About This Book (IM: XG)

Inside Macintosh: QuickDraw GX Graphics /

Preface - About This Book
QuickDraw GX is an integrated, object-based approach to graphics programming on Macintosh computers. This book, Inside Macintosh: QuickDraw GX Graphics, describes the data types and functions you use to create graphic images.
For application programming purposes, QuickDraw GX augments the capabilities of some of the Macintosh system software managers documented in other parts of Inside Macintosh. In situations where your application uses QuickDraw GX for drawing, information in this book replaces much of the information in Inside Macintosh: Imaging With QuickDraw. QuickDraw and QuickDraw GX coexist without conflict, however, and you can use both in the same program. Furthermore, for tasks outside the scope of QuickDraw GX, such as managing graphics ports, you need to use QuickDraw.
Before you read this book, you should already be familiar with information described elsewhere in the Inside Macintosh QuickDraw GX suite of books. In particular, you should be familiar with much of the information in Inside Macintosh: QuickDraw GX Objects. You should read the information about QuickDraw GX shapes and objects in the chapter "Introduction to QuickDraw GX" in that book. You should also read the chapters "Shape Objects," "Style Objects," "Ink Objects," and "Transform Objects" in that book.
For an alternative approach to learning QuickDraw GX, you can read QuickDraw GX Programmer's Overview before or along with this
book. QuickDraw GX Programmer's Overview teaches QuickDraw GX programming through building extensive code samples. Figure P-1 shows the suggested reading order for the QuickDraw GX books.
Figure P-1 Roadmap to the QuickDraw GX suite of books

Preface Contents

What to Read

Chapter Organization

Conventions Used in This Book

Special Fonts

Types of Notes

Numerical Formats

Type Definitions for Enumerations

Illustrations

Development Environment

Developer Products and Support