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There was a query on the MSDN forums for WPF the other day that asked about leveraging multiple processors in WPF applications. I responded, and am basically repeating that response here, with a little bit of extension: WPF 3.0 (and the version coming out with Orcas, 3.5) is definitely an STA(*)-based model, but here are a some observations/comments on how multiple processors can and should be used in WPF applications. Serialized/Atomic programming model for UI programming is essential: Since time immemorial (i.e. Windows 3.1 ) the way developers have written event-based UI programs has been fairly constant: register event handlers that are invoked through user interface actions, and have those event handlers modify the UI as well as maintain private state. There's a fundamental assumption of, if not single-threadedness, at least atomicity and serialization of operations. STA definitely provides that. Rental-thread (**) could provide that as well, and does so in ASP.NET (but without any Read More...
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In late December, I sat down for another interview on Channel 9 . It took a little while to "bake" over the holidays, but it finally got posted about a week ago. I know some folks are asking for the source code for the demo that was shown, you can download it from here . This sample was based on some code that was written for other demos we did internally, so if the part of code to extend glass into the window looks familiar, that is why. There's been some lively discussion on the thread, so I'll take a moment to address some of the comments. DigitalDud mentioned the need for new display drivers to do composition. I've talked about the benefits of composition in the past, but it's worth discussing the new driver model briefly. The new driver model is really a separate thing from Desktop Composition. With the new driver model, the biggest change was moving a great deal of code out of kernel mode into user mode. There were meny motivations for this - including, but no limited to One motivation Read More...
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The new Intellipoint Software for Windows Vista has a great feature that builds on the DWM API called "Instant Viewer". It allows you to remap the click-wheel to bring up a grid view of all your open Windows like this: Read More...
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Some folks have noticed that when they run Java applets in the browser, that Aero and desktop composition would get disabled. This was due to Java locking the primary buffer, and when that happens, the DWM no longer has access to the resources needed to draw the desktop, therefore we disable desktop composition. Sun has since addressed this issue, as you can see in this post in Chet Haase's blog. Chet also provides lots more detail about what was up, what version it's fixed in, and when it will be available - or, as BubbleMan insists on saying, availabubble. And while we're on the topic, earlier versions of Apple's QuickTime/iTunes also exhibited this primary-locking behavior. The lastest updates to QuickTime/iTunes no longer does this. Read More...
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I've seen a couple of cool uses in the past week of the DWM Thumbnail API (described in my previous post Read More...
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Greg Schecter has been blogging extensively about the DWM API's in Windows Vista lately. It's definitely worth a look, as he does a great job outlining the possibility of what you can do using the DWM on Windows Vista. One great example I saw recently was created by someone I only know as "Simon on .Net", who built an implementation of Apple's Exposé feature from OSX on top of the DWM in Windows Vista. Nice! Read More...
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For the most part, the Vista Desktop Window Manager is an end-user feature. However, because it so fundamentally Read More...
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I received a number of great comments and questions on my last post about High DPI Support in Windows Read More...
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A good amount of ink has been spilled on this blog talking about all the cost, nuance, impact, and techniques Read More...
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In the earlier posts I've done on the DWM, there's been a hint of the relationship between it and the Read More...
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I got to do this fun Channel9 video the other day with Charles Torre and Tim Sneath . In it we talk about Read More...
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As mentioned in earlier posts , by far the most important aspect of the DWM is the fact that application Read More...
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The Problem Ever since the advent of dedicated graphics processors, even old-school graphics processors Read More...
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Here's a list of topics that I have posted on (with active links) or expect to post on (without links) Read More...
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My earlier post on " DWM's use of DirectX, GPUs, and hardware acceleration " generated some good comments Read More...
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