OpenEuphoria

RE: Help

• Posted by Brian Broker <bkb at cnw.com> Jan 31, 2002
• 424 views

OK, you asked for it... (did some cut-n-pasting here)

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API = Application Programming Interface
Windows API
Purpose
The Microsoft® Windows® application programming interface (API) provides 
building blocks used by applications written for Microsoft Windows®, 
including Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT®, Windows 95, Windows 98, 
and Windows Millennium Edition (Windows Me). You can provide your 
application with a graphical user interface; display graphics and 
formatted text; and manage system objects such as memory, files, and 
processes.

Where Applicable
The Windows API can be used in all Windows-based applications. The same 
functions are generally supported on 32-bit and 64-bit Windows.

Developer Audience
This API is designed for use by C/C++ programmers. Familiarity with the 
Windows graphical user interface and message-driven architecture is 
required. 

applications to use graphics and formatted text on both the video 
display and the printer. Windows-based applications do not access the 
graphics hardware directly. Instead, GDI interacts with device drivers 
on behalf of applications. 

Where Applicable
GDI can be used in all Windows-based applications.

Developer Audience
This API is designed for use by C/C++ programmers. Familiarity with the 
Windows graphical user interface and message-driven architecture is 
required. 

accelerators and sound cards. These APIs control what are called 
“low-level functions,” including graphics memory management and 
rendering; support for input devices such as joysticks, keyboards, and 
mice; and control of sound mixing and sound output. The low-level 
functions are grouped into components that make up DirectX: Microsoft 
Direct3D®, Microsoft DirectDraw®, Microsoft DirectInput®, Microsoft 
DirectMusic®, Microsoft DirectPlay®, Microsoft DirectSound®, and 
Microsoft DirectShow®.

DirectX provides developers with tools that help them get the best 
possible performance from the machines they use. It provides explicit 
mechanisms for applications to determine the current capabilities of 
your system’s hardware so they can enable optimal performance.

Before DirectX, developers creating multimedia applications for PCs had 
to customize their products so that the products would work well on the 
wide variety of hardware devices and configurations available on Windows 
machines. DirectX provides a “hardware abstraction layer” (HAL for 
short) that uses software drivers to communicate between game software 
and computer hardware. As a result, developers can use the single 
consistent paradigm of DirectX to implement their products across a wide 
range of hardware devices and configurations.


Hope this cleared things up...
-- Brian

 
C. K. Lester wrote:
> Why wouldn't it make sense? :)
> 
> Explain GDI vs. API vs. DX.
> 
> Sorry, but I'm very ignorant when it comes to programming for Windows.
> 
> > 
> > C. K. Lester wrote:
> > > Heya, Martin.
> > > 
> > > Do you know if Exotica is using those API calls you listed for 
> > > stretching
> > > bitmaps?
> > > 
> > > > BOOL StretchBlt(
> > > >
> > > >     HDC hdcDest, // handle of destination device context
> > > >     int nXOriginDest, // x-coordinate of upper-left corner of 
> > dest. rect.
> > > >     int nYOriginDest, // y-coordinate of upper-left corner of 
> > dest. rect.
> > > >     int nWidthDest, // width of destination rectangle
> > > >     int nHeightDest, // height of destination rectangle
> > > >     HDC hdcSrc, // handle of source device context
> > > >     int nXOriginSrc, // x-coordinate of upper-left corner of
> > > > source rectangle
> > > >     int nYOriginSrc, // y-coordinate of upper-left corner of
> > > > source rectangle
> > > >     int nWidthSrc, // width of source rectangle
> > > >     int nHeightSrc, // height of source rectangle
> > > >     DWORD dwRop  // raster operation code
> > > >    );
> > > >
> > > > int SetStretchBltMode(
> > > >
> > > >     HDC hdc, // handle of device context
> > > >     int iStretchMode  // bitmap stretching mode
> > > >    );
> > > 
> > >