Windows 2000 Graphics Api Black Book [Illustré] [Anglais] [Broché]

Focuses on three vital Windows graphics programming technologies: the Windows Graphics Device Interface (GDI), DirectDraw, and Image Color Management (ICM) 2.0. Contains in-depth coverage of image manipulation, file format management, and ICM technologies. Teaches how to control every aspect of Windows bitmaps, reliably render/capture images to the printer and other devices, and compressing and decompressing images. Demonstrates how to read and write common image file formats, manipulate images in the pixel and frequency domains and cross-dissolve, warp, and morph images.

A reference for professionals for creating graphics-based applications for Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, and 2000. The CD-ROM contains tools, source code, sample applications, C++ classes, and other helpful material for use with the text. System requirements: Visual C++, Direct X7, Windows 98, ME or 2000, CD-ROM, libpng 1.08+, CD-ROM drive. Softcover. DLC: Computer graphics.

Windows 2000 Graphics API Black Book is designed to serve as a definitive, no nonsense reference to creating robust and efficient graphics-based applications for Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, and—of course—2000. Whether you’re adding only minimal graphics support to an existing project, or you’re creating a full-fledged graphics-based application, this text will guide you through the steps necessary to get the job done quickly and effectively. Each chapter opens with a comprehensive “In Depth” section that’s designed to cut through the technical jargon and get you up to speed with the latest Windows graphics-based technologies such as the GDI, DirectDraw, and ICM (image color management). This book also provides a solutions-oriented “Immediate Solutions” section that reinforces the concepts from the “In Depth” section. There are over 250 solutions; each solution provides a step-by-step recipe—along with a code example—that you can follow to get the job done without delay.

There are over 100 pages dedicated specifically to image processing (including morphing, the discrete cosine transform, and wavelets), 150 pages dedicated specifically to bitmaps (DDB, DIB, and DIB section bitmaps), and over 120 pages dedicated to ICM (image color management; including color science, chromatic adaptation, ICC device profiles, and proofing).

The CD-ROM contains a multitude of demos, utility functions, and reusable C++ classes. Sample projects are provided for both Borland C++Builder and Microsoft Visual C++.

Michael Fötsch (Graz, Austria) gained his first programming experience when writing text adventures in BASIC at the age of 13. He used to program for VGA and SVGA graphics cards under MS-DOS before he made friends with DirectX and 32-bit Windows. He currently develops graphics and multimedia applications for Windows and DirectX.

[An excerpt from Chapter 16]

Summary of Color Management Systems

There's a lot of information to absorb in this chapter, so before we get our hands dirty with coding, let's recap some of the main concepts from this section. Recall, because different devices have different operating characteristics (e.g., gamut, white point, colorants), a color management system (CMS) is needed to ensure that colors will be displayed accurately regardless of the output device. In Windows, this CMS is called ICM (Image Color Management). The newest version of ICM, version 2, is available only in Windows 98, Windows ME, and Windows 2000.

Device manufacturers convey the particulars of their devices through an ICC device profile, which is often model-specific. Images can also contain a device profile-usually one that's specific to the monitor on which the image was created or to the input device (e.g., a scanner or a digital camera) with which the image was captured. Using information in the image's device profile, the CMS uses a color management module (CMM, or color management method, or color matching method) to convert the image's device-dependent coordinates (color values) to the device-independent coordinates of the profile connection space (PCS). When this image is to be displayed on a monitor, the color management system uses a CMM and the monitor's device profile to convert from PCS device-independent coordinates to the monitor's device-dependent coordinates. Likewise, when the image is to be printed, the color management system uses a CMM and the printer's device profile to convert from PCS device-inde! pendent coordinates to the printer's device-dependent coordinates.

If the destination device doesn't have a corresponding device profile, the CMS assumes that the destination device uses the sRGB color space. If this assumption is incorrect, then the accuracy of the displayed (or printed) image's colors will vary according to how closely the destination device conforms to the sRGB standard. If the source image doesn't have an embedded profile, as is often the case, the CMS assumes that the colors of the image are in sRGB coordinates. If this assumption is incorrect, then the accuracy of the displayed (or printed) image's colors will vary according to how closely the image's colors conform to the sRGB standard.

Keep in mind that ICM doesn't work without the support of applications. Although ICM is the official color management system for Windows, you, as an application developer, must utilize ICM technology to take advantage of the aforementioned benefits. Because very few applications are ICM-aware, Windows has been criticized in many research, academic, and professional communities for its lack of color management support. As we'll discuss next, however, it's not at all difficult to extend your application to be ICM-aware. In fact, now that we've got all of the nitty-gritty, often intimidating, terminology out of the way, the rest is gravy.