Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!think!ames!lll-lcc!well!ewhac
From: ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics
Subject: Re: Mixing window system and graphics operations
Message-ID: <6314@well.UUCP>
Date: 18 Jun 88 06:54:00 GMT
References: <3647@briar.Philips.Com>
Reply-To: ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab)
Organization: Speak Before You Think Enterprises
Lines: 45

[ My Organization: name today may be applicable here. ]

In article <3647@briar.Philips.Com> sxm@bebop.philips.com (Sandeep Mehta) writes:
>What I have noticed with both the packages I tried this experiment
>on (SunCore and PHIGS based FIGARO) is that the application take over control
>of the entire current window thus limiting any user interface interaction.
>I believe >the graphics packages are implemented using the lower level
>Pixrect library (on Sun w/s').  [ ... ]
>
>I would imagine
>that I should be able to initialize and perform graphics operations in a 
>subwindow just as I can from the root window.
>
	I don't know about SunTools terminology, but....

	Are you saying that SunCore and FIGARO blitz the root window (which
I take to mean SunTool's full-screen backdrop window)?  Hmmmm.

	Please excuse me while I use some Amiga terminology on you.

	SunTools doesn't have Amiga-style "screens", so I'd recommend that
you force SunCore or FIGARO to run in the equivalent of a super-bitmap
window.  This is a window whose bitmap is stored and manipulated in an
off-screen memory area (malloc() that sucker :-) ), a portion of which is
copied to the on-screen window.  Graphics operations in this window are
specially handled such that the master bitmap is synchronously updated with
the on-screen window.

	So you'd render into the master bitmap, and periodically copy the
visible portion to your on-screen window.  You'd probably put scroll bars on
this window so the user could pan around the larger master bitmap.

	And then you open a second window with buttons and gadgets and menus
and requesters and all that neat stuff, and use it as the user's control
window.

	Again, I don't know if SunTools provides for this, but you may wish
to consider the concept in general, and see if you can't "fake it".
Assuming you like the idea, that is...

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Leo L. Schwab -- The Guy in The Cape  ihnp4!pacbell -\
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