[vtkusers] VTK and GUI - vtkRenderWindow - Virtual or Physical?

[Frank Gao]

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies.

Both Drew and Tom said were what I was trying to do. Separating UI and
internal code is my basic intent, and also I am not trying to use the .Net
wrapper for the whole VTK.  However, I am still struggling to get it work.
The error I received is that some object is busy, which made me think that
there are conflicts somewhere.

To prove the concept, I am trying to have a C# application to view a single
DICOM file. The code has three layers: C# code for UI, C++ wrapper to a C++
class, and then the C++ class making VTK calls.  Please see the code below.

I would very much appreciate if you would like to help correct the approach
or provide some sample code.

Thanks,

Frank

C# UI layer
private void openFileDialog1_FileOk(object sender,
System.ComponentModel.CancelEventArgs e)
{
      wrapper.Open (this.openFileDialog1.FileName, this.Handle);

}

Then my C++ wrapper to VTK code

void Wrapper::Open (String *filename, IntPtr wnd)
{
      char __nogc* pStr =
static_cast<char*>(Marshal::StringToHGlobalAnsi(filename).ToPointer());
      m->Open (pStr, (HWND)wnd.ToPointer());
}

The last one is my C++ code:
      void Dicomer::Open (char *filename, HWND whnd)
      {
            pvtkDataSetReader->SetFileName(filename);
            pvtkDataSetMapper->SetInput(pvtkDataSetReader->GetOutput());
            pvtkActor->SetMapper(pvtkDataSetMapper);

            pvtkRenderer    = vtkRenderer::New();
            pvtkOGLWindow = vtkWin32OpenGLRenderWindow::New();

            pvtkOGLWindow->SetParentId((HWND)whnd);

            pvtkRenderer ->SetRenderWindow (pvtkOGLWindow);
            pvtkRenderer->SetBackground(0.0,0.0,0.4);
            pvtkRenderer->AddActor((pvtkActor));
            pvtkRenderer->ResetCamera();
            pvtkOGLWindow->Render();
      }


-----Original Message-----
From: Thomas Lambertz [mailto:thomas at hexerei-software.de]
Sent: Saturday, March 18, 2006 10:51 AM
To: vtkusers at vtk.org
Subject: Re: [vtkusers] VTK and GUI - vtkRenderWindow - Virtual or Physical?



Hello Frank,

i am far away from being such an expert - but - maybe me tries are
helpful for you.

I splittet my application into two parts. GUI runs as a managed Win Form
and the numerical parts are done in a separate DLL which is native-x86.
And - to come closer to your question - yes - i have not found problems
at this time by letting VTK render into a Forms-Picturebox.

I know that VS 2003/2005 can handle managed / unmanaged Code in the same
executable but i didnt tried this way ( splitting has some advantages
for me ).

Hope this helps,
Tom



-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew J. Dolgert [mailto:ajd27 at cornell.edu]
Sent: Saturday, March 18, 2006 7:10 AM
To: gao at mdimaging.com; Vtkusers at Vtk.Org
Subject: RE: [vtkusers] VTK and GUI - vtkRenderWindow - Virtual or Physical?

Your idea is interesting. It might apply to attempts to use VTK as a server
for AJAX. For Windows Forms, however, the current setup works fine because
the vtkWin32OpenGLRenderWindow will happily receive events from and draw
into the Frame of a Windows Form because Windows Forms expose their HWND
handle.

Drew Dolgert

  _____

From: vtkusers-bounces+ajd27=cornell.edu at vtk.org
[mailto:vtkusers-bounces+ajd27=cornell.edu at vtk.org] On Behalf Of Frank Gao
Sent: Friday, March 17, 2006 5:24 PM
To: Vtkusers at Vtk.Org
Subject: [vtkusers] VTK and GUI - vtkRenderWindow - Virtual or Physical?

Hi Experts,

I have a question about vtkRenderWindow, and vtkOpenGLRenderWindow. Are such
objects virtual, or have to be physical by setting the parent window ID?

The requirement behind this question is here. Suppose an application must
separate its window display and interaction from its internal code. The
application needs to set a virtual vtkOpenGLRenderWindow with interactors
that are also virtual, and binding them with a physical window whenever
necessary. Simply put, make vtkOpenGLRenderWindow and the interactor purely
'server' objects to return bitmaps (or video streams?). These server objects
are fully functional and independent of physical implementation. By doing
this, the application never needs to get into vtk code to change files such
as vtkMFCWindow.

A real scenario for this. If this is possible, with a .Net wrapper, one can
easily use Win Forms as render window.

It would be tremendously helpful if the answer is YES, or can be YES. Your
replies are highly appreciated.

Thanks,

Frank Gao



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