Device-Independent Graphics and Abstraction

Because of the wide variety of graphics output devices, from video displays to laser printers and plotters, the most important characteristic of any graphics API is device-independence. Without device-independence, the application programmer would be faced with great complexity and the chore of implementing many versions of the same graphics programs.

Figure 11-1 illustrates the basic architecture of a graphics system. An application calls functions that are provided by a graphics API. Each supported graphics device comes with a suitable driver. The graphics system takes care of translating device-independent calls into device-specific calls through the driver.

Figure 11-1. Architecture of a typical ...

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