Impressed...how to create?

[andrewdiabo]

I am impressed on how good the GB-PVR software looks. I am a Delphi developer and I was wondering if someone can provide some resource on how to create an application like that with wallpaper and buttons. I imagine that I would also need a resizer component of some sort that resizes the controls when the application is resized?

Thanks for any help in advance.

Andy

[McBainUK]

Its all done using images and GDI+. Look and feel defined by xml skin files.

[andrewdiabo]

Thanks for the speedy reply. It looks great. Out of curiosity, where could I find resources on creating something like that? Any third-party libraries, SDK, components or ActiveX/Dll that I should be looking at? Direct coding using GDI+ API could be painful...

Thanks again.

Andrew

[23skidoo]

Thanks for the speedy reply. It looks great. Out of curiosity, where could I find resources on creating something like that? Any third-party libraries, SDK, components or ActiveX/Dll that I should be looking at? Direct coding using GDI+ API could be painful...

Thanks again.

Andrew

Dotnet, baby. It's the new black.

[andrewdiabo]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, donet does rock. I'm still in the beginner's realm but making progress. I need all the help I can get.

Thanks again.

Andy

[23skidoo]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, donet does rock. I'm still in the beginner's realm but making progress. I need all the help I can get.

Thanks again.

Cool. Good luck on your quest. And seriously, all of (well...MOST of) the GDI+ API is exposed via the .Net framework: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library...awing.aspx

Off-topic P.S.: I have fond memories of Delphi. I had to use it on a project back when Borland was still Borland. I remember fighting with that damnable BDE! :-) But if you're just getting started with this stuff, I have to put in a gentle endorsement for C#.

[andrewdiabo]

Thanks for the tip for the Microsoft link. That helped.

Its good to know that you came from Delphi. I'm definitely blessed to be chatting with the right person Yes, the BDE was and still is a dinosaur. I haven't touched it in years since I do mostly SQL stuff in database applications. As for C#, you don't have to convince me any further. I'm totally sold on it since the first time I tried it. I think most Delphi guys are comfortable with C# than any other languages in the .NET family.

The quest continues...but I am having fun. GDI+ does make my toes curl a little but like anything, practice makes perfect.

Thanks again.

Andy

[23skidoo]

Thanks for the tip for the Microsoft link. That helped.

No problem. There's another free C# IDE out there too that seems really nice. I've only done 1 or 2 little projects in it, but it seems very stable, and the UI is essentially a clone of MS Visual Studio.

Its good to know that you came from Delphi. I'm definitely blessed to be chatting with the right person

Yes, I have great respect for Visual Basic, but a Delphi programmer learns about the concept of pointers long before a Visual Basic programmer does (if he ever does). And that's a good thing for a programmer, learning fundamental concepts. It's like learning Latin before you take on French, Spanish, Italian, etc.

Yes, the BDE was and still is a dinosaur. I haven't touched it in years since I do mostly SQL stuff in database applications.

The BDE I remember was really just an ODBC-like abstraction API for database access. And there was a BDE module (I forget what they were called) for ODBC itself. So you would code against the BDE, which was coded against ODBC, which in turn was coded against the native database API. I remember a lot of projects ended up just using the ODBC API directly. Or the actual database vendor's API.

As for C#, you don't have to convince me any further. I'm totally sold on it since the first time I tried it. I think most Delphi guys are comfortable with C# than any other languages in the .NET family.

Sure; there's a common heritage there. And less typing. :-)

The quest continues...but I am having fun. GDI+ does make my toes curl a little but like anything, practice makes perfect.

Yeah, and like so many things, you'll eventually accumulate a toolbox full of routines that you essentially just copy-and-paste. I think the real challenges found in graphics programming are some of the mathematical concepts necessary for the most seemingly mundane results.

Thanks again.

No problem. Later.

[andrewdiabo]

Just wanted to redownload GB-PVR software but I could not get to the site http://www.gbpvr.com. Where can I download the latest version?

Thanks again.

Andrew