(c) Curtis Edwards 2025
Objective: Rebuild the classic Zinc library as ZincX—a modern, cross-platform, high-performance UI framework inspired by Zinc/OpenZinc, targeting legacy (DOS/Win16) and modern platforms (desktop, embedded) with a retro twist.
Reference Links: http://openzinc.com/Documentation/OpenZinc%201%20PROGRAMMERS%20REFERENCE%20VOLUME%201.pdf, http://openzinc.com/Documentation/OpenZinc%201%20PROGRAMMERS%20REFERENCE%20VOLUME%202.pdf, https://github.com/rafael2k/OpenZinc
Current GitHub: https://github.com/Trilec/ZincX
Key Attributes:
Fast & Lightweight: Minimal overhead with STL and optimized API for legacy and modern hardware.
Elegant & Easy to Use: Intuitive APIs with max three-level class hierarchy and modular interfaces.
Modular & Extensible: Multiple rendering backends (DOS text, 16-bit graphics, Vulkan) with unified compute module for layout, events, and drawing, using CPU/GPU where available, falling back to single-threaded for legacy.
Rich Feature Set:
* Undo/Redo & Serialization: Built-in state streaming.
* Image & Widget Library: Advanced image handling and pre-built widgets.
* Layout Management: Constraint-based layouts with compute acceleration.
* Event & Input Handling: Supports mouse, keyboard, multitouch, gestures.
* Custom Signal/Slot Framework: Type-safe, RAII-managed C++23 event system with multi-observation and optional thread safety.
* Styling, Theming & Layered Drawing: Compute-accelerated drawing (background, mid-ground, foreground) with global Theme and animation via ZAnimBase/ZAnimManager.
* Resource Management & Accessibility: Efficient caching, multilingual support, scalable fonts.
Reduced Third-Party Dependencies: Uses only essential libraries (e.g., single-header image loaders); networking leverages platform tools (DJGPP/Winsock).
Legacy Support & Compiler Standardization: Conditional compilation for DOS/Win16, standardized on DJGPP with GCC 14.2.0 for C++23, with C-style fallbacks for legacy.
Unified Subsystems: Includes Common Utilities, Graphics, Compute, MVC/MVP, Event/Input, Resource & Layout Management, Styling/Theming, plus Networking, Debugging, Testing.
ZincX uses modular subsystems designed for minimal bloat, high performance, and easy integration, with common types and utilities centralized.
Purpose: Provides shared types (Point, Size, Color, Rect) and utilities (logging, error handling, configuration) for all subsystems.
File Structure: /src/common ZCommon.h // Basic types: Point, Size, Color, Rect, etc. ZCommonEnums.h // Centralized enumerations ZLog.h / ZLog.cpp // Logging and error handling ZConfig.h // Global settings
Core Classes: ZGraphicsView: Hosts ZGraphicsItem objects, applies transformations, dispatches events. ZGraphicsScene: Manages scene graph, layout, z-ordering. ZGraphicsItem: Base drawable widget with virtual draw and event callbacks.
Modular Rendering Backends: Abstracted via IZGraphicsBackend (DOS/Text, Vulkan, future APIs).
File Structure: /src/graphics ZGraphicsView.h, ZGraphicsView.cpp ZGraphicsScene.h, ZGraphicsScene.cpp ZGraphicsItem.h, ZGraphicsItem.cpp IZGraphicsBackend.h DOSGraphicsBackend.h, DOSGraphicsBackend.cpp VulkanGraphicsBackend.h, VulkanGraphicsBackend.cpp
Objective: Unified API for compute tasks (image filtering, layout recalculation) with asynchronous processing, leveraging CPU/GPU where available, falling back to single-threaded for legacy.
File Structure: /src/compute ZCompute.h, ZCompute.cpp IZComputeBackend.h VulkanComputeBackend.h, VulkanComputeBackend.cpp CPUComputeBackend.h, CPUComputeBackend.cpp
Components: ZModel: Holds data, supports observer registration. ZView_MVC: View derived from ZGraphicsItem. ZPresenter: Mediates model and view for event handling.
File Structure: /src/mvc ZModel.h, ZModel.cpp ZView_MVC.h, ZView_MVC.cpp ZPresenter.h, ZPresenter.cpp IZStateSerializable.h
Event Management
Purpose: Centralized event generation, propagation, handling (mouse, keyboard, multitouch).
Core Classes: ZEvent: Base event class with derived types (ZMouseEvent, ZKeyEvent). ZEventManager: Queues and dispatches events via bubble-up propagation.
File Structure: /src/event ZEvent.h ZEventManager.h, ZEventManager.cpp
Input Handling
Purpose: Abstracts raw input from devices (mouse, keyboard, touch) into actionable events.
Core Classes: ZInputDevice: Base interface for input devices. ZGestureRecognizer: Converts raw touch data into gesture events (pinch, swipe).
File Structure: /src/input ZInputDevice.h ZGestureRecognizer.h, ZGestureRecognizer.cpp
Resource Management
Purpose: Centralizes loading, caching, unloading of assets (fonts, textures, shaders) with a fast, lightweight LRU cache (16MB modern, 64KB DOS).
File Structure: /src/resource ZResourceManager.h, ZResourceManager.cpp
Layout Management
Purpose: Dynamically arranges UI widgets with responsive design and constraints, leveraging compute acceleration.
Components: Layout types: ZDock, ZSplitter, ZGrid, ZBox (ZHBox, ZVBox). Constraints: Defined via ZLayoutConstraints.
File Structure: /src/layout ZDock.h, ZDock.cpp ZSplitter.h, ZSplitter.cpp ZGrid.h, ZGrid.cpp ZBox.h, ZBox.cpp ZLayoutConstraints.h
Built in C++23, this type-safe, efficient event system uses RAII for memory management, supports multi-observation, and offers optional thread safety with compute acceleration where available.
Key Principles:
* RAII: Resources auto-cleaned via destructors.
* Type Safety: Templated signals ensure correct signatures.
* Multi-Observation: Slots stored in std::vector for multiple observers.
* Connection Management: RAII connection objects auto-disconnect.
* No Meta-Programming: Uses lambdas, templates, no macros.
* Thread Safety: Optional via ZINCX_THREAD_SAFE switch, with std::shared_mutex or single-threaded dummy.
Objective: Centralized styling with widgets rendering across background, mid-ground, and foreground layers, using a global Theme for defaults, state variations, and animations, with compute acceleration.
Core Structures & Classes: Style Elements & WidgetStyle: Define visual properties (background, border, text, shadow) with state-specific variations. Centralized Drawing Functions: Compute-accelerated routines (drawStyleElement, drawText, drawRect, drawCircle).
File Structure: /src/style ZStyle.h, ZStyle.cpp ZAnimBase.h, ZAnimBase.cpp ZAnimManager.h, ZAnimManager.cpp
Overview: Pre-built UI components derive from ZWidget (extends ZView_MVC), integrating styling, layout, undo/redo.
Widget Interoperability: Supports composite widgets (ZTabPanel, ZComboBox) and data binding with models.
File Structure: /src/widgets ZWidget.h, ZWidget.cpp ZCompositeWidget.h, ZCompositeWidget.cpp ZButton.h, ZButton.cpp ZTextField.h, ZTextField.cpp ZComboBox.h, ZComboBox.cpp
Undo/Redo & Serialization: Manages state saving/restoring and scene serialization.
File Structure: /src/undo IZStateSerializable.h ZUndoRedoManager.h, ZUndoRedoManager.cpp ZSceneSerializer.h, ZSceneSerializer.cpp
Internationalization & Accessibility: Multilingual support and widget properties for assistive tech.
File Structure: /src/i18n ZLocale.h, ZLocale.cpp ZAccessibility.h, ZAccessibility.cpp
Printing: Platform-independent printing API.
File Structure: /src/printing ZPrinter.h, ZPrinter.cpp
Image Handling: Supports various image formats with extensible loader system.
File Structure: /src/image ZImage.h, ZImage.cpp ZImageData.h IZImageLoader.h ZImageLoaderRegistry.h, ZImageLoaderRegistry.cpp
Networking Module (Optional): Unified networking interface, using C-style sockets on DOS/Win16, C++23 networking on modern platforms.
File Structure: /src/network ZNet.h, ZNet.cpp
Debugging & Profiling: Built-in logging and performance counters.
File Structure: /src/debug ZProfiler.h, ZProfiler.cpp
Testing & Validation: Unit tests (Catch2), integration tests, benchmarks.
File Structure: /test test_compute.cpp test_graphics.cpp test_style.cpp
Project Structure: /ZincX /src // Subsystem source files by module /include // Public headers /third_party // Essential external libraries CMakeLists.txt
Build Strategy: CMake with static/dynamic linking options, targeting C++17 base with DJGPP/GCC 14.2.0 for C++23 features and legacy fallbacks.
Summary
ZincX modernizes Zinc/OpenZinc with robust legacy support and C++23 capabilities via DJGPP GCC 14.2.0. Its modular architecture ensures a consistent, extensible experience, emphasizing clarity, efficient component grouping, and an elegant API for both retro and modern applications.
- Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/Trilec/ZincX/ZincX.git