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Re: wxDC & wxGraphicsContext Test

 

--- In kicad-devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Dick Hollenbeck <dick@...> wrote:
> > I was suggesting from the beginning the escape of msw/cairo for this reason, moreover
> > GDI+ was dumped in the latest windows releases as the standard is now Direct2D: (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd370990(VS.85).aspx) HWaccelerated, so users are cut in two slices with a cut between XP and Vista.
> During my entire 27 year software career, any developer who has been 
> marching to the Microsoft drumbeat, is always mumbling to 
> himself..."must I really follow this parade, while we all watch 
> Microsoft learn how to program" (taking wrong turns, changing 
> direction, wasting developer's money).

Working usually with big databases i can say you about: ODBC, DAO, ADO, OleDB, Remote Data Service etc etc, but all those belongs to SQL :)

> It gets expensive if continued. I'd be embarrassed to say how much 
> money it has cost me, and you would not believe it. In the entire list 
> of items on the table, the worst component comes from Microsoft 
> (GDI+). And the worst decision made among all developers supporting 
> all components under discussion, was made by the guy who decided to base 
> his work on Microsoft, wxGraphicsContext on GDI+.
> Now, we see Microsoft make a sharp turn again, abandoning GDI+, hosing 
> the poor cool-aid drinker with his own cool-aid (the developer of 
> wxGraphicsContext on GDI+). Who cares what Direct2D is, whatever, 
> yawn. Build on it, and it will be yanked out from under you in a few 
> years, or covered in some other API that they want you to switch to.
> Just a couple of observations. This crap cannot go unnoticed.
This is why is better "hide" the windows API under CAIRO and keep hands free from one implementation, in some of years probably we could have an uniform API for the mayority of the MSW platforms around.

> 1996 was when I jumped ship, its been the same since 1985 when they 
> introduced OS2 as co-equal partners with IBM, rallied folks like me, and 
> then shot us in the head when they turned around against the parade and 
> killed everyone that they had rallied up, slapping their partner IBM in 
> the face too.

> All things being equal, I would prefer a C++ API to a C one. A C API 
> is bound to infest the code somewhat, but if it is hidden C then this is 
> moot obviously.
<trolling> All your base API belongs to C, or almost is what happens in thelargest number of OSes. </trolling>
Cairo under MSW should still use GDI (without plus), as used with wxDC but enables the possibility uncover some advanced features like use of matrix and PATHs that are hidden with classic wxDC.
Remains to see which are the costs relative to the current asset.
Cairo IMHO has the plus of being a platform probably better supported 
being used by some "high volume" software as mozilla and inkscape that could assure that there are not problems with the devopers tournaround and a better bug hunting having thousants of eyes.
In the meanwhile, we could have a drawing algorithm ready for the next jump.

--
Marco






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