What Are BitmapEffects?
BitmapEffects allow you to apply effects to resources used in WPF applications
such as Shadows or Ripples, similar to the types of effects you get with
graphic applications like Adobe Photoshop. There are several effects that come
as standard; and you can even write your own, although this is very convoluted
at present. Companies such as Atalasoft are already producing libraries that
you will be able to import and use. Technically though, at present
BitmapEffects use software rendering in Windows; so they don’t use the power of
the graphics card, which will inhibit the performance of your application. The
greatest concern, though, is the performance hit they place on Expression Blend
in the design environment. It’s your choice to use BitmapEffects or not.
Microsoft has indicated that hardware accelerated BitmapEffects will be
available for the release of .NET Framework 4.0 possibly in late 2008 or early
2009.
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By: Brennon Williams
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