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OpenGL Win32 AppWizard

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19 May 20033 min read 483.2K   22.7K   115   62
This Custom AppWizard for VC++ 6.0 or VC++.NET creates an OpenGL enabled Win32 application suitable for demos and simple games.

Sample Image - OGLWiz.gif
An example of a generated application

Installation (VC6 version)

Copy OGLWiz.awx and Oglwiz.hlp to your Custom AppWizard directory (probably "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\Common\MSDev98\Template").

Overview of the generated project (VC6 version)

Projects generated with this AppWizard contains two classes:
  • CApp
  • CMainWnd
There is a global instance of CApp (gApp) that owns an instance of CMainWnd (m_pMainWnd). CApp creates the main window, initializes OpenGL, maintains the message pump and manages screen updates. CMainWnd encapsulates the main window and its OpenGL rendering context. CApp notifies CMainWnd of different phases of the OpenGL RC life cycle (by calling CMainWnd::InitScene(), CMainWnd::KillScene() and CMainWnd::DrawScene()). CMainWnd::Tick() is called (by CApp) each time the windows message queue is empty.

This may not be the most elegant OO solution; some of the code in CApp really belongs in CMainWnd, like window creation and (some of the) message handling. But the idea is to let CApp do the grunt work of Win32API and OpenGL setup and leave CMainWnd free to concentrate on what's displayed in the client area.

Using the wizard

Chose to create a new project, selecting "OpenGL Win32 Application" from the list of project types, enter a project name and press OK.

The following options to customize the project are available:

Application

Menu: Check this box to add a menu to the main window.
Keyboard accelerator: Adds a keyboard accelerator resource and processes accelerator keys.
About box: Creates an about dialog and a dialog callback routine. Also adds an About command to the menu (if available).

Main window

Select appearance of the main window.

Window: Creates an overlapped main window with default size.
Fullscreen: Creates a topmost popup window that occupies the entire screen.
Both: Appearence is determined with a switch: If FULLSCREEN is not #defined, the application runs in a window.
Show FPS in caption: Adds code to show Frames Per Second on regular intervals. (Not available in fullscreen mode)

OpenGL Support

Use OpenGL: Adds code to initialize and maintain an OpenGL RC. If this box is not checked, a plain Win32 application is created.
Sample code: Adds code that renders a simple OpenGL scene (spinning cube).
Double buffering: Creates a double-buffered pixel buffer.
Color depth: Number of color bitplanes in each color buffer.
Z-buffer depth: Bit-depth of the Z-buffer.
Background color: Press the button to select background color for main window.

Notes on the VC++.NET appwizard

In VC++.NET, appwizards are no longer compiled plugins, but rather a collection of scripts and template files, with a HTML-based UI. See Readme.txt for installation instructions.

I took the opportunity to change the object model into something that, IMO, is a bit cleaner. Instead of having one class for the window and one class for the application, there is now one abstract base class, CApp, that takes care of window creation, OpenGL initialization etc. The "meat" of the generated app goes in a derived class that overrides a number of virtual functions of CApp. For example, InitScene(), DrawScene() and KillScene() are virtual.

Other than that, the VC++.NET version of the AppWizard behaves basically the same as the VC++6 version.

History

  • 20 May 2003 - Updated VS.NET download

License

This article has no explicit license attached to it but may contain usage terms in the article text or the download files themselves. If in doubt please contact the author via the discussion board below.

A list of licenses authors might use can be found here


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Comments and Discussions

 
GeneralSimple and elegant - my 5 Pin
Sharjith22-Mar-11 8:32
professionalSharjith22-Mar-11 8:32 
GeneralVisual Studio 2008 (9) version? [modified] Pin
hain7-Jan-09 6:49
hain7-Jan-09 6:49 
GeneralglReadPixels() Pin
JeanFilion12-Aug-07 3:33
JeanFilion12-Aug-07 3:33 
QuestionRe: glReadPixels() Pin
Bilica29-Nov-07 6:02
Bilica29-Nov-07 6:02 
AnswerRe: glReadPixels() Pin
JeanFilion29-Nov-07 8:02
JeanFilion29-Nov-07 8:02 
Questionhow to do real-time image processing using VC++? Pin
gentleguy25-Jun-07 22:01
gentleguy25-Jun-07 22:01 
AnswerRe: how to do real-time image processing using VC++? Pin
zafersavas8-Jun-08 2:22
zafersavas8-Jun-08 2:22 
GeneralErrors in script Pin
Bruzak12-Apr-07 4:32
Bruzak12-Apr-07 4:32 
GeneralStart Maximized Pin
rfs671816-Dec-06 14:25
rfs671816-Dec-06 14:25 
Questionhow to combine two program?? Pin
mallie26-Mar-06 19:28
mallie26-Mar-06 19:28 
QuestionVisual Studio 2005 Pin
jpummill23-Nov-05 7:02
jpummill23-Nov-05 7:02 
AnswerRe: Visual Studio 2005 Pin
brianpoteat24-Aug-07 10:01
brianpoteat24-Aug-07 10:01 
GeneralAbout coding a simple human face Pin
Anonymous26-Sep-05 8:46
Anonymous26-Sep-05 8:46 
GeneralI need help on using this for an MDI app Pin
sardaukar_siet12-Feb-05 12:18
sardaukar_siet12-Feb-05 12:18 
GeneralGetting an error when trying to start a project Pin
TheTroll12310-Oct-04 10:49
TheTroll12310-Oct-04 10:49 
GeneralRe: Getting an error when trying to start a project Pin
Member 23409907-Oct-05 23:07
Member 23409907-Oct-05 23:07 
QuestionHow to run 2 different(or same) OpenGL objects in one DialogBox? Pin
werter13-May-04 21:11
werter13-May-04 21:11 
GeneralA suggestion. Pin
SevenCat15-Dec-03 23:49
SevenCat15-Dec-03 23:49 
Questionhow can i add my own class to application Pin
wuling1291-Dec-03 14:07
wuling1291-Dec-03 14:07 
GeneralAll I get is a Blank form when I select this as a project Pin
Mike_in_Paradise26-May-03 6:12
Mike_in_Paradise26-May-03 6:12 
GeneralRe: All I get is a Blank form when I select this as a project Pin
dpaquc22-Oct-03 5:19
dpaquc22-Oct-03 5:19 
GeneralRe: All I get is a Blank form when I select this as a project Pin
webbsk24-Nov-03 9:34
webbsk24-Nov-03 9:34 
GeneralRe: All I get is a Blank form when I select this as a project Pin
SevenCat15-Dec-03 23:44
SevenCat15-Dec-03 23:44 
Generalbug fix with Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 Pin
markthecoder15-May-03 21:01
markthecoder15-May-03 21:01 
GeneralListen to this guy! Pin
Anonymous4-Jul-03 4:33
Anonymous4-Jul-03 4:33 

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