- #WINDOWS 10 VISUAL EFFECTS WINDOWS 8#
- #WINDOWS 10 VISUAL EFFECTS WINDOWS 7#
- #WINDOWS 10 VISUAL EFFECTS WINDOWS#
#WINDOWS 10 VISUAL EFFECTS WINDOWS#
The introduction of the Windows Runtime overshadowed everything else.
#WINDOWS 10 VISUAL EFFECTS WINDOWS 8#
Windows 8 debuted with DirectComposition, along with impressive improvements to the rest of the DirectX family of APIs, but it also ushered in a new era for the Windows API that would forever change the way that developers look at the OS. I even produced a course on high-performance rendering with DirectComposition for Pluralsight ( goo.gl/fgg0XN). I described these capabilities in my August ( goo.gl/CNwnWR) and September 2014 columns ( goo.gl/y7ZMLL). DirectComposition offered a visual tree and surface management that allowed the app to offload the production of effects and animations to the composition engine.
These redirection surfaces formed part of a visual tree, and DirectComposition allowed apps to make use of this same technology to provide a lightweight retained-mode API for high-performance graphics. I described this in detail in my June 2014 column ( goo.gl/oMlVa4). By default, the composition engine created a redirection surface for each top-level window.
#WINDOWS 10 VISUAL EFFECTS WINDOWS 7#
The DWM is really the Windows composition engine, and it was able to produce the dazzling effects in Windows Vista and Windows 7 because it fundamentally changed the way desktop windows were rendered. DirectComposition began to give developers a clearer picture of what the DWM was capable of doing. Windows 8 introduced a new API for the DWM called DirectComposition, its name giving tribute to the DirectX family of classic COM APIs that inspired its design. The Windows Flip 3D feature in Windows 7 was convincing proof. Still, any keen observer could tell that the DWM had more to offer-a lot more. You could even blend the old world of GDI and USER controls with the DWM ( goo.gl/9ITISE). It was possible to produce hardware-accelerated rendering with Direct3D and Direct2D to create stunning visuals for your app ( goo.gl/IufcN1). Figure 1 illustrates the height of this achievement in Windows 7. It allowed you to control the extent of the blur effect for a given window and to create custom chrome that blended nicely with the desktop. I first wrote about the DWM back in 2006 when Windows Vista was in beta ( goo.gl/19jCyR). The new Windows composition API is built on the Windows Runtime (WinRT) and provides the foundation for high-performance rendering by blending the world of immediate-mode graphics offered by Direct2D and Direct3D with a retained visual tree that now sports much-improved animation and effects capabilities.
DirectComposition was the primary interface for composition, but, as a classic COM API, it was largely inaccessible to the average app developer. The Windows composition engine, otherwise known as the Desktop Window Manager (DWM), gets a new API for Windows 10. Volume 30 Number 11 Graphics and Animation - Windows Composition Turns 10