Should I use Direct3D or just Windows GDI for a fancy/high-perf Win32 app UI? - Photoshop

VoidStar
November 2, 2015
193 views
0 votes
2 Answers

Looking for the right general approach for making a UI really snappy.

I’m thinking of developing a UI tool that might go beyond just some “in house” tool. It would involve elaborate and custom 2d elements and would need to support fast scrolling of a big virtual surface, which would likely entail redrawing tons of custom things really quickly.

I’ve done some GDI programming back when XP was new, and I ran into some perf issues with lots of full screen blitting (it was a slow computer anyway). I understand GDI has some degree of acceleration, but I have difficulty ascertaining what exactly I can expect to be accelerated here.

I’ve only used Direct3D in games. Is it reasonable to make D3D to power a windowed GUI application? Also, if I use D3D, do I have to do everything from scratch, or can I make some kind of GDI/D3D hybrid, for example, using Direct3D calls inside WM_PAINT or something, in order to leverage some Win32 stuff like menu bars or listboxes side-by-side with a panel full of D3D rendered stuff? Does anyone have an example of mixing D3D with Win32 gui junk? Or is this not really the right approach?

What do programs like AutoCad or 3ds Max or Photoshop, or other major Win32 applications with similarly elaborate UI’s do?

Tags: c#direct3d gdi+winapi

Answers

Simple C style D3D9 app code (display mesh).

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// Defines main Direct3D rendering funcions


#include <windows.h>
#include <mmsystem.h>
#include <d3d9.h>
#include "d3dx9.h"
#include "cube_prim.h"


#ifndef __D3D_RENDERER_H__
#define __D3D_RENDERER_H__


#pragma comment(lib,"d3d9.lib")
#pragma comment(lib,"d3dx9.lib")
#pragma comment(lib,"winmm.lib")

#define D3DFVF_CUSTOMVERTEX (D3DFVF_XYZ | D3DFVF_NORMAL | D3DFVF_TEX1)

LPDIRECT3D9 pDirect3D = NULL;
LPDIRECT3DDEVICE9 pDirect3DDevice = NULL;
LPDIRECT3DVERTEXBUFFER9 pDirect3DVertexBuffer = NULL;
LPDIRECT3DINDEXBUFFER9 pDirect3DIndexBuffer = NULL;
LPDIRECT3DTEXTURE9 pDirect3DTexture01 = NULL;
LPDIRECT3DTEXTURE9 pDirect3DTexture02 = NULL;

LPD3DXMESH pD3DXMesh = NULL;
D3DMATERIAL9* pDirect3DMaterial = NULL;
LPDIRECT3DTEXTURE9* pDirect3DTexture = NULL;
DWORD Subsets = 0;

FLOAT XRot = 0.0f;
FLOAT YRot = 0.0f;


HRESULT InitializeD3D(HWND hWnd)
{
    D3DDISPLAYMODE dispMode;
    D3DPRESENT_PARAMETERS parameters;

    pDirect3D = Direct3DCreate9(D3D_SDK_VERSION);

    if (pDirect3D == NULL)
        return E_FAIL;

    if (FAILED(pDirect3D->GetAdapterDisplayMode(
        D3DADAPTER_DEFAULT,&dispMode)))
        return E_FAIL;

    ZeroMemory(&parameters,sizeof(D3DPRESENT_PARAMETERS));
    parameters.Windowed = FALSE;
    parameters.SwapEffect = D3DSWAPEFFECT_DISCARD;
    parameters.BackBufferFormat = dispMode.Format;
    parameters.BackBufferWidth = dispMode.Width;
    parameters.BackBufferHeight = dispMode.Height;
    parameters.BackBufferCount = 2;
    parameters.EnableAutoDepthStencil = TRUE;
    parameters.AutoDepthStencilFormat = D3DFMT_D24S8;


    if (FAILED(pDirect3D->CreateDevice(D3DADAPTER_DEFAULT,
        D3DDEVTYPE_HAL,hWnd,D3DCREATE_HARDWARE_VERTEXPROCESSING,
        &parameters,&pDirect3DDevice)))
        return E_FAIL;

    pDirect3DDevice->SetRenderState(D3DRS_LIGHTING,TRUE);
    pDirect3DDevice->SetRenderState(D3DRS_AMBIENT,RGB(180,180,180));
    pDirect3DDevice->SetRenderState(D3DRS_CULLMODE,D3DCULL_CCW);
    pDirect3DDevice->SetRenderState(D3DRS_ZENABLE,TRUE);
    //pDirect3DDevice->SetRenderState(D3DRS_AMBIENTMATERIALSOURCE,D3DMCS_COLOR2);
    //pDirect3DDevice->SetRenderState(D3DRS_DIFFUSEMATERIALSOURCE,D3DMCS_COLOR2);
    pDirect3DDevice->SetRenderState(D3DRS_SPECULARENABLE,TRUE);

    return S_OK;
}


HRESULT InitializeD3DBufferObject(void)
{
    VOID* pVertices = NULL;
    VOID* pIndicies = NULL;


    if (pDirect3DDevice != NULL)
    {
        if (FAILED(pDirect3DDevice->CreateVertexBuffer(
            sizeof(vertices),0,D3DFVF_CUSTOMVERTEX,
            D3DPOOL_DEFAULT,&pDirect3DVertexBuffer,NULL)))
            return E_FAIL;

        if (FAILED(pDirect3DVertexBuffer->Lock(0,
            sizeof(vertices),(void**)&pVertices,NULL)))
            return E_FAIL;

        memcpy(pVertices,vertices,sizeof(vertices));

        pDirect3DVertexBuffer->Unlock();

        if (FAILED(pDirect3DDevice->CreateIndexBuffer(
            sizeof(indices),0,D3DFMT_INDEX32,D3DPOOL_DEFAULT,
            &pDirect3DIndexBuffer,NULL)))
            return E_FAIL;

        if (FAILED(pDirect3DIndexBuffer->Lock(0,
            sizeof(indices),(void**)&pIndicies,NULL)))
            return E_FAIL;

        memcpy(pIndicies,indices,sizeof(indices));

        pDirect3DIndexBuffer->Unlock();

        if (FAILED(D3DXCreateTextureFromFile(pDirect3DDevice,
            _T("wood.tga"),&pDirect3DTexture01)))
            return E_FAIL;

        if (FAILED(D3DXCreateTextureFromFile(pDirect3DDevice,
            _T("stripes.tga"),&pDirect3DTexture02)))
            return E_FAIL;

        return S_OK;
    }
    else
        return E_FAIL;
}



HRESULT InitialMesh(void)
{
    LPD3DXBUFFER pMeshObj = NULL;
    LPD3DXMATERIAL pMaterial = NULL;
    char buffer[255];

    if (pDirect3DDevice != NULL)
    {
        if (FAILED(D3DXLoadMeshFromX(_T("Dwarf\Dwarf.x"),
            D3DXMESH_SYSTEMMEM,
            pDirect3DDevice,
            NULL,
            &pMeshObj,
            NULL,
            &Subsets,
            &pD3DXMesh)))
            return E_FAIL;

        pMaterial = (D3DXMATERIAL*)pMeshObj->GetBufferPointer();

        pDirect3DMaterial = new D3DMATERIAL9[Subsets];
        pDirect3DTexture = new LPDIRECT3DTEXTURE9[Subsets];

        for (INT i = 0; i < Subsets; i++)
        {
            pDirect3DMaterial[i] = pMaterial[i].MatD3D;

            sprintf(buffer,"Dwarf\");
            strcat(buffer,pMaterial[i].pTextureFilename);

            if (FAILED(D3DXCreateTextureFromFileA(
                pDirect3DDevice,buffer,&pDirect3DTexture[i])))
                return E_FAIL;
        }

        pMeshObj->Release();

        return S_OK;
    }
    else
        return E_FAIL;
}



VOID ChangeSize(INT cx,INT cy)
{
    D3DXMATRIX projMatrix;

    if (pDirect3DDevice != NULL)
    {
        if (cy == 0)
            cy = 1;

        FLOAT aspectRatio = static_cast<FLOAT>(cx) / 
            static_cast<FLOAT>(cy);

        D3DXMatrixPerspectiveFovLH(&projMatrix,45.0f,
            aspectRatio,1.0f,150.0f);

        pDirect3DDevice->SetTransform(D3DTS_PROJECTION,&projMatrix);
    }
}


VOID RotateScene(void)
{
    if (GetAsyncKeyState(VK_ESCAPE))
        exit(0);

    if (GetAsyncKeyState(VK_UP))
        XRot -= 0.1f;

    if (GetAsyncKeyState(VK_DOWN))
        XRot += 0.1f;

    if (GetAsyncKeyState(VK_LEFT))
        YRot -= 0.1f;

    if (GetAsyncKeyState(VK_RIGHT))
        YRot += 0.1f;
}



VOID RenderScene(void)
{
    D3DXMATRIX worldMatrix;
    D3DMATERIAL9 material;
    D3DLIGHT9 light;
    D3DCAPS9 caps;

    D3DCOLORVALUE ambientLight = { 0.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f, 1.0f };
    D3DCOLORVALUE diffuseLight = { 0.7f, 0.7f, 0.7f, 1.0f };
    D3DCOLORVALUE specularLight = { 1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f };
    D3DCOLORVALUE materialColor = { 1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f };

    ZeroMemory(&material,sizeof(D3DMATERIAL9));
    material.Ambient = materialColor;
    material.Diffuse = materialColor;
    material.Specular = specularLight;
    material.Power = 20.0f;

    ZeroMemory(&light,sizeof(D3DLIGHT9));
    light.Ambient = ambientLight;
    light.Diffuse = diffuseLight;
    light.Specular = specularLight;
    light.Range = 300.0f;
    light.Position = D3DXVECTOR3(-30,150,-10);
    light.Type = D3DLIGHT_POINT;
    light.Attenuation0 = 1.0f;

    if (pDirect3DDevice != NULL)
    {
        D3DXMatrixIdentity(&worldMatrix);
        pDirect3DDevice->SetTransform(D3DTS_WORLD,&worldMatrix);

        D3DXMatrixTranslation(&worldMatrix,0.0f,0.0f,4.0f);
        pDirect3DDevice->MultiplyTransform(D3DTS_WORLD,&worldMatrix);

        D3DXMatrixRotationX(&worldMatrix,XRot);
        pDirect3DDevice->MultiplyTransform(D3DTS_WORLD,&worldMatrix);

        D3DXMatrixRotationY(&worldMatrix,YRot);
        pDirect3DDevice->MultiplyTransform(D3DTS_WORLD,&worldMatrix);

        pDirect3DDevice->Clear(0,0,D3DCLEAR_TARGET | 
            D3DCLEAR_ZBUFFER,D3DCOLOR_ARGB(255,0,0,0),1.0f,0);

        pDirect3DDevice->SetMaterial(&material);
        pDirect3DDevice->SetLight(0,&light);
        pDirect3DDevice->LightEnable(0,TRUE);

        pDirect3DDevice->SetTexture(0,pDirect3DTexture01);
        //pDirect3DDevice->SetTexture(1,pDirect3DTexture02);

        pDirect3DDevice->SetTextureStageState(0,
            D3DTSS_COLORARG1,D3DTA_TEXTURE);
        pDirect3DDevice->SetTextureStageState(0,
            D3DTSS_COLORARG2,D3DTA_DIFFUSE);
        pDirect3DDevice->SetTextureStageState(0,
            D3DTSS_COLOROP,D3DTOP_MODULATE);

        pDirect3DDevice->SetTextureStageState(1,
            D3DTSS_TEXCOORDINDEX,0);
        pDirect3DDevice->SetTextureStageState(1,
            D3DTSS_COLORARG1,D3DTA_TEXTURE);
        pDirect3DDevice->SetTextureStageState(1,
            D3DTSS_COLORARG1,D3DTA_TEXTURE);
        pDirect3DDevice->SetTextureStageState(1,
            D3DTSS_COLOROP,D3DTOP_MODULATE);

        pDirect3DDevice->GetDeviceCaps(&caps);

        pDirect3DDevice->SetSamplerState(0,D3DSAMP_MAXANISOTROPY,caps.MaxAnisotropy);
        pDirect3DDevice->SetSamplerState(0,D3DSAMP_MINFILTER,D3DTEXF_ANISOTROPIC);
        pDirect3DDevice->SetSamplerState(0,D3DSAMP_MAGFILTER,D3DTEXF_ANISOTROPIC);
        pDirect3DDevice->SetSamplerState(0,D3DSAMP_MIPFILTER,D3DTEXF_ANISOTROPIC);

        pDirect3DDevice->SetSamplerState(1,D3DSAMP_MAXANISOTROPY,caps.MaxAnisotropy);
        pDirect3DDevice->SetSamplerState(1,D3DSAMP_MINFILTER,D3DTEXF_ANISOTROPIC);
        pDirect3DDevice->SetSamplerState(1,D3DSAMP_MAGFILTER,D3DTEXF_ANISOTROPIC);
        pDirect3DDevice->SetSamplerState(1,D3DSAMP_MIPFILTER,D3DTEXF_ANISOTROPIC);

        pDirect3DDevice->BeginScene();
        {
            pDirect3DDevice->SetStreamSource(0,pDirect3DVertexBuffer,0,
                sizeof(CUSTOMVERTEX));
            pDirect3DDevice->SetFVF(D3DFVF_CUSTOMVERTEX);
            pDirect3DDevice->SetIndices(pDirect3DIndexBuffer);
            /*pDirect3DDevice->DrawIndexedPrimitive(
                D3DPT_TRIANGLELIST,0,0,36,0,12);*/


            for (int i = 0; i < Subsets; i++)
            {
                pDirect3DDevice->SetMaterial(&pDirect3DMaterial[i]);
                pDirect3DDevice->SetTexture(0,pDirect3DTexture[i]);
                pD3DXMesh->DrawSubset(i);
            }
        }
        pDirect3DDevice->EndScene();

        pDirect3DDevice->Present(NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL);
    }
}


VOID ReleaseD3D(void)
{
    if (pDirect3DTexture)
    {
        for (int i = 0; i < 0; i++)
            pDirect3DTexture[i]->Release();
    }

    if (pDirect3DMaterial)
    {
        delete [] pDirect3DMaterial;
    }

    if (pD3DXMesh)
        pD3DXMesh->Release();

    if (pDirect3DTexture02)
        pDirect3DTexture02->Release();

    if (pDirect3DTexture01)
        pDirect3DTexture01->Release();

    if (pDirect3DIndexBuffer)
        pDirect3DIndexBuffer->Release();

    if (pDirect3DVertexBuffer)
        pDirect3DVertexBuffer->Release();

    if (pDirect3DDevice)
        pDirect3DDevice->Release();

    if (pDirect3D)
        pDirect3D->Release();
}

#endif

App use simple Win32 framework with WinMain etc…

Sample code in MFC classes

#include "MainWnd.h"
#include "d3d_renderer.h"

CMainWnd::CMainWnd(void)
{
}

CMainWnd::~CMainWnd(void)
{
}
BEGIN_MESSAGE_MAP(CMainWnd, CWnd)
    ON_WM_CREATE()
    ON_WM_DESTROY()
    ON_WM_SIZE()
    ON_WM_TIMER()
    ON_WM_PAINT()
END_MESSAGE_MAP()

// WM_CREATE
int CMainWnd::OnCreate(LPCREATESTRUCT lpCreateStruct)
{
    if (CWnd::OnCreate(lpCreateStruct) == -1)
        return -1;

    if (FAILED(InitializeD3D(m_hWnd)))
        exit(0);

    if (FAILED(InitializeD3DBufferObject()))
        exit(0);

    if (FAILED(InitialMesh()))
        exit(0);

    SetTimer(33,1,NULL);

    return 0;
}

// WM_DESTROY
void CMainWnd::OnDestroy()
{
    CWnd::OnDestroy();

    KillTimer(101);

    ReleaseD3D();
}

// WM_SIZE
void CMainWnd::OnSize(UINT nType, int cx, int cy)
{
    CWnd::OnSize(nType, cx, cy);

    ChangeSize(cx,cy);
}

// WM_TIMER
void CMainWnd::OnTimer(UINT_PTR nIDEvent)
{
    InvalidateRect(NULL,FALSE);

    CWnd::OnTimer(nIDEvent);
}

// WM_PAINT
void CMainWnd::OnPaint()
{
    RotateScene();

    RenderScene();

    ValidateRect(NULL);
}

so decide what you want to use (D3D is significaly faster than GDI)

you can also use OpenGL to draw accelerated graphics (little bit slower than D3D) with less code amount.

Displaying 3D text with OpenGL and pure Win32 UI

#include <windows.h>
#include <glgl.h>
#include <glglu.h>

// Palette Handle
HPALETTE hPalette = NULL;


static LPCTSTR lpszAppName = "Text3D";
GLint nFontList;

// Light values and coordinates
GLfloat  whiteLight[] = { 0.4f, 0.4f, 0.4f, 1.0f };
GLfloat  diffuseLight[] = { 0.8f, 0.8f, 0.8f, 1.0f };
GLfloat  specular[] = { 0.9f, 0.9f, 0.9f, 1.0f};
GLfloat lightPos[] = { -100.0f, 200.0f, 50.0f, 1.0f };


// Declaration for Window procedure
LRESULT CALLBACK WndProc(   HWND    hWnd,
                            UINT    message,
                            WPARAM  wParam,
                            LPARAM  lParam);

// Set Pixel Format function - forward declaration
void SetDCPixelFormat(HDC hDC);



void ChangeSize(GLsizei w, GLsizei h)
    {
    GLfloat nRange = 100.0f;
    GLfloat fAspect;

    // Prevent a divide by zero
    if(h == 0)
        h = 1;

    fAspect = (GLfloat)w/(GLfloat)h;

    // Set Viewport to window dimensions
    glViewport(0, 0, w, h);

    glMatrixMode(GL_PROJECTION);

    // Reset coordinate system
    glLoadIdentity();

    // Setup perspective for viewing
    gluPerspective(17.5f,fAspect,1,300);

    // Viewing transformation
    glMatrixMode(GL_MODELVIEW);
    glLoadIdentity();
    glTranslatef(-1.8f, 0.0f, -15.0f);
    glRotatef(-20.0f, 0.0f, 1.0f,0.0f);

    glLightfv(GL_LIGHT0,GL_POSITION,lightPos);
    }


void RenderScene(void)
    {
    glClear(GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT | GL_DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT);

    // Blue 3D Text
    glColor3ub(0, 0, 255);

    glPushMatrix();
    glListBase(nFontList);
    glCallLists (6, GL_UNSIGNED_BYTE, "OpenGL");    
    glPopMatrix();
    }


void SetupRC(HDC hDC)
    {
    // Setup the Font characteristics
    HFONT hFont;
    GLYPHMETRICSFLOAT agmf[128]; // Throw away
    LOGFONT logfont;

    logfont.lfHeight = -10;
    logfont.lfWidth = 0;
    logfont.lfEscapement = 0;
    logfont.lfOrientation = 0;
    logfont.lfWeight = FW_BOLD;
    logfont.lfItalic = FALSE;
    logfont.lfUnderline = FALSE;
    logfont.lfStrikeOut = FALSE;
    logfont.lfCharSet = ANSI_CHARSET;
    logfont.lfOutPrecision = OUT_DEFAULT_PRECIS;
    logfont.lfClipPrecision = CLIP_DEFAULT_PRECIS;
    logfont.lfQuality = DEFAULT_QUALITY;
    logfont.lfPitchAndFamily = DEFAULT_PITCH;
    strcpy(logfont.lfFaceName,"Arial");

    // Create the font and display list
    hFont = CreateFontIndirect(&logfont);
    SelectObject (hDC, hFont); 


    //create display lists for glyphs 0 through 128 with 0.1 extrusion 
    // and default deviation. 
    nFontList = glGenLists(128);
    wglUseFontOutlines(hDC, 0, 128, nFontList, 0.0f, 0.5f, 
                WGL_FONT_POLYGONS, agmf); 

    DeleteObject(hFont);

    glEnable(GL_DEPTH_TEST);    // Hidden surface removal
    glEnable(GL_COLOR_MATERIAL);

    glClearColor(0.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f, 1.0f );

    glEnable(GL_LIGHTING);
    glLightfv(GL_LIGHT0,GL_AMBIENT,whiteLight);
    glLightfv(GL_LIGHT0,GL_DIFFUSE,diffuseLight);
    glLightfv(GL_LIGHT0,GL_SPECULAR,specular);
    glLightfv(GL_LIGHT0,GL_POSITION,lightPos);
    glEnable(GL_LIGHT0);


    glColorMaterial(GL_FRONT, GL_AMBIENT_AND_DIFFUSE);
    glMaterialfv(GL_FRONT, GL_SPECULAR,specular);
    glMateriali(GL_FRONT,GL_SHININESS,128);
    }


// If necessary, creates a 3-3-2 palette for the device context listed.
HPALETTE GetOpenGLPalette(HDC hDC)
    {
    HPALETTE hRetPal = NULL;    // Handle to palette to be created
    PIXELFORMATDESCRIPTOR pfd;  // Pixel Format Descriptor
    LOGPALETTE *pPal;           // Pointer to memory for logical palette
    int nPixelFormat;           // Pixel format index
    int nColors;                // Number of entries in palette
    int i;                      // Counting variable
    BYTE RedRange,GreenRange,BlueRange;
                                // Range for each color entry (7,7,and 3)


    // Get the pixel format index and retrieve the pixel format description
    nPixelFormat = GetPixelFormat(hDC);
    DescribePixelFormat(hDC, nPixelFormat, sizeof(PIXELFORMATDESCRIPTOR), &pfd);

    // Does this pixel format require a palette?  If not, do not create a
    // palette and just return NULL
    if(!(pfd.dwFlags & PFD_NEED_PALETTE))
        return NULL;

    // Number of entries in palette.  8 bits yeilds 256 entries
    nColors = 1 << pfd.cColorBits;  

    // Allocate space for a logical palette structure plus all the palette entries
    pPal = (LOGPALETTE*)malloc(sizeof(LOGPALETTE) +nColors*sizeof(PALETTEENTRY));

    // Fill in palette header 
    pPal->palVersion = 0x300;       // Windows 3.0
    pPal->palNumEntries = nColors; // table size

    // Build mask of all 1's.  This creates a number represented by having
    // the low order x bits set, where x = pfd.cRedBits, pfd.cGreenBits, and
    // pfd.cBlueBits.  
    RedRange = (1 << pfd.cRedBits) -1;
    GreenRange = (1 << pfd.cGreenBits) - 1;
    BlueRange = (1 << pfd.cBlueBits) -1;

    // Loop through all the palette entries
    for(i = 0; i < nColors; i++)
        {
        // Fill in the 8-bit equivalents for each component
        pPal->palPalEntry[i].peRed = (i >> pfd.cRedShift) & RedRange;
        pPal->palPalEntry[i].peRed = (unsigned char)(
            (double) pPal->palPalEntry[i].peRed * 255.0 / RedRange);

        pPal->palPalEntry[i].peGreen = (i >> pfd.cGreenShift) & GreenRange;
        pPal->palPalEntry[i].peGreen = (unsigned char)(
            (double)pPal->palPalEntry[i].peGreen * 255.0 / GreenRange);

        pPal->palPalEntry[i].peBlue = (i >> pfd.cBlueShift) & BlueRange;
        pPal->palPalEntry[i].peBlue = (unsigned char)(
            (double)pPal->palPalEntry[i].peBlue * 255.0 / BlueRange);

        pPal->palPalEntry[i].peFlags = (unsigned char) NULL;
        }


    // Create the palette
    hRetPal = CreatePalette(pPal);

    // Go ahead and select and realize the palette for this device context
    SelectPalette(hDC,hRetPal,FALSE);
    RealizePalette(hDC);

    // Free the memory used for the logical palette structure
    free(pPal);

    // Return the handle to the new palette
    return hRetPal;
    }


// Select the pixel format for a given device context
void SetDCPixelFormat(HDC hDC)
    {
    int nPixelFormat;

    static PIXELFORMATDESCRIPTOR pfd = {
        sizeof(PIXELFORMATDESCRIPTOR),  // Size of this structure
        1,                              // Version of this structure    
        PFD_DRAW_TO_WINDOW |            // Draw to Window (not to bitmap)
        PFD_SUPPORT_OPENGL |            // Support OpenGL calls in window
        PFD_DOUBLEBUFFER,               // Double buffered mode
        PFD_TYPE_RGBA,                  // RGBA Color mode
        32,                             // Want 32 bit color
        0,0,0,0,0,0,                    // Not used to select mode
        0,0,                            // Not used to select mode
        0,0,0,0,0,                      // Not used to select mode
        16,                             // Size of depth buffer
        0,                              // Not used to select mode
        0,                              // Not used to select mode
        0,                              // Draw in main plane
        0,                              // Not used to select mode
        0,0,0 };                        // Not used to select mode

    // Choose a pixel format that best matches that described in pfd
    nPixelFormat = ChoosePixelFormat(hDC, &pfd);

    // Set the pixel format for the device context
    SetPixelFormat(hDC, nPixelFormat, &pfd);
    }



// Entry point of all Windows programs
int APIENTRY WinMain(   HINSTANCE   hInstance,
                        HINSTANCE   hPrevInstance,
                        LPSTR       lpCmdLine,
                        int         nCmdShow)
    {
    MSG         msg;        // Windows message structure
    WNDCLASS    wc;         // Windows class structure
    HWND        hWnd;       // Storeage for window handle


    // Register Window style
    wc.style            = CS_HREDRAW | CS_VREDRAW | CS_OWNDC;
    wc.lpfnWndProc      = (WNDPROC) WndProc;
    wc.cbClsExtra       = 0;
    wc.cbWndExtra       = 0;
    wc.hInstance        = hInstance;
    wc.hIcon            = NULL;
    wc.hCursor          = LoadCursor(NULL, IDC_ARROW);

    // No need for background brush for OpenGL window
    wc.hbrBackground    = NULL;     

    wc.lpszMenuName     = NULL;
    wc.lpszClassName    = lpszAppName;

    // Register the window class
    if(RegisterClass(&wc) == 0)
        return FALSE;


    // Create the main application window
    hWnd = CreateWindow(
                lpszAppName,
                lpszAppName,

                // OpenGL requires WS_CLIPCHILDREN and WS_CLIPSIBLINGS
                WS_OVERLAPPEDWINDOW | WS_CLIPCHILDREN | WS_CLIPSIBLINGS,

                // Window position and size
                100, 100,
                250, 250,
                NULL,
                NULL,
                hInstance,
                NULL);

    // If window was not created, quit
    if(hWnd == NULL)
        return FALSE;


    // Display the window
    ShowWindow(hWnd,SW_SHOW);
    UpdateWindow(hWnd);

    // Process application messages until the application closes
    while( GetMessage(&msg, NULL, 0, 0))
        {
        TranslateMessage(&msg);
        DispatchMessage(&msg);
        }

    return msg.wParam;
    }



// Window procedure, handles all messages for this program
LRESULT CALLBACK WndProc(   HWND    hWnd,
                            UINT    message,
                            WPARAM  wParam,
                            LPARAM  lParam)
    {
    static HGLRC hRC;       // Permenant Rendering context
    static HDC hDC;         // Private GDI Device context

    switch (message)
        {
        // Window creation, setup for OpenGL
        case WM_CREATE:
            // Store the device context
            hDC = GetDC(hWnd);      

            // Select the pixel format
            SetDCPixelFormat(hDC);      

            // Create the rendering context and make it current
            hRC = wglCreateContext(hDC);
            wglMakeCurrent(hDC, hRC);

            // Create the palette
            hPalette = GetOpenGLPalette(hDC);

            SetupRC(hDC);

            break;

        // Window is being destroyed, cleanup
        case WM_DESTROY:
            // Kill the timer that we created
            KillTimer(hWnd,101);

            glDeleteLists(nFontList, 128);

            // Deselect the current rendering context and delete it
            wglMakeCurrent(hDC,NULL);
            wglDeleteContext(hRC);

            // Delete the palette
            if(hPalette != NULL)
                DeleteObject(hPalette);

            // Tell the application to terminate after the window
            // is gone.
            PostQuitMessage(0);
            break;

        // Window is resized.
        case WM_SIZE:
            // Call our function which modifies the clipping
            // volume and viewport
            ChangeSize(LOWORD(lParam), HIWORD(lParam));
            break;

        // The painting function.  This message sent by Windows 
        // whenever the screen needs updating.
        case WM_PAINT:
            {
            // Call OpenGL drawing code
            RenderScene();

            // Call function to swap the buffers
            SwapBuffers(hDC);

            ValidateRect(hWnd,NULL);
            }
            break;


        // Windows is telling the application that it may modify
        // the system palette.  This message in essance asks the 
        // application for a new palette.
        case WM_QUERYNEWPALETTE:
            // If the palette was created.
            if(hPalette)
                {
                int nRet;

                // Selects the palette into the current device context
                SelectPalette(hDC, hPalette, FALSE);

                // Map entries from the currently selected palette to
                // the system palette.  The return value is the number 
                // of palette entries modified.
                nRet = RealizePalette(hDC);

                // Repaint, forces remap of palette in current window
                InvalidateRect(hWnd,NULL,FALSE);

                return nRet;
                }
            break;


        // This window may set the palette, even though it is not the 
        // currently active window.
        case WM_PALETTECHANGED:
            // Don't do anything if the palette does not exist, or if
            // this is the window that changed the palette.
            if((hPalette != NULL) && ((HWND)wParam != hWnd))
                {
                // Select the palette into the device context
                SelectPalette(hDC,hPalette,FALSE);

                // Map entries to system palette
                RealizePalette(hDC);

                // Remap the current colors to the newly realized palette
                UpdateColors(hDC);
                return 0;
                }
            break;


        default:   // Passes it on if unproccessed
            return (DefWindowProc(hWnd, message, wParam, lParam));

        }

    return (0L);
    }

can work without reseting palette

AS window handle you may use every legal window handles (panel, listbox, buttons etc…) so you can display 3d content almost everywhere

Photoshop use OpenGL, 3DS Max optional (OpenGL, Direct3D), AutoCad it is hard to say: GDI older versions, newest using .NET too.

- legalize
- November 3, 2015 at 12:42 am
- 0 votes
0
If your GUI involves 3D manipulation of 3D scenes, Direct3D or OpenGL would probably be a win. If you are just trying to give your GUI a “non-boring” look where the controls are stylized and drawn with alpha blended bitmaps and so-on, then you’re best sticking to the traditional windowing system (i.e. GDI) as the bottom-most rendering layer. However, the easiest way to achieve such a “look and feel” is to use a higher-level toolkit like wxWidgets or Qt in order to achieve the theming and customization that will make your GUI look “modern” and not like a boring corporate application.

Another option is to use XAML/WPF from a native application and use the tools that are available for creating XAML-based GUIs like Microsoft’s Expression. I haven’t explored that myself, but it should be feasible using the technique from this article in the March, 2013 issue of MSDN Magazine.

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Should I use Direct3D or just Windows GDI for a fancy/high-perf Win32 app UI? – Photoshop

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