3D Programming: Chapter III Tools of the Trade

Chapter III Tools of the Trade

Graphical programmers can assist in writing shader, developing debugging applications, and creating resources through a variety of excellent tools. Fortunately most of the tools are free to use because learning graphics doesn't require a lot of investment. This chapter will introduce some of the best tools on the market today.

Microsoft Visual Studio

Microsoft Visual Studio is a complete set of integrated development environments for writing software on the Microsoft platform. Supports a variety of programming languages and hardware platforms, including Windows Phone,xbox 360, and Xbox one. Our main consideration is vs to C + + and HLSL support, which integrates the VS graphics debugger.

Visual Studio has released 10 major versions since the middle of the 90. The latest version, VS2013 (now VS2015), is also the version used in this book. VS has a variety of paid versions that correspond to different functional features. However, the VS2013 Express desktop version is free, providing most of the functionality we need.

Figure 3.1 Visual Studio 2013.