On Mac OS X, Macintosh developers depend on the graphics and imaging frameworks of the Core Graphics system to implement multimedia features in their applications. With Core Graphics Apple has answered the increasing demands of graphics developers with a powerful collection of tools, including Quartz 2D and Core Image. Quartz 2D is a modern drawing API with a powerful imaging model. Beginning with Mac OS X 10.4, Tiger, Quartz 2D replaces the QuickDraw® graphics library in legacy applications and provides the functionality developers need to take advantage of the latest hardware.

Quartz 2D Graphics for Mac OS X® Developers is a hands-on guide and introduction to Quartz 2D. Differences between the interfaces and features of QuickDraw and Quartz 2D are making the switch challenging for developers. Through in-depth practical coverage, Mac developer and consultant Scott Thompson leads you smoothly through the transition and sets you on the path to developing cutting edge graphics in Core Image.

Through this invaluable guide, you will learn how to

• Forge connections between Quartz 2D and graphics devices using CGContexts
• Simplify the drawing process using transformations
• Draw line art using path-drawing operations on Bezier paths
• Use pixel data to create images
• Import and export images from Quartz 2D with Image I/O and QuickTime
• Generate text and implement special text effects
• Draw in offscreen environments, such as CGLayers and offscreen bitmaps
• Create shadings and patterns
• Create PDFs from Quartz 2D drawings or import PDFs into your drawings

If you depend on QuickDraw for your graphics needs, or are interested in a system that pushes the envelope in computer graphics, now is the time to make the switch to Core Graphics (Quartz 2D, Core Image). This is the book that walks you through that change–step-by-step!

The companion CD-ROM contains projects and source code covered in this book so you can run each sample. The samples demonstrate how to call Quartz 2D from both Carbon and Cocoa applications as well as from Mac OS X’s Python scripting interface.

About The Author

R. Scott Thompson is currently a software engineer at Mindjet Corporation (www.mindjet.com). He has been a professional Macintosh developer since 1993. Working with Apple as an independent consultant he helped developers move their applications from the classic Mac OS to Mac OS X. Prior to that, Scott was an engineer with Macromedia helping to create a popular PostScript-based print publishing application.

Customer Reviews & Comments
I thought this was a great book for Mac programmers who want to know more about Quartz. It is well written and easy to follow. There is a CD-ROM with the sample code included with the book. It covers the essentials and gives "Best Practices" advice on actually using Quartz in a professional program, including performance issues. R. Scott Thompson is a talented author and I hope he will write more programming books in the future. It starts with a clear introduction to Quartz, but gets right to some useful techniques, such as off-screen bitmaps, writing images to a PNG file, etc. It covers the basics, like CGContexts, Affine transforms, Bezier curves, and Paths, in a clear and insightful manner. You could learn most of this material from the manuals, but Scott has a way of clearing things up and making you feel comfortable with the topic. The examples he gives are short but useful in learning the subtle points of the Quartz API. Next comes a more in-depth look at off-screen drawing, clipping and the masking of images. Scott shows you how to work with PNG, JPEG data, and gives code for importing and exporting other image formats using QuickTime. I especially like the chapter on Core Image, which isn't covered anywhere else. Scott shows you how to wrap the API in C to gain access to the powerful filters and transition effects provided by Core Image. This book is not a complete reference or encyclopedia of the Quartz API, (get "Programming with Quartz" by Gelphman & Laden for that). Mac programmers will want both. Comment | Permalink | (Report this)