Introduction
A graphics path is a set of connected
lines, curves, and other simple graphics objects, including rectangles,
ellipses, and text. A path works
as a single graphics object, so an effect applied to the graphics path will be
applied to all the components of the path. For example, if a graphics path
contains a line, a rectangle, and an ellipse and we draw the path using a red stroke, all three components (line, rectangle, and
ellipse) of the graphics path will be drawn with the red stroke.
The Path object represents a path shape and draws a path.
The Path object draws both closed and open paths. A closed path is a shape that
has same start and end points and an open path is a shape that has different
start and end points.
The Fill property fills the interior of an ellipse. The
Stroke property sets the color and StrokeThickness represents the width of the
outer line of an ellipse.
The Data property of the Path object defines a shape or a
collection of shapes in form of Geometry.
The following code snippet creates an arc shape using a
path.
<Path Stroke="Black"
StrokeThickness="4"
Data="M 80,200 A 100,50 45 1 0 100,50" />
The output looks like Figure 8.
![PathImg1.gif]()
Figure 8
Before I discuss paths any further, we need to understand
the Geometry class, its members, and its related classes.
Understanding Geometry
The Geometry class that defines the geometry of a shape
plays a vital role in creating paths. This class cannot be used directly but
used in the forms of its derived classes LineGeometry, RectangleGeometry,
EllipseGeometry, GroupGeometry, PathGeometry, CombinedGeometry, and
StreamGeometry. These geometry objects can be used for clipping, hit-testing,
and rending complex shapes.
The LineGeometry class represents the geometry of a line.
The StartPoint and EndPoint properties of the LineGeometry class define the
start and end points of a line. The following code snippet creates geometry of
a line.
<LineGeometry StartPoint="20,50"
EndPoint="200,50" />
The RectangleGeometry class represents the geometry of a
rectangle. The Rect property of the RectangleGeomerty defines the starting
points, width, and height of a rectangle. The following code snippet creates
geometry of a rectangle.
<RectangleGeometry Rect="80,167 150 30"/>
The EllipseGeometry class represents the geometry of an
ellipse. The Center property of the EllipseGeomerty defines the center of an
ellipse. The RadiusX and RadiusY define the width and height of an ellipse. The
following code snippet creates geometry of an ellipse.
<EllipseGeometry Center="80,150"
RadiusX="50" RadiusY="50"
/>
The GeometryGroup is
creates a composite geometry that is a combination of multiple Geometry
objects.
The code listed in Listing
8 creates a GeometryGroup with three geometry shapes – a line, an ellipse, and
a rectangle and sets the Data property of a path.
<Path Stroke="Black"
StrokeThickness="3" Fill="Blue"
>
<Path.Data>
<GeometryGroup >
<LineGeometry StartPoint="20,200"
EndPoint="300,200" />
<EllipseGeometry Center="80,150"
RadiusX="50" RadiusY="50"
/>
<RectangleGeometry Rect="80,167 150
30"/>
</GeometryGroup>
</Path.Data>
</Path>
Listing 8
The output of Listing 8
looks like Figure 9.
![PathImg2.gif]()
Figure 9. A composite shape
The FillRule property of
the GeometryGroup class specifies how the intersecting areas of geometry
objects in a GeometryGroup are combined. It has two values – EvenOdd and
NonZero. The default value of the
FillRule is EvenOdd. In this case, the intersecting area of two shapes is not
filled. In case of NonZero, the interesting area of two shapes is filled. By
setting the FillRule to NonZero generates Figure 10.
![PathImg3.gif]()
Figure 10. A composite shape with NonZero FillRule
The code listed in
Listing 9 creates Figure 9 dynamically. As you can see from Listing 9, we
create a LineGeometry, an EllipseGeometry, and a RectangleGeometry and then we
create a GroupGeometry and add all three geometries to the GroupGeometry. After
that, we simply set the Data property of Path to the GroupGeometry.
/// <summary>
/// Creates a blue path with black stroke
/// </summary>
public void CreateAPath()
{
// Create a blue
and a black Brush
SolidColorBrush blueBrush = new SolidColorBrush();
blueBrush.Color = Colors.Blue;
SolidColorBrush
blackBrush = new SolidColorBrush();
blackBrush.Color = Colors.Black;
// Create a Path
with black brush and blue fill
Path
bluePath = new Path();
bluePath.Stroke = blackBrush;
bluePath.StrokeThickness = 3;
bluePath.Fill = blueBrush;
// Create a line
geometry
LineGeometry
blackLineGeometry = new LineGeometry();
blackLineGeometry.StartPoint = new Point(20,
200);
blackLineGeometry.EndPoint = new Point(300,
200);
// Create an
ellipse geometry
EllipseGeometry
blackEllipseGeometry = new EllipseGeometry();
blackEllipseGeometry.Center = new Point(80,
150);
blackEllipseGeometry.RadiusX = 50;
blackEllipseGeometry.RadiusY = 50;
// Create a
rectangle geometry
RectangleGeometry
blackRectGeometry = new RectangleGeometry();
Rect rct
= new Rect();
rct.X = 80;
rct.Y = 167;
rct.Width = 150;
rct.Height = 30;
blackRectGeometry.Rect = rct;
// Add all the
geometries to a GeometryGroup.
GeometryGroup
blueGeometryGroup = new GeometryGroup();
blueGeometryGroup.Children.Add(blackLineGeometry);
blueGeometryGroup.Children.Add(blackEllipseGeometry);
blueGeometryGroup.Children.Add(blackRectGeometry);
// Set Path.Data
bluePath.Data = blueGeometryGroup;
LayoutRoot.Children.Add(bluePath);
}
Listing 9
If we need to generate a
single geometry, we do not need to use a GeometryGroup. We can simply set a
geometry as the Data of the Path. The following code snippet sets an
EllipseGeometry as the Data property of a Path.
<Path Stroke="Black"
StrokeThickness="3" Fill="Blue"
>
<Path.Data>
<EllipseGeometry Center="80,150"
RadiusX="50" RadiusY="50"
/>
</Path.Data>
</Path>