It's impossible to gain direct access to video memory from user mode unless a driver allows it - which it doesn't.
It's impossible to gain direct access to video memory from user mode unless a driver allows it - which it doesn't.
Something to add on the GDI front: technically it can be hardware accelerated. When a graphics driver is loaded it is queried for a few function pointers for ops such as BitBlt, drawing lines, etc. If the driver does not supply a given function it is mapped to the default software-based function.
Those of you who weren't in your mother's dreams/nightmares in 1992 will recall the emergence of "Windows accelerator" cards. This was the first instance of graphics drivers providing hardware-specific functions for GDI. Under Windows 3.1, no less!
However, since Vista I believe that this is no longer used. All GDI drawing ops are in software.
Last edited by SMurf; 11-08-2011 at 01:21 PM. Reason: Windows accelerator, not graphics accelerator! :o
Oh I was in her nightmares and her dreams since I graduated high school that year. I had one of those early Windows accelerator cards. At the time I was reading books that were talking about using specific pieces of hardware to do graphics both 2D and 3D. I thought to myself that one would never buy a card that just handled graphics. Oh how wrong I was.Those of you who weren't in your mother's dreams/nightmares in 1992...
Do you know if this is true for GDI+?ever, since Vista I believe that this is no longer used. All GDI drawing ops are in software.
GDI+ is not hardware accelerated under neither Vista nor 7.
GDI is partially accelerated in 7, but is not accelerated in Vista.
Source: Wikipedia
Originally Posted by Adak
