Visual Basic Graphics Programming

By Rod Stephens

This Wrox Blox shows you how to add graphics to Visual Basic 2008 applications by explaining fundamental graphics techniques such as: drawing shapes with different colors and line styles; filling areas with colors, gradients, and patterns; drawing text that is properly aligned, sized, and clipped exactly where you want it; manipulating images and saving results in bitmap, JPEG, and other types of files. Also covered are instructions for how to greatly increase your graphics capabilities using transformations, which allow you to move, stretch, or rotate graphics. They also let you work in coordinate systems that make sense for your application. The author also describes techniques for using the above in printouts, describing the sequence of events that produce a printout and show how to generate and preview printouts, with examples which show how to wrap long chunks of text across multiple pages, if necessary. In addition, you will learn about two powerful new graphic tools that were introduced with .NET Framework 3.0: WPF graphics and FlowDocuments. XAML graphic commands allow a WPF application to draw and fill the same kinds of shapes that a program can draw by using graphics objects. Finally, a discussion on the FlowDocument object shows you how to define items that should be flowed across multiple pages as space permits. This lets you display text, graphics, controls, and other items that automatically flow across page breaks. FlowDocument viewers make displaying these documents easy for you, and simplifies the user's reading of the documents. This Wrox Blox also contains 35 example programs written in Visual Basic 2008, although most of the code works in previous versions of Visual Basic .NET as well. The most notable exceptions are WPF graphics and FlowDocuments, both of which require WPF provided in .NET Framework 3.0 and later. Table of Contents Section 1: Using Graphics, Pens, and Brushes 2 Getting a Graphics Object 3 Using a Graphics Object 5 Creating Pens 8 Creating Brushes 11 Section 1 Wrap-up 13 Section 2: Using Advanced Pens and Brushes 14 Custom Dash Patterns 14 Longitudinal Stripes 16 Custom End Caps 17 Linear Gradient Brushes 18 Path Gradient Brushes 20 Section 2 Wrap-up 21 Section 3: Drawing Text 22 Drawing Simple Text 22 Using Layout Rectangles 23 Section 3 Wrap-up 27 Section 4: Manipulating Images 27 Creating and Loading Bitmaps 27 Manipulating Bitmaps 29 Saving Image Files 32 Section 4 Wrap-Up 33 Section 5: Using Transformations 33 Basic Transformations 33 World Coordinate Mapping 36 Section 5 Wrap-up 40 Section 6: Printing 40 Using PrintPage 41 Using Other Event Handlers 44 Printing Transformations 45 Section 6 Wrap-up 48 Section 7: Using WPF Graphics 48 Decorative Controls 49 Shape Controls 49 Brushes 53 ImageBrush 56 Section 7 Wrap-up 57 Section 8: Building FlowDocuments 57 BlockUIContainer 58 List 58 Paragraph 58 Section 58 Table 58 Section 8 Wrap-up 60 Conclusion 61 About Rod Stephens 62 Usage Rights for Wiley Wrox Blox Any Wrox Blox you purchase from this site will come with certain restrictions that allow Wiley to protect the copyrights of its products. After you purchase and download this title, you: Are entitled to three downloads Are entitled to make a backup copy of the file for your own use Are entitled to print the Wrox Blox for your own use Are entitled to make annotations and comments in the Wrox Blox file for your own use May not lend, sell or give the Wrox Blox to another user May not

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471155330
• ISBN13: 9780471155331
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 704 Pages
• Weight: 2.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 7.5" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Well-Done Stephens!

This book includes a lot of ideas and concepts that extremely serve graphics programmers. I really found this book very useful, and it gave me new ideas that enhanced my way in programming. Besides it gives the reader full illustration for some problems in descriptive geometry and numerical analysis. REALLY Well-done Rod! Adel

Excellent reference

This is a good book for anyone with some knowledge about Visual Basic who wants to know how to make better graphics in the language. It starts off with the basics--lines, API functions, etc. Later, it has sections on more complex topics, such as ray tracing and higher-dimensional graphics.

The best I've ever read!!!

This book covers everything u ever wanted to know about Graphics Programming (especially in VB) for Windows. Don't spend time learning DirectX. If u want to be a pro windows programmer - get this book! I been looking for something like this for years, and I really feel this is the best book about Windows Graphics Programming ever written!

Amazing! Expand your VB skills!

This book is excellent. I never knew I could possible make that kind of SUPER-DUPER graphics using Visual Basic. It describes everything: 2D, 3D, 4D, animation and more! Excellent! Make state of art graphic programs easily with this book. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it to all of you.

Great book for graphics programming!

When you are making games in Visual Basic or in any other language for the matter, then most of the graphics are done before the game code even thinks about executing. Usually you have bitmaps with sprites and masks. These are copied or most likely blitted to the gaming field using various methods. This is usually good enough for the simplest of games, but what happens when you want to create those special effects you see in the commercial games - such as a fading game field when you have completed a level or when everything turns red as your game character die? Well the old way of doing things was to get a Graphics Programming book, which showed you various algorithms usually written in C or some other non-VB friendly language. Not surprisingly I now tell you that this is not way any more, simply because there is a book on this subject written for Visual Basic programmers - Visual Basic Graphics Programming by Rod Stephens. If you ever want to program serious games in Visual Basic or do some serious graphics programming then I can only recommend this book. The book starts out by explaining the various methods you have available when doing graphics programming with VB, including a discussion on when to actually do then drawing. You are then carried gracefully through the API way of doing things and lead into the world of colors. Colors are, as you probably already know, a confusing issue especially when it comes to color modes and color palettes. The book explains the palette issue in a very compelling way and best of all there are examples using the techniques described. The next issue in the book that is of critical interest to the VB game programmer is the chapter on image processing. The techniques describe therein will enable you to create those special fades and color conversions i.e. turning the gaming field into bloody red scene. As you read through the chapter on image processing you will undoubtedly get many ideas for small special effects that will spice your game up, such as a blur on the gaming field when the player has done something wrong. Chapter 5 in the book is the chapter I thing is most relevant for game programmers, simply because it deals with the essence of game programming - Animation. If you don't know how to speed your games up and even keep them down, then you will learn it here. The chapter also deals with many cool effects to apply to your games. Among these are some very cool wipes and dissolve effects, which would suit any `in-between' level transitions. There are many special effects described in the book that you can apply to your games if you want to spice them up a bit, but the most important aspect is actually the future. The future I speak of here is of course the support for DirectX in Visual Basic programs, a support Microsoft will realize with DirectX 7.0. This will enable you to use the video hardware for some of the ordinary operations such as Blits, Color fills, ro