Introducing my new web site and forum boards

[José Roca]

The new COM support implemented in PBWin 9.0 and PBCC 5.0 have made unnecessary the use of my libraries of wrapper functions. Instead, interface definitions and updated headers are needed.

I have translated to PowerBASIC most of the C headers of the Microsoft Platform SDK for Windows, including interface definitions, as well as the headers of other SDKs such DirectX. They are available to download in the Windows API Headers board ( http://www.jose.it-berater.org/smfforum/index.php?board=318.0 ) . These headers can't be used with older versions of the compilers.

All the code that I'm going to post in the new boards will use these include files. The old code and related posts have been moved to the Legacy Software (PBWIN 8.04-/PBCC 4.04-) forum.

My new web site ( http://www.jose.it-berater.org/index.html ) offers free downloads of my new TypeLib Browser and of the SED Editor, as well as links to Reference Guides.

[Michael Hartlef]

Thanks Jose for all the effort and support. You really deserve a medal for all this! :)

[Petr Schreiber]

Thanks José,

I will jump for the new stuff once new PB arrives to mailbox, I have it ordered already.


Petr

[José Roca]

I have posted this introduction here because being you graphic programmers you will appreciate what the new include files have to offer. You can't prepare interface definitions for libraries like DirectX and DirectShow using a browser, because being low-level interfaces, M$ doesn't provide type libraries for them but only C++ headers, so the translation must be done by hand. And the SDK is an intricate collection of headers that include other headers, that include... In the PB Forums, they are for the moment mainly interested in OOP, in automating Excel and Word, and in writing servers to be used with VB and .NET. Yet the most powerful addition is the ability to write and use low-level COM servers, something reserved until now to C++ programmers.

[Petr Schreiber]

Hi José,

I just realised the windows headers include DirectX 10 "by the way" :D.

Although I am probably skipping Vista( so will not have chance to play with it, as XP is not supported), it is nice oportunity to study the differences between DX10 and OpenGL 2.1 EXT / 3.0 more precisely.


Thanks,
Petr

[ErosOlmi]

Thanks José.

Your support forum has been my most invaluable source of inspiration in the last few years.
And due to all the new COM stuff you have developed, it will be number 1 reference for PB world and not only ...

[José Roca]

All the include files are updated up to Vista, but since I don't have Vista, all the Vista-only stuff remains untested.

The C runtime include files have also been translated, so you can use most of the C runtime functions if you want.

The file D3D10Effect includes some C++ classes. I have written some wrapper functions to call its methods, but I don't know if they will work. Apparently, we have to relearn DirectX which each new version.

Anyway, the new compilers are in the right track. I can't wait to start a new beta cycle to help in the implementation of what is still missing, like native unicode support.