Description

TextureMind Framework is written in C++ language and it has been designed for the development of a wide range of cross-platform applications in C++ language. The framework is composed by a set of classes to facilitate multi-threading, serialization, ipc, networking, graphics and computer vision. The framework comes along applications to speed-up the creation of images, animations, GUIs and videogames. It has been coded by me from scratch with the aim of reaching the highest standards after years of professional experience in the field of computer programming.

Background

TextureMind Framework derives from an old abandoned framework programmed by me that was called CJS Framework. The initial aim was to create an opensource project for multiple target languages, with a valid and interchangable architecture for data structure serialization. After years of development, the framework was renamed to TextureMind Framework and developed only in C++ in the form of a closed source project. The aim to cover multiple target languages has been abandoned for developing other aspects, like graphics with GPU rendering, shader programming, advanced GUI, audio, 3D engines and so on. TextureMind Framework integrates also another abandoned framework developed by me in 8 years (2004-2012) which is called Unrelated Framework, for a total of about 20 years of development. The framework is now so advanced and well structured (thanks to a super-modular architecture with a custom variant of serializable component object model) that can be used already to develop professional applications and video games with modern GPU graphics. It has been used to create DWorkSim for executing benchmark tests of GPU instances like g5 or g6 during my job experience in AWS / EC2.

Basic principles

• Few dependencies. Most modern applications are gigantic bundles of third-party dependencies. While the adage “avoid reinventing the wheel” may be true, it is also true that including myriads of external projects into a single one only complicates build maintenance, increasing build times and portability to other platforms. To avoid this, I set myself the goal of using as few external dependencies as possible, even at the cost of reinventing many little wheels within a single huge consistent project. As reward, the entire framework takes only 3 minutes and a half to build in release mode, while other similar projects may take hours.
• Robustness. Everything in the framework has been programmed from scratch to guarantee robustness in the basic operations, like memory management, containers, data structures, parsing and serialization. The framework has been used to create other applications for years and the basic functionalities have been stress-tested with billions of iterations. The serialization format used to save data never crashes even if you replace bytes with salt and pepper noise.
• Consistency. The framework has been entirely coded in C++ with the less number of external libraries possible. Not even the Standard Template Library has been used, to prefer a custom implementation with an higher degree of control. A modular architecture has been used to avoid monoliths and to create plugins: multiple executables in the same project can share code with dynamic libraries. On Windows, the CRT have been included in the build because the software architecture allows it, so you don't have to install Microsoft redistributables to make it work, You can run even in a clean Windows installation without having to install anything else.
• Simplicity. Complexity exists only when something is done badly or is poorly done. The entire framework was created with the goal of being simple and making life easier for those who use it. Everything must be about simplicity, from programming to projects building, installation, application usage and configuration.
• High performance. All the algorithms and solutions have been designed for working with the highest performance, without having to rely on expensive hardware.
• Low resources. The applications created with the framework must work at best with the minimum requirements possible in terms of hardware, memory and CPU usage. What can be executed with the GPU must provide always a via-software alternative to run on GPU-less machines: this is important to reduce the costs if you are dealing with paid virtual machines in a cloud service.
• Scalability. The framework could be used to create a wide range of software, from the pacman clone to client/server applications, interposition libraries or games with unreal engine 5 graphics. It can build on a wide range of platforms with different requirements, from the oldest to the latest operating systems. For example, an application could start on Windows 7 but also on Windows 11, or maybe it may have a build for Raspberry PI or, even more extremely, for AmigaOS 4.1.
• Hard-work. The entire framework has been developed over the years by one person (me), making difficult choices that would only pay off after a huge amount of effort and without ever compromising or taking shortcuts. This has paid off a lot over time, and will probably be the key to success for the entire project in the future, given that the modern trend tends in the opposite direction.
• Passion. The framework is not born with the purpose of making money, building fame and popularity, but with the purpose of creating something beautiful for the pure pleasure of doing it. Programming is not seen as a mere tool to achieve a goal but as a pure form of art, without giving up the highest standards of modern computer science.
• No greed for money. The framework will also be used for commercial projects but not for the greed of making money. If it works well, otherwise so be it. No big company will ever be able to get their hands on this project to make it their playground, so it will always be true to its basic principles. This project will never use clickbait, advertizing or clever gimmicks to attract users' attention: if it gets noticed it will only be thanks to the quality of the results obtained.

Supported Systems

Today:

• Windows
• Linux
• MacOS
• Emscripten

In the future:

• Android
• iOS
• Nintendo Switch
• Playstation 4/5
• XBox One
• ReactOS
• AmigaOS 4.1

Dependencies

• FreeType
• Cairo
• Vulkan
• ShaderC
• Direct3D 11
• AssImp
• OpenALSoft
• libOgg
• libVorbis
• OpenSSL

Applications

• TextureMind Desktop
• DWorkSim

What are the best features of TextureMind Framework?

Architecture

- A modular object-oriented architecture based on a custom variant of serializable component object model
- A plugin system based on coherent component module dependencies
- Core functionalities with zero external dependencies
- Create a single exe application or split into multiple dll modules

Serialization

- An abstraction layer for extending serialization to a virtually unlimited number of formats
- Built-in serialization in raw, json and xml formats
- A proprietary binary format (similar to protobuf) for portable forward and backward compatible serialization of structured data

Script languages

- A custom parser to analyze and re-interpret different programming languages, like ansi c or javascript
- An abstraction layer to compile and execute at runtime (or jit) a virtually unlimited number of programming languages
- Built-in support for Ansi C through TinyC library
- Possibility to access framework's functionality through programming languages

Graphics

- An abstraction layer for 2D and 3D rendering
- Built-in implementation with Vulkan and Cairo libraries
- An extremely modular material system based on visual expression nodes
- Materials are dinamically converted into SPIR-V binaries with shaderc library
- Material nodes can be programmed in a GLSL variant compatible with ShaderToy
- Bitmap and outline font rendering
- Skinned mesh animated via GPU
- Particle system, Lighting, PBR, LOD (wip)
- Real-time raytracing with RTX technology (wip)

Audio

- An abstraction layer for 2D and 3D audio rendering
- Built-in implementation with OpenAL Soft
- GPU interoperability, support for audio shader

2D and 3D Engines

- Specialize engines into different directions (Graphics, Audio, Physics)
- A proprietary 3D mesh format fully compatible with all the existing formats
- Static and dynamic resources management for Textures, Materials and Templates
- 2D and 3D scene formats
- An animation system based on key-frames where every variable can be animated with linear and spherical interpolation
- A template system for supporting animated characters and to avoid redundancy
- An abstraction layer to import 3D models
- Import any 3D model with built-in assimp library implementation

GUI

- An advanced and fully skinnable widget system
- An abstraction layer for CPU and GPU rendering
- Full deterministic control over rendered frames
- Can be used to create both applications and games
- Built-in composed widgets like form windows, text editors, treeviews, comboboxes, menus, tabstrips and toolbars
- Support for display scaling on Windows and fractional scaling on Linux