In Windows CE, as in Windows-based desktop platforms, the graphics device interface (GDI) controls the display of text and graphics. You use GDI to draw lines, curves, closed figures, text, and bit images.
The principle features of the Windows CE GDI are listed in the following table.
| GDI feature | Supported attributes |
|---|---|
| Filled Shapes | Ellipse, Polygon, Polyline, Rectangle, RoundRect |
| Pens and Brushes | Dashed, wide, and solid pens; pattern brushes |
| BLT Functions | PatBlt, BitBlt, MaskBlt, StretchBlt, TransparentImage |
| ROP Codes | All ROP2, ROP3, and ROP4 codes |
| Colors | Pixel depths of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, and 32 bits per pixel (bpp) |
| Fonts | TrueType and raster fonts |
| Printing | Full graphical printing |
| Palettes | Functions that create, change, query, and realize palettes |
The Windows CE GDI is designed for devices with limited system resources. Therefore, it does not include many of the special graphic functions found in Windows-based desktop platforms. As a consequence, the Windows CE GDI is a powerful, full color graphical display system with a relatively small footprint.
For more information about GDI in Windows-based desktop platforms, see the documentation for the Microsoft Platform SDK. For an introduction to the GDI in 32-bit Windows programming, see Chapter 4, "Essential Graphics," in Programming Windows 95, by Charles Petzold (Microsoft Press).