Re: [boost] Re: thoughts on a GUI component library

From: David Abrahams (dave_at_[hidden])
Date: 2004-12-23 20:52:28

Alan Gutierrez wrote:
> * David Abrahams <dave_at_[hidden]> [2004-12-22 15:13]:
>> Reece Dunn wrote:
>> 
>> >>     If I were to go to the trouble to create an GUI that rendered
>> >>     diagrams, I'd probably to to the touble to print those diagrams.
>> >> 
>> >>     I'd like to use the same algorithm to render to the screen and
>> >>     to the printer, simply swap out the device context.
>> > 
>> > The Microsoft MFC library takes this approach and, IMHO, it is the best 
>> > way to go. 
>> 
>> That's okay for simple things, but for any serious printing work you
>> need to know you're talking to a printer.  For example, you may need to
>> embed postscript in your output stream.
> 
>     I'd like to look at how OS X is able to make a PDF of everything.
>     Observing that capability lead me to believe that you could
>     simply swap out the underlying device.

Maybe on OSX, where IIUC everything is already DPS-based, you can do
something like that.  In my experience with the models used by Windows
and MacOS 9 and earlier, it doesn't work out that way.

-- 
Dave Abrahams
Boost Consulting
http://www.boost-consulting.com