The Window Manager Mode Independence

Programmer's Reference Manuals

» Part 7 - The Desktop?

» The Window Manager

» Technical Details

» Mode independence

Overview

Wimp applications should work at all screen resolutions and colour depths that the Wimp allows and should not set a particular screen mode upon loading.

To obtain details about the current screen mode, use OS_ReadVduVariables and use the returned values within the application.

Notification

The Wimp issues Message_ModeChange to which applications should respond so that any mode specific data can be changed.

Usage

The Wimp provides access to the current screen mode and also useful colour translations and scaling operations.

Notes:

• Within 256 colour screen modes, some EOR plotting tricks do not work quite as expected.
• Within 2 colour modes, the Wimp uses ECF patterns for Wimp colours 1 to 6 and it should be noted that some EOR plotting tricks do not work on these, and use of the Wimp_CopyBlock? can cause alignment problems with the patterns.

See also

RISC OS has many guidelines on the mode independence. For a complete detailed guide, please see the RISC OS Style Guide.