Thread: GUI Programming (Not Games), OpenGL vs DirectX?

  1. #1
    #junkie
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Posts
    240

    GUI Programming (Not Games), OpenGL vs DirectX?

    I'm new to both, but i was just curious which is better for programming GUIs? As in Not Games? I want to make Clean, none Win32 Style Programs for various things.

    Basically everything Win32 Windows offer, just better looking lol.

    But which API is better for this? I never took this into consideration when a decided to start learning OpenGL (still amazingly basic though).

    Also, for whichever one you chose in your opinion or w/e, if at all possible, can you provide any links to tuts for this? All i have ever seen for These API's is Game Tutorials.

    Thanks!
    01110111011000010110110001100100011011110010000001 11000101110101011010010111010000100000011011000110 10010110011001100101001000000111100101101111011101 0100100000011011100111010101100010

  2. #2
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Posts
    4,912
    Are you wanting to make skin? Search the Windows board - there've been many resources posted on how to do this.

  3. #3
    #junkie
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Posts
    240
    Well from my understanding of "skins", i do not believe this is what i wish. Like have you ever used Trillian? They have a simple example of this, and i believe its DirectX coded. But just a nice looking menu system... however advanced.. lol. (I suck at explaining, however i am sure you relize this )
    01110111011000010110110001100100011011110010000001 11000101110101011010010111010000100000011011000110 10010110011001100101001000000111100101101111011101 0100100000011011100111010101100010

  4. #4
    Crazy Fool Perspective's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    2,640
    OpenGL is a graphics rendering API... there is no widget set associated with it. You'd have to create the entire widget set graphics and use another API for IO to handle events.

  5. #5
    #junkie
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Posts
    240
    Ok, sorry, nub here .

    But is this doable in DirectX? Or is everyone just heavily modding Win32 and basically making the win32 program have a custom theme.. in a sense.
    01110111011000010110110001100100011011110010000001 11000101110101011010010111010000100000011011000110 10010110011001100101001000000111100101101111011101 0100100000011011100111010101100010

  6. #6
    Crazy Fool Perspective's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    2,640
    >>and basically making the win32 program have a custom theme
    that would be skinning.

  7. #7
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Posts
    73
    I think what he is trying to say is make a Win32 application, but without the standard looking close, minimize, maximize, menu thing. That might be skinning, i dont know, but I think thats what you're talking about, right?

  8. #8
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Posts
    4,912
    Yes. That is skinning. Now go do a board search.

  9. #9
    #junkie
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Posts
    240
    Quote Originally Posted by Perspective
    >>and basically making the win32 program have a custom theme
    that would be skinning.
    "and basically making the win32 program have a custom theme",
    See if you add the full sentance, i was talking about everyone else.
    "Or is everyone just heavily modding Win32 and basically making the win32 program have a custom theme", so to make you happy i will restate my question "Or is everyone else just 'skinning'"
    01110111011000010110110001100100011011110010000001 11000101110101011010010111010000100000011011000110 10010110011001100101001000000111100101101111011101 0100100000011011100111010101100010

  10. #10
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    California
    Posts
    3,268
    Or is everyone just heavily modding Win32 and basically making the win32 program have a custom theme
    That's what skinning is. Skinning for the most part is just subclassed controls which are modified to follow the same theme. The good news is that the code to do this has been done many times by other people, so you dont have to do it on your own (unless you want to punish yourself for some reason).

    Programs like trillian dont use directX or opengl, just the windows API.

  11. #11
    #junkie
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Posts
    240
    ya i just got the wrong impression when it was making sure i had DX installed and updated, ect.

    Thanks
    01110111011000010110110001100100011011110010000001 11000101110101011010010111010000100000011011000110 10010110011001100101001000000111100101101111011101 0100100000011011100111010101100010

  12. #12
    Has a Masters in B.S.
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    2,263
    having written several GUI's in OpenGL of varying complexity, i would recommend against trying one till you have a large body of experience, especially in design, you MUST have the knowledge of how to design very complex interdependent systems, being a GUI is one, especially if you want to have the functionality of something as large and complex as the Windows GUI is not a small or easy task.
    ADVISORY: This users posts are rated CP-MA, for Mature Audiences only.

Popular pages Recent additions subscribe to a feed

Similar Threads

  1. Going from DirectX to OpenGL
    By Wraithan in forum Game Programming
    Replies: 19
    Last Post: 02-24-2006, 11:07 AM
  2. Allegro, OpenGL.. or even DirectX?
    By Zeusbwr in forum C++ Programming
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 11-14-2004, 08:16 AM
  3. Which is better: OpenGL or DirectX
    By Stan100 in forum Game Programming
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 05-09-2003, 04:43 PM
  4. OpenGL 2 or DirectX ?
    By alex6852 in forum A Brief History of Cprogramming.com
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 01-02-2003, 02:31 PM
  5. So.. what's the difference between DirectX and OpenGL?
    By QuestionC in forum Game Programming
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 01-19-2002, 06:18 PM