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.. _the-window-framework:

The Window Framework
====================



.. only:: python

    The WindowFramework class is for use in C++ only. If you use Python, you can
    just use DirectStart to open a window and skip this page.




.. only:: cxx

    This page will explain how to use the WindowFramework class in C++ to open a
    blank window. First of all, we need to include the appropriate header files:
    
    
    .. code-block:: cpp
        
        #include "pandaFramework.h"
        #include "pandaSystem.h"
    
    Second, we need to
    create an instance of the WindowFramework class and open the main int of
    course. 
    
    .. code-block:: cpp
        
        PandaFramework framework;
        int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
    
    Now, we must
    open the framework, give the window a nice title and open the window:
    
    
    .. code-block:: cpp
        
        framework.open_framework(argc, argv);
        framework.set_window_title("Hello World!");
        // Open it!
        WindowFramework *window = framework.open_window();
    
    Optionally, we can
    enable keyboard support, in case we want to check for keyboard presses, and we
    can enable the default camera trackball. Note that you also need to enable
    keyboard support to receive mouse button events (sic).
    
    
    
    .. code-block:: cpp
        
        // Enable keyboard detection
        window->enable_keyboard();
        // Enable default camera movement
        window->setup_trackball();
    
    Now, we're going to
    check if the window has opened successfully. If so, the main loop must be
    called, using the function framework.main\_loop(). This is equal to the run()
    function in Python. 
    
    .. code-block:: cpp
        
        if (window != (WindowFramework *)NULL) {
          nout << "Opened the window successfully!\n";
        
          // Put here your own code, such as the loading of your models
        
          framework.main_loop();
        } else {
          nout << "Could not load the window!\n";
        }
    
    
    Afterwards, we need to close the framework:
    
    
    .. code-block:: cpp
        
          framework.close_framework();
          return (0);
        }
    
    Now,
    :ref:`compile and run <how-to-build-a-cxx-panda3d-game>` your file and you
    have your own window opened!
    
    For the lazy ones among us, here is the full code:
    
    
    .. code-block:: cpp
        
        // Include all the stuff
        #include "pandaFramework.h"
        #include "pandaSystem.h"
        
        // Init the PandaFramework class
        PandaFramework framework;
        
        int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
          // Open the framework
          framework.open_framework(argc, argv);
          // Set a nice title
          framework.set_window_title("Hello World!");
          // Open it!
          WindowFramework *window = framework.open_window();
        
          // Check whether the window is loaded correctly
          if (window != (WindowFramework *)NULL) {
            nout << "Opened the window successfully!\n";
        
            window->enable_keyboard(); // Enable keyboard detection
            window->setup_trackball(); // Enable default camera movement
        
            // Put here your own code, such as the loading of your models
        
            // Do the main loop
            framework.main_loop();
          } else {
            nout << "Could not load the window!\n";
          }
          // Close the framework
          framework.close_framework();
          return (0);
        }
    
    
    
    The WindowFramework class also provides all the basic things the python
    ShowBase / DirectStart equivalent would normally take care of:
    
    
    .. code-block:: cpp
        
        const NodePath &get_render();
        const NodePath &get_render_2d();
        const NodePath &get_aspect_2d();
        
        void set_wireframe(bool enable);
        void set_texture(bool enable);
        void set_two_sided(bool enable);
        void set_one_sided_reverse(bool enable);
        void set_lighting(bool enable);
        
        const NodePath &get_camera_group();
        
        INLINE int get_num_cameras() const;
        INLINE Camera *get_camera(int n) const;
        
        // WindowFramework also provides access to the GraphicsWindow.
        // for example, to set the background color to black, you can do this:
        window->get_graphics_window()->set_clear_color(Colorf(0,0,0,1));
    
    It's very useful to
    study the file panda/src/framework/windowFramework.h, since you will need to
    use it often.