HLSL and Pixel Shaders for XAML Developers

Pixel shaders are some of the more powerful graphic tools available for XAML programmers, but shader development bears little resemblance to traditional .NET programming. With this hands-on book, you’ll not only discover how to use existing shaders in your Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Silverlight applications, you’ll also learn how create your own effects with XAML and Microsoft’s HLSL shading language.In the process, you’ll write, compile, and test custom XAML shaders with the Shazzam Shader Editor, a free utility developed by author Walt Ritscher. The book includes XAML and C# sample code, and Shazzam contains all of the sample shaders discussed.Learn how shaders help you extend the GPU’s rendering capabilitiesExplore prevailing shader types, such as color modification, blurring, and spatial transformationGet a quick tour of the shader features, and use pre-built effects on image elements in your applicationExamine the XAML ShaderEffect class to understand how WPF and Silverlight use shadersLearn about the shader-specific tools available in Visual Studio and Expression BlendGet up to speed on HLSL basics and learn how to create a variety of graphics effects