a0123 oreilly hlsl and pixel shaders for xaml developers jul 201 morebook vn 2 4362

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HLSL and Pixel Shaders for XAML
Developers

Walt Ritscher

Beijing • Cambridge • Farnham • Kưln • Sebastopol • Tokyo


HLSL and Pixel Shaders for XAML Developers
by Walt Ritscher
Copyright © 2012 Walt Ritscher. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
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Editor: Rachel Roumeliotis
Production Editor: Rachel Steely
Proofreader: Rachel Steely

Cover Designer: Karen Montgomery
Interior Designer: David Futato
Illustrators: Robert Romano and Rebecca Demarest

Revision History for the First Edition:
2012-07-03

First release
See for release details.

Nutshell Handbook, the Nutshell Handbook logo, and the O’Reilly logo are registered trademarks of
O’Reilly Media, Inc. HLSL and Pixel Shaders for XAML Developers, the image of an American bittern,
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ISBN: 978-1-449-31984-7
[LSI]
1341330024


Table of Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
1. Shader 101 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Why Should XAML Developers Learn HLSL?
The Tale of the Shader
HLSL and DirectX
Understanding the Graphics Pipeline
XAML and Shaders
Summary

1

2
3
5
7
9

2. Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Setting Up Your Development Computer
Silverlight Development
WPF Development
Expression Blend 4
Choosing a Shader Compiler
DirectX Compiler
WPF Build Task
Shazzam Shader Editor
Other Tools to Consider
FX Composer
NShader
Visual Studio 2012
A First Shader Project
Using Prebuilt Effects
Adding Effects
Debrief
Custom Shader
Create a Shader Algorithm

11
11
12
12

12
12
13
13
13
13
14
14
15
16
19
22
22
23

iii


APPENDIX B

Shazzam Settings

Table B-1. Shazzam tags, general and class level
Shazzam Tag

Description

///

A Shazzam XML comment tag. Content is ignored by the DirectX compiler.

<class>

Specifies the desired classname for generated file. By default, Shazzam uses the filename for the
effect name. A class named SwirlyEffect is generated from the Swirly.fx file. Use the
<class> tag to override the default name.

<namespace>

Specifies the desired namespace for the effect class. By default, Shazzam uses the namespace
configured in the Tools panel settings panel. Use the <namespace> tag to override the default
namespace name.

<description>

Provides a description for this effect. Shazzam will generate comments in the .cs/.vb file from this
description.

<target>

Forces the compiler to generate a Silverlight or WPF version of the .NET effect class. The default
target is configured in the Settings panel. Use the <target> tag to override the default target.

<type>

Use the <type> tag to change the default .NET type specified for the generated dependency
property.

Table B-2. Shazzam Tags, parameter level
Shazzam Tag

Description

<summary>

This tag is used by the Tryout tab.
It is used on a shader input parameter to describe the purpose of the input parameter. It causes a
tooltip to show in Shazzam for the test control.

<minValue>

This tag is used by the Tryout tab.
It provides an initial value for the minimum textbox.

<maxValue>

This tag is used by the Tryout tab.
It provides an initial value for the maximum textbox.

<defaultValue>

This tag is used by the Tryout tab.
It provides a starting value for the value slider.

183


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About the Author

Walt’s enthusiasm for crafting software interfaces blossomed early. Just a few days after
discovering how to make pixels move around the screen of a borrowed computer, he
was devouring books on the topic of computer graphics and UI design. Now he travels
the world, speaking at software conferences and teaching a diverse portfolio of programming topics for corporate clients. On the consulting side, he continues to work
with customers like Microsoft, HP, Intel, and Intuit and enjoys being part of the
Wintellect consultant group. Recently, he has entered the video training market producing .NET titles for Lynda.com He writes for several publications including Code
Magazine and TechTarget.com. His current UI obsession revolves around the
Windows 8 Metro, Silverlight, Surface, and WPF APIs. You can find his blog at
blog.wpfwonderland.com. Walt is also a Microsoft MVP and author of the free Shazzam WPF Shader utility.