexistent with GDI or required extensive algorithms to implement. Whereas the heart of GDI is the device context, GDI+ uses a Graphics object to encapsulate the bookkeeping necessary for interacting with devices through the device context. This process allows you to spend more time working on rendering algorithms rather than making sure you have correct device context handles. This chapter explores some of the many features of GDI+ from the basics of working with a Graphics object to some advanced features such as animated GIF's and print preview support.

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Microsoft Visual C# .Net 2003
Microsoft Visual C *. NET 2003 development skills Daquan
ISBN: 7508427505
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 440

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