While I have held many programming jobs - database applications, component building, web applications - I have always harbored an interest in computer graphics. I can remember spending hours, actually more like days, learning to move a red dot in an elliptical path on an old Apple II. My friends and family thought I was nuts spending so much time on what appeared to them a pointless task. But to me it was a fascinating undertaking.
Nowadays the choices for graphics programming are mind boggling. Windows has a variety of graphics engines to choose from. There are platforms such as Macromedia Flash, and new standards like SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics). Not to mention the emerging technologies from Microsoft (XAML, Avalon) scheduled to be included in the next version of Windows codenamed Longhorn.
I have been using GDI+ a lot on my latest project. My intention is to use this blogspace to discuss the pitfalls and benefits of using the many different graphics engines available to the Windows developer
First up... GDI+ and .NET.