B4A Library [Lib] Accelerated surface

This library provides a dedicated drawing surface embedded inside a view, which benefits from the hardware acceleration. With it, you get the speed of OpenGL for 2D without the complexity.
It includes many Canvas methods (with anti-aliasing, matrix and camera) and a few useful methods for Bitmaps and Drawables (AlterColors, Crop, LoadNinePatch, ReduceColors, SetDensity, etc.). You can import the Matrix, Camera, Paint and Path objects from another library (if they are not wrapped).

You can use it to make games:

It includes a tool (TextFactory) to do nice titles (that you can export to a bitmap):

It supports Porter-Duff modes, color filters and texture blending (the processing time is very fast):

The archive includes four benchmarks:

Because of my lack of (free) time, don't expect answers from me about this library if you're not one of my donors.

Download the latest version (1.12)
To convert a project from v0.9x to v1.x, read this.

Hints & Tips

This library does not work with Android versions < 2 (Eclair and Froyo may exhibit performance problems, so I recommend only Gingerbread or a newer version for animations with a high FPS).
The hardware acceleration is not enabled with Android versions < 3.

 

[Informatix]

Will you lib correct the GIF transparency issue on 4.4 and above?

I'm not aware of this issue (and to be honest, talking of GIF in 2015 is like talking of Windows 3.1 so I won't do anything to fix it).

 

[Bill Kantz]

I dont have a choice there coming off a server I don't control.

 

[wimpie3]

Is it possible to copy a part of the accelerated surface and paste it somewhere (in the same surface or a second one)?

 

[Informatix]

No.

 

[wimpie3]

So when I want to animate something on the surface, like sliding the contents away, I have to draw the animation step-by-step in the draw function myself? :-(

 

[Informatix]

So when I want to animate something on the surface, like sliding the contents away, I have to draw the animation step-by-step in the draw function myself? :-(

I can't see the relationship with your previous question, but yes. There's no tweening animator included. There's none with the Canvas too.

 

[wimpie3]

What I'm trying to do is rather simple. I have created a drawing on the accelerated surface and I want to cut the drawing in two and slide one part to the left and one part to the right of the screen. I was trying to do that by copying a part of the surface to the same surface again, but each time shifted to the left of right with one pixel to create the sliding effect. But that doesn't seem to be possible...?

 

[Informatix]

What I'm trying to do is rather simple. I have created a drawing on the accelerated surface and I want to cut the drawing in two and slide one part to the left and one part to the right of the screen. I was trying to do that by copying a part of the surface to the same surface again, but each time shifted to the left of right with one pixel to create the sliding effect. But that doesn't seem to be possible...?

Your best option is to render the surface to a bitmap (with the Bitmap property) and crop the resulting bitmap (with the ImageUtils.Crop function).

 

[wimpie3]

As soon as I try to do this:

myBitmap=utils.Crop(AcSf.Bitmap,1,1,100,100)

I get an error:

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: width and height must be > 0

How on earth is that possible?

 

[Informatix]

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: width and height must be > 0

How on earth is that possible?

I don't know. Did you check that AcSf.Bitmap has a width or height > 0 ?

 

[wimpie3]

    Dim bm As Bitmap
    bm=AcSF.Bitmap
    Log("bm width=" & bm.Width & " bm height=" & bm.Height)

The log-line is never reached. Android crashes on "AcSF.Bitmap". It seems that as soon as you generate the bitmap in the accelerated surface, something goes wrong.

main_vvv7 (java line: 524)
java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: width and height must be > 0
    at android.graphics.Bitmap.nativeCreate(Native Method)
    at android.graphics.Bitmap.createBitmap(Bitmap.java:695)
    at flm.b4a.accelerview.AcceleratedSurface.getBitmap(AcceleratedSurface.java:172)
    at b4a.example.main._vvv7(main.java:524)
    at b4a.example.main._vv1(main.java:782)
    at b4a.example.main._acsf1_touch(main.java:371)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:507)
    at anywheresoftware.b4a.BA.raiseEvent2(BA.java:187)
    at anywheresoftware.b4a.BA.raiseEvent2(BA.java:175)
    at anywheresoftware.b4a.BA.raiseEvent(BA.java:171)
    at flm.b4a.accelerview.AcceleratedSurface$1.onTouch(AcceleratedSurface.java:57)
    at android.view.View.dispatchTouchEvent(View.java:3928)
    at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchTouchEvent(ViewGroup.java:1015)
    at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchTouchEvent(ViewGroup.java:1015)
    at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchTouchEvent(ViewGroup.java:1015)
    at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchTouchEvent(ViewGroup.java:1015)
    at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchTouchEvent(ViewGroup.java:1015)
    at com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneWindow$DecorView.superDispatchTouchEvent(PhoneWindow.java:1784)
    at com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneWindow.superDispatchTouchEvent(PhoneWindow.java:1157)
    at android.app.Activity.dispatchTouchEvent(Activity.java:2181)
    at com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneWindow$DecorView.dispatchTouchEvent(PhoneWindow.java:1759)
    at android.view.ViewRoot.deliverPointerEvent(ViewRoot.java:2336)
    at android.view.ViewRoot.handleMessage(ViewRoot.java:1976)
    at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:99)
    at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:143)
    at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:4263)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:507)
    at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:839)
    at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:597)
    at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)
java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: width and height must be > 0

 

[Informatix]

    Dim bm As Bitmap
    bm=AcSF.Bitmap
    Log("bm width=" & bm.Width & " bm height=" & bm.Height)

The log-line is never reached. Android crashes on "AcSF.Bitmap". It seems that as soon as you generate the bitmap in the accelerated surface, something goes wrong.

main_vvv7 (java line: 524)
java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: width and height must be > 0
    at android.graphics.Bitmap.nativeCreate(Native Method)
    at android.graphics.Bitmap.createBitmap(Bitmap.java:695)
    at flm.b4a.accelerview.AcceleratedSurface.getBitmap(AcceleratedSurface.java:172)
    at b4a.example.main._vvv7(main.java:524)
    at b4a.example.main._vv1(main.java:782)
    at b4a.example.main._acsf1_touch(main.java:371)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:507)
    at anywheresoftware.b4a.BA.raiseEvent2(BA.java:187)
    at anywheresoftware.b4a.BA.raiseEvent2(BA.java:175)
    at anywheresoftware.b4a.BA.raiseEvent(BA.java:171)
    at flm.b4a.accelerview.AcceleratedSurface$1.onTouch(AcceleratedSurface.java:57)
    at android.view.View.dispatchTouchEvent(View.java:3928)
    at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchTouchEvent(ViewGroup.java:1015)
    at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchTouchEvent(ViewGroup.java:1015)
    at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchTouchEvent(ViewGroup.java:1015)
    at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchTouchEvent(ViewGroup.java:1015)
    at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchTouchEvent(ViewGroup.java:1015)
    at com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneWindow$DecorView.superDispatchTouchEvent(PhoneWindow.java:1784)
    at com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneWindow.superDispatchTouchEvent(PhoneWindow.java:1157)
    at android.app.Activity.dispatchTouchEvent(Activity.java:2181)
    at com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneWindow$DecorView.dispatchTouchEvent(PhoneWindow.java:1759)
    at android.view.ViewRoot.deliverPointerEvent(ViewRoot.java:2336)
    at android.view.ViewRoot.handleMessage(ViewRoot.java:1976)
    at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:99)
    at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:143)
    at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:4263)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:507)
    at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:839)
    at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:597)
    at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)
java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: width and height must be > 0

The bitmap cannot be rendered from inside the rendering (_Draw) event. You have to create it from another event (the Update event, any touch event, etc.).

 

[wimpie3]

That's exactly what I'm doing... I'm getting the bitmap in a sub fired by the TOUCH event. NOT in the draw event.

 

[Informatix]

That's exactly what I'm doing... I'm getting the bitmap in a sub fired by the TOUCH event. NOT in the draw event.

Could you post your code?

 

[wimpie3]

After pulling my hair out for a few hours, I have found the solution. I had this in my code:

panel.AddView(AcSf, 0, 0, -1, -1)

Turns out the accelerated surface does indeed take the entire space as you would imagine (with the -1,-1 parameter). HOWEVER, something goes wrong inside the library if you do this.

Changing the code to

panel.AddView(AcSf, 0, 0, 500dip, 500dip)

did the trick: -1 is not supported...

 

[wimpie3]

I see your library supports a function called LoadNinePatchDrawable, but I cannot figure out how to draw the loaded ninepatch to the accelerated canvas... there is no example for this available.

 

[Informatix]

I see your library supports a function called LoadNinePatchDrawable, but I cannot figure out how to draw the loaded ninepatch to the accelerated canvas... there is no example for this available.

Use DrawDrawable to draw the drawable loaded with this function.

 

[wimpie3]

Thanks.

Is it possible to draw on the accelerated canvas without the canvas being visible to the user? You can create a canvas and set it invisible, but the draw event is never fired when you do that.

 

[Informatix]

Is it possible to draw on the accelerated canvas without the canvas being visible to the user? You can create a canvas and set it invisible, but the draw event is never fired when you do that.

A canvas, accelerated or not, is a surface to show drawings. So what's the usefulness to hide it when you draw onto it? At worst, mask it behind a panel.

 

[wimpie3]

You've said so yourself:

If you draw repeatedly the background of your surface with the same scene, you may save the result as a bitmap (cf. the Bitmap property) and set this bitmap as the background of the surface

I have about fifty things I want to draw in the background each time at every draw event. So at the start of my program, I create a temporary accelerated surface, draw the fifty bitmaps on that surface, take a "picture" of that surface with the bitmap method and use that bitmap as the background on a second accelerated surface.

The problem is that the initial draw of the bitmap at the start of my program is visible, and I wanted to avoid that.