A high-level language and programming interface used to create graphics images. Graphics applications make programming calls to the APIs of the language, and the graphics drivers render the images on the screen or printer. The major graphics languages are GDI, DirectX, QuickDraw, Display PDF and OpenGL. Windows uses GDI and DirectX, while the Mac uses QuickDraw and Display PDF. OpenGL drivers are available for Windows and Unix and the Mac via X Window. See graphics engine, GDI, DirectX, QuickDraw, Display PDF and OpenGL.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Do we need a 'beautiful mess' in operating systems? Yup
- To make a good soup, you've got to stir the pot...Ok, sure - it turns cloudy, short-term. Just be sure to filter it or let it settle, before serving.Whereas the classic 'design-by-committee' model so often fails, its always useful to have multiple, talented teams working on similar projects, independently. With...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-19
- News to know: HP-3Com; AMD; Google; Blockbuster; Bing 2.0
- News to know intro: Sam Diaz: HP announces $2.7 billion acquisition of 3Com; raises outlook Larry Dignan: Cisco vs. HP: 3Com acquisition ups the ante John Morris: AMD updates roadmap, promises "supercomputer in your lap" ...
- Blog posts 2009-11-12
- PDF2Office for iWork 1.0 (Mac)
- PDF2Office for iWork converts PDF documents into editable Keynote and Pages files by recreating the intended construction and layout of the document; forming paragraphs; applying styles; regrouping independent graphic elements; extracting images; creating tables; all automatically without any manual intervention. PDF2Office for iWork also provides detailed options for fine-tuning...
- Software downloads 2009-11-12
- Apple bans bobble head Congress app
- Apple has banned an app from the App Store that depicts our members of congress as bobble head caricatures. Not because the app put them in compromising positions or contained foul language, violence (or god help us, nudity) but because it "ridicules" them. Really? ...
- Blog posts 2009-11-10
- R for Mac OS X 2.10.0 (Mac)
- R is a language and environment for statistical computing and graphics. It is a GNU project which is similar to the S language and environment which was developed at Bell Laboratories (formerly AT&T, now Lucent Technologies) by John Chambers and colleagues. R can be considered as a different implementation of...
- Software downloads 2009-10-26
- Acorn co-founder talks early computers
- Complex APIsWell, we've come to want so much from software these days - APIs have become complex.The nice thing about BASIC was that is was - well, basic. Your API was fairly simple: Keyboard, screen, some basic graphics modes, some file I/O - and that's about it.No complex multiprogramming OS...
- Discussion threads 2009-10-12
- 2010 Lincoln MKZ
- Photo gallery:2010 Lincoln MKZThe same sort of modern stateliness we saw on the Lincoln MKS last year finds its way into the 2010 MKZ, along with an impressive technology array. Lincoln's new winged-grille design covers the front of this smallest Lincoln, giving it stronger presence than its platform mates, the...
- Product reviews 2009-10-07
- When will Microsoft's Live Mesh matter?
- I consider live Mesh to be one of the killer apps...... on my Windows Mobile phone. That explains a lot there. If Microsoft can't get Windows Mobile straight, what hope is there for ancillary services?it is oddIt's bizarre that they haven't used it in other ways. I love it...
- Discussion threads 2009-10-07
- MemoAccelerator 3.1.3.1 (Windows)
- MemoAccelerator is a program designed to support the process of study (learning, education). It can be successfully used in learning foreign language vocabulary, history, geography and many more. Applied algorithms of repetitions result in material being assimilated at the optimal pace. You save your time by learning in a very...
- Software downloads 2009-10-05
- GameMaker 3.9.94 (Mac)
- GameMaker is an easy to use card based development system which allows you to create simple adventure games with graphics, buttons, and text. Just draw the pictures, type some text, click a few buttons, choose some options... and an adventure game is completed! You are not required to learn a...
- Software downloads 2009-10-04
- The 10 biggest moments in IT history
- Missing: Tim Berners-Lee?The Mouse, and the GUI ...... without the invention of the mouse or the GUI/WYSIWYG there would not be as many users as there are today, and I would hazard a guess that it would be restricted to business applications like accounting, and Data Analysis.LudoRE: The 10...
- Discussion threads 2009-09-21
- Bing usage jumps 22 percent, now at 10 percent share
- Gains are only in the US marketBing is still an insignificant player on the global scene. And if that weren't enough, Google's destined to dominate smartphone Internet searches as well. So, how much did MicroHoo Search Drop ???Article would have been better if it showed MoM market share change.RE: Bing...
- Discussion threads 2009-09-16
- Garmin Nuvi 765T
- Garmin adds another battery of incremental changes to its Nuvi line of GPS navigators with the introduction of the Nuvi 765T. This new Nuvi packs useful features, such as text-to-speech and visual lane guidance, but the best trick in its bag is free, lifetime, Navteq traffic updating. In this case...
- Product reviews 2009-08-24
- PageFocus Draw 4.30 (Windows)
- An easy-to-use, yet powerful drawing, and desktop publishing program. Supports multiple page document, speller, vector drawing, import and export of image files, multi-column and curved text, and tables. Works with open source Ghostscript for importing and exporting PDF files. Great for creating brochures, e-book, graphics, charts and patterns. Supports double-byte...
- Software downloads 2009-08-15
- Apple iPhone margins nearly 60%, analyst estimates
- Apple iPhone margins nearly 60%, analyst estimatesJust another proofon how much Apple products are grossly overpriced. Only idiots buys themYeah...Sounds believable. The floor is now open for the parade of folks who need to rant about how it should be criminal for a company to actually make a profit selling...
- Discussion threads 2009-07-29
- ThermalLabel SDK for .NET 2.0 (Windows)
- Neodynamic ThermalLabel SDK for .NET is a lightweight class library DLL that lets you to design barcode labels and print them to Zebra Thermal Printers ZPL or EPL by writing just pure .NET code in VB.NET or C#. ThermalLabel SDK can be used for designing and printing from simple to...
- Software downloads 2009-07-22
- Asymptote 1.82 (Windows)
- Asymptote is a powerful descriptive vector graphics language that provides a natural coordinate-based framework for technical drawing. Labels and equations are typeset with LaTeX, for high-quality PostScript output.Asymptote is a graphic tool that provides a standard for typesetting mathematical figures.
- Software downloads 2009-07-21
- SciMark Graphics 2009.07.15 (Windows)
- GPU, another major component for today's cinematic and reality computing. SciMark Graphics is a software pack in SciMark serials to measure the ability of GPU within certain environments. It measures power of GPU and the combination power of GPU and CPU as in everyday applications. It is implemented by OpenGL...
- Software downloads 2009-07-17
- Stata 11 (Mac)
- Stata statistical software is a general-purpose system intended for use by medical researchers, biostatisticians, epidemiologists, economists, sociologists, political scientists, geographers, psychologists, social scientists, and other research professionals. It is available for Windows, Macintosh, and Unix computers and provides full data management, graphics, statistical, and matrix language capabilities. In addition to...
- Software downloads 2009-07-13
- HLP to RTF Converter 4.6 (Windows)
- HLP to RTF Converter is a product which allows you to convert any Windows Help files to RTF easily. It is designed to create printable, manual-quality RTF format documents or recompilable projects from Microsoft Windows Help.It allows you to generate a completely recompilable Help project, complete with all text, formatting,...
- Software downloads 2009-07-13
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