Member Avatar for geekme

I need to implement graphics in c++.what IDE should I use and what are the library files required for it?
Note-I have just a week time so please tell some suitable way by which I can learn.
Regards

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Short expert summary for and follow-up to the thread: for a one-week prototype of a router/packet visualiser it is faster to use a high‑level 2D library or a GUI toolkit with simple drawing primitives rather than learning low‑level OpenGL/DirectX from scratch. As pointed out, raw OpenGL is powerful but has a learning cost; and correctly emphasise choosing tools by OS and scope; ’s point about reusing existing network visualisers is worth considering if the goal is visualization only.

Practical stack options and why: a minimal path is a lightweight C++ 2D library (for example, SFML or SDL) for windowing, input and simple drawing — fastest ramp-up for animated circles/lines. If UI widgets (buttons, file dialogs) are needed, use Qt or wxWidgets; they take longer to learn but give polished controls. On Windows a modern Visual Studio (Community) workflow is common; on Linux/macOS a Code::Blocks/Makefile or CLion workflow works fine.

One-week MVP plan (concrete): Day 1 — install IDE + chosen library and render a blank window; Day 2 — draw nodes as circles and static links as lines; Day 3 — implement a simple graph model and load node coordinates (or use a circular/grid layout); Day 4 — add a packet object and animate it along links; Day 5 — add basic controls (start/stop/step) and labels; Day 6 — visual debugging (colors, traces, FPS) and Day 7 — polish and test. Keep simulation logic separate from rendering and run both in the same main loop to avoid threading headaches for a prototype.

Tiny animation pattern (pseudo): 

progress = clamp((now - startTime) / duration, 0, 1);
pos = src + (dst - src) * progress;
drawCircle(pos);

Troubleshooting notes: match library architecture (x86 vs x64) and debug/release runtimes; set include and link paths in the IDE; if encountering crashes on launch, check for missing runtime DLLs. For speed, prefer deterministic fixed time steps for simulation updates and keep rendering as a separate frame rate.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for sfuo

This depends on what you mean by graphics. OpenGL/GLUT since GLUT makes it very easy to use graphics without knowing anything about OpenGL.

Member Avatar for jonsca

You need to be much more specific about your requirements before anyone can even begin to help you. Since you only have 1 week, you're going to have to be conservative about your goals, as some of these libraries take months to learn.

Member Avatar for Kanoisa

As regards to which IDE you need? that very much depends on as mentioned above what you hope to achieve, and what OS you use, If you want full 3D graphics then you are most likely looking at openGL DirectX or SDL and if you are talking about user IF ie a GUI app then you will likely use QT, WXwidgets or similar.

If you are running windows then the VSExpress IDE's can accommodate for any of the above OpenGL and Direct X Come in the system but you need an SDK for DirectX as far as i'm aware. If you are using *nix then i would think that Code::Blocks or EclipseCDT would be a weapon of choice.

As jonsca and sfuo have already mentioned however we do need a clear description of what you know and wish to achieve to better advise you.

Member Avatar for geekme

As far as description goes, I need to implement a network router and graphics do not have to be 3D.Simple and easy to learn graphics is needed to show nodes of graph and simulation of packets across a link.
KIndly help.

Member Avatar for Kanoisa

For that then i would say WXwidgets or QT. Both have good examples and are cross platform, I personally use WXwidgets but i have been told that QT becomes more manageable for larger projects. Both support GUI with embedded openGL rendering windows. this could be what you are looking for try a google search of them and look at some examples to see which you like the look of best and which feels right to you.

I was able to grasp the basics of WXwidgets by going through the tutorials in a few hours and playing with the code to see how changing various things changed the application.

Member Avatar for L7Sqr

As far as description goes, I need to implement a network router and graphics do not have to be 3D.Simple and easy to learn graphics is needed to show nodes of graph and simulation of packets across a link.
KIndly help.

Any reason you can't use nam (with ns-2)?

Member Avatar for geekme

What would be the suitable IDE for WXwidgets???VS or Turbo c++ ??

Member Avatar for Kanoisa

I used VS 2008. I have no experience of turbo C++ so i cant say if its any good or not but i would think that any IDE will be able to hook up to WXwidgets as its just a collection of libraries.

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