Hilo: Developing C++ Applications for Windows 7

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Hilo: Developing C++ Applications for Windows 7

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"Hilo" is a series of articles and sample applications that show how you can leverage the power of Windows 7, using the Visual Studio 2010 and Visual C++ development systems to build high performance, responsive rich client applications. Hilo provides both source code and written guidance to help you design and develop Windows applications of your own.

The series covers many topics, including the key capabilities and features of Windows 7, the design process for the user experience, and application design and architecture. Source code is provided so that you can see firsthand how the accompanying sample applications were designed and implemented. You can also use the source code in your own projects to produce your own rich, compelling applications for Windows 7. The Hilo sample applications are designed for high performance and responsiveness and are written entirely in C++ using Visual C++.

These articles describe the design and implementation of a set of touch-enabled applications that allow you to browse, select, and work with images. They will illustrate how to write applications that leverage some of the powerful capabilities that Windows 7 provides. You will see how the various technologies for Windows 7 can be used together to create a compelling user experience.

In This Section

Topic	Description
Chapter 1: Introducing Hilo	The first Hilo sample application—the Hilo Browser—implements a touch-enabled user interface for browsing and selecting photos and images.
Chapter 2: Setting up the Hilo Development Environment	This article outlines how to set up a workstation for the development environment so that you can compile and run the Hilo Browser sample application.
Chapter 3: Choosing Windows Development Technologies	This article describes the rationale for the choice of the development technologies used to implement the Hilo applications.
Chapter 4: Designing the Hilo User Experience	This article describes the process and thoughts when developing the Hilo User Experience.
Chapter 5: The Hilo Common Library	This article introduces the Hilo Common Library, a lightweight object orientated library to help to create and manage Hilo-based application windows and handle messages sent to them.
Chapter 6: Using Windows Direct2D	This article describes how hardware accelerated Direct2D and DirectWrite are used in the Hilo sample application.
Chapter 7: Using Windows Animation Manager	This article explores the Windows 7 Windows Animation Manager, that handles the complexities of image changes over time.
Chapter 8: Using Windows 7 Libraries and the Shell	Files from many different locations can be accessed through a single logical location according to their type even though they are stored in many different locations. Libraries are user defined collections of content that are indexed to enable faster search and sorting. Hilo uses the Windows 7 Libraries feature to access the user’s images.
Chapter 9: Introducing Hilo Annotator	This article describes the Hilo Annotator application, which allows you to crop, rotate, and draw on the photographs you have selected. Hilo Annotator uses the Windows Ribbon Control to provide easy access to the various annotation functions, and the Windows Imaging Component to load and manipulate the images and their metadata.
Chapter 10: Using the Windows Ribbon	This article examines the use of the Windows Ribbon control, which is designed to help users find, use, and understand available commands for a particular application in a way that’s more natural and intuitive than menu bars or toolbars.
Chapter 11: Using the Windows Imaging Component	In this article you will learn how the Windows 7 Imaging Component is used in the Hilo Browser and Annotator applications. The Windows 7 Imaging Component (WIC) allows you to load and manipulate images and their metadata. The WIC Application Programming Interface (API) has built-in component support for all standard formats. In addition, the images created by the WIC can be used to create Direct2D bitmaps so you can use Direct2D to change images.
Chapter 12: Sharing Photos with Hilo	In this article, we’ll describe how the Hilo applications have been extended to allow you to share photos via an online photo sharing site. To do this, Hilo uses the Windows 7 Web Services application programming Interface (WSSAPI). The Hilo Browser application has also been updated to provide additional user interface (UI) and touch screen features, and the Hilo Annotator application has been extended to support Windows 7 Taskbar Jump Lists. This chapter provides an overview of these new features.
Chapter 13: Enhancing the Hilo Browser User Interface	In the final version of Hilo, the Annotator and Browser applications provide a number of enhanced user interface (UI) features. For example, the Hilo Browser now provides buttons to launch the Annotator application, to share photos via Flickr, and touch screen gestures to pan and zoom images. In this chapter we will see how these features were implemented.
Chapter 14: Adding Support for Windows 7 Jump Lists & Taskbar Tabs	The Hilo Browser and Annotator support Windows 7 Jump Lists and taskbar tabs. Jump Lists provide the user with easy access to recent files and provide a mechanism to launch key tasks. Taskbar tabs provide a preview image and access to additional actions within the Windows taskbar. In this Chapter we will see how the Hilo Browser and Annotator applications implement support for Windows 7 Jump Lists and taskbar tabs.
Chapter 15: Using Windows HTTP Services	The Hilo Browser application allows you to upload photos to the Flickr online photo sharing application. To do this, Hilo uses Windows HTTP Services. This chapter will explore how this library is used in the Hilo Browser to implement its photo sharing feature.
Chapter 16: Using the Windows 7 Web Services API	The Hilo Browser application allows you to share your photos via Flickr by using the Share dialog. The previous chapter showed how the Share dialog uses the Windows HTTP Services API to upload the selected photos to Flickr using a multi-part HTTP POST request. Before the photo can be uploaded the Hilo Browser must first be authenticated with Flickr by obtaining a session token (called a frob), and then authorized to upload photos by obtaining an access token. To accomplish these two steps, Hilo Browser uses the Windows 7 Web Services Application Programming Interface (WWSAPI) to access Flickr using web services. In this chapter we will explore how the Hilo Browser uses this library.

 

Additional Resources

This series is targeted at C++ developers. If you are a C++ developer but are not familiar with Windows development, you may want to check out the Learn to Program for Windows in C++ series of articles.

These articles are available as a single, downloadable PDF.

The code of the sample Hilo applications are available in the Hilo project on MSDN Code Gallery.

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