Quartz 2D Programming

Guide
Contents

Introduction 14
Who Should Read This Document? 14
Organization of This Document 14
See Also 15

Overview of Quartz 2D 17
The Page 17
Drawing Destinations: The Graphics Context 18
Quartz 2D Opaque Data Types 20
Graphics States 22
Quartz 2D Coordinate Systems 23
Memory Management: Object Ownership 26

Graphics Contexts 27
Drawing to a View Graphics Context in iOS 27
Creating a Window Graphics Context in Mac OS X 28
Creating a PDF Graphics Context 30
Creating a Bitmap Graphics Context 35
Supported Pixel Formats 39
Anti-Aliasing 40
Obtaining a Graphics Context for Printing 41

Paths 42
Path Creation and Path Painting 42
The Building Blocks 44
Points 44
Lines 44
Arcs 45
Curves 46
Closing a Subpath 48
Ellipses 49
Rectangles 49
Creating a Path 50
Painting a Path 51

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Contents

Parameters That Affect Stroking 52

Functions for Stroking a Path 54
Filling a Path 55
Setting Blend Modes 56
Clipping to a Path 66

Color and Color Spaces 68

About Color and Color Spaces 68
The Alpha Value 69
Creating Color Spaces 71
Creating Device-Independent Color Spaces 71
Creating Generic Color Spaces 72
Creating Device Color Spaces 72
Creating Indexed and Pattern Color Spaces 73
Setting and Creating Colors 73
Setting Rendering Intent 75

Transforms 76
About Quartz Transformation Functions 77
Modifying the Current Transformation Matrix 77
Creating Affine Transforms 83
Evaluating Affine Transforms 85
Getting the User to Device Space Transform 85
The Math Behind the Matrices 85

Patterns 89
The Anatomy of a Pattern 89
Colored Patterns and Stencil (Uncolored) Patterns 93
Tiling 94
How Patterns Work 94
Painting Colored Patterns 95
Write a Callback Function That Draws a Colored Pattern Cell 95
Set Up the Colored Pattern Color Space 97
Set Up the Anatomy of the Colored Pattern 97
Specify the Colored Pattern as a Fill or Stroke Pattern 99
Draw With the Colored Pattern 99
A Complete Colored Pattern Painting Function 99
Painting Stencil Patterns 101
Write a Callback Function That Draws a Stencil Pattern Cell 102
Set Up the Stencil Pattern Color Space 103

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Contents

Set Up the Anatomy of the Stencil Pattern 104

Specify the Stencil Pattern as a Fill or Stroke Pattern 104
Drawing with the Stencil Pattern 104
A Complete Stencil Pattern Painting Function 104

Shadows 107
How Shadows Work 108
Shadow Drawing Conventions Vary Based on the Context 108
Painting with Shadows 108

Gradients 112
Axial and Radial Gradient Examples 112
A Comparison of CGShading and CGGradient Objects 115
Extending Color Beyond the End of a Gradient 116
Using a CGGradient Object 118
Using a CGShading Object 121
Painting an Axial Gradient Using a CGShading Object 123
Painting a Radial Gradient Using a CGShading Object 130
See Also 135

Transparency Layers 136

How Transparency Layers Work 137
Painting to a Transparency Layer 138

Data Management in Quartz 2D 140

Moving Data into Quartz 2D 141
Moving Data out of Quartz 2D 143
Moving Data Between Quartz 2D and Core Image in Mac OS X 144

Bitmap Images and Image Masks 146

About Bitmap Images and Image Masks 147
Bitmap Image Information 147
Decode Array 148
Pixel Format 149
Color Spaces and Bitmap Layout 149
Creating Images 151
Creating an Image From Part of a Larger Image 152
Creating an Image from a Bitmap Graphics Context 153
Creating an Image Mask 154
Masking Images 155

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Contents

Masking an Image with an Image Mask 155

Masking an Image with an Image 157
Masking an Image with Color 158
Masking an Image by Clipping the Context 162
Using Blend Modes with Images 164
Normal Blend Mode 165
Multiply Blend Mode 166
Screen Blend Mode 167
Overlay Blend Mode 167
Darken Blend Mode 168
Lighten Blend Mode 169
Color Dodge Blend Mode 170
Color Burn Blend Mode 170
Soft Light Blend Mode 171
Hard Light Blend Mode 172
Difference Blend Mode 173
Exclusion Blend Mode 174
Hue Blend Mode 175
Saturation Blend Mode 176
Color Blend Mode 177
Luminosity Blend Mode 177

Core Graphics Layer Drawing 179

How Layer Drawing Works 180
Drawing with a Layer 181
Create a CGLayer Object Initialized with an Existing Graphics Context 182
Get a Graphics Context for the Layer 182
Draw to the CGLayer Graphics Context 182
Draw the Layer to the Destination Graphics Context 183
Example: Using Multiple CGLayer Objects to Draw a Flag 184

PDF Document Creation, Viewing, and Transforming 190

Opening and Viewing a PDF 191
Creating a Transform for a PDF Page 193
Creating a PDF File 196
Adding Links 198
Protecting PDF Content 198

PDF Document Parsing 200

Inspecting PDF Document Structure 200

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Contents

Parsing PDF Content 202

Write Callbacks for Operators 203
Create and Set Up the Operator Table 204
Open the PDF Document 205
Scan the Content Stream for Each Page 206

PostScript Conversion 208

Writing Callbacks 208
Filling In a Callbacks Structure 209
Creating a PostScript Converter Object 210
Creating Data Provider and Data Consumer Objects 210
Performing the Conversion 211

Text 212

Glossary 213

Document Revision History 216

Swift 13

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Figures, Tables, and Listings

Overview of Quartz 2D 17
Figure 1-1 The painter’s model 18
Figure 1-2 Quartz drawing destinations 19
Figure 1-3 Opaque data types are the basis of drawing primitives in Quartz 2D 21
Figure 1-4 The Quartz coordinate system 23
Figure 1-5 Modifying the coordinate system creates a mirrored image. 25
Table 1-1 Parameters that are associated with the graphics state 22

Graphics Contexts 27
Figure 2-1 A view in the Cocoa framework that contains Quartz drawing 28
Figure 2-2 A PDF created by using CGPDFContextCreateWithURL 30
Figure 2-3 An image created from a bitmap graphics context and drawn to a window graphics context
39
Figure 2-4 A comparison of aliased and anti-aliasing drawing 41
Table 2-1 Pixel formats supported for bitmap graphics contexts 40
Listing 2-1 Drawing to a window graphics context 29
Listing 2-2 Calling CGPDFContextCreateWithURL to create a PDF graphics context 31
Listing 2-3 Calling CGPDFContextCreate to create a PDF graphics context 32
Listing 2-4 Drawing to a PDF graphics context 33
Listing 2-5 Creating a bitmap graphics context 36
Listing 2-6 Drawing to a bitmap graphics context 38

Paths 42
Figure 3-1 Quartz supports path-based drawing 42
Figure 3-2 A path that contains two shapes, or subpaths 43
Figure 3-3 A clipping area constrains drawing 43
Figure 3-4 Multiple paths; each path contains a randomly generated circle 45
Figure 3-5 Defining an arc with two tangent lines and a radius 46
Figure 3-6 Multiple paths; each path contains a randomly generated curve 47
Figure 3-7 A cubic Bézier curve uses two control points 47
Figure 3-8 A quadratic Bézier curve uses one control point 48
Figure 3-9 Multiple paths; each path contains a randomly generated ellipse 49
Figure 3-10 Multiple paths; each path contains a randomly generated rectangle 50
Figure 3-11 Examples of line dash patterns 54

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Figures, Tables, and Listings

Figure 3-12 Concentric circles filled using different fill rules 56

Figure 3-13 The rectangles painted in the foreground 57
Figure 3-14 The rectangles painted in the background 57
Figure 3-15 Rectangles painted using normal blend mode 58
Figure 3-16 Rectangles painted using multiply blend mode 58
Figure 3-17 Rectangles painted using screen blend mode 59
Figure 3-18 Rectangles painted using overlay blend mode 59
Figure 3-19 Rectangles painted using darken blend mode 60
Figure 3-20 Rectangles painted using lighten blend mode 60
Figure 3-21 Rectangles painted using color dodge blend mode 61
Figure 3-22 Rectangles painted using color burn blend mode 61
Figure 3-23 Rectangles painted using soft light blend mode 62
Figure 3-24 Rectangles painted using hard light blend mode 62
Figure 3-25 Rectangles painted using difference blend mode 63
Figure 3-26 Rectangles painted using exclusion blend mode 63
Figure 3-27 Rectangles painted using hue blend mode 64
Figure 3-28 Rectangles painted using saturation blend mode 64
Figure 3-29 Rectangles painted using color blend mode 65
Figure 3-30 Rectangles painted using luminosity blend mode 65
Table 3-1 Parameters that affect how Quartz strokes the current path 52
Table 3-2 Line join styles 52
Table 3-3 Line cap styles 53
Table 3-4 Functions that stroke paths 54
Table 3-5 Functions that fill paths 56
Table 3-6 Functions that clip the graphics context 66
Listing 3-1 Setting up a circular clip area 66

Color and Color Spaces 68

Figure 4-1 Applying a BGR and an RGB color profile to the same image 69
Figure 4-2 A comparison of large rectangles painted using various alpha values 69
Figure 4-3 A comparison of global alpha values 70
Figure 4-4 A CMYK fill color and an RGB fill color 73
Table 4-1 Color values in different color spaces 68
Table 4-2 Color-setting functions 74

Transforms 76
Figure 5-1 Applying scaling and rotation 77
Figure 5-2 An image that is not transformed 78
Figure 5-3 A translated image 78
Figure 5-4 A rotated image 79

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Figures, Tables, and Listings

Figure 5-5 A scaled image 80

Figure 5-6 An image that is translated and rotated 81
Figure 5-7 An image that is translated, scaled, and then rotated 82
Figure 5-8 An image that is rotated, scaled, and then translated 83
Table 5-1 Affine transform functions for translation, rotation, and scaling 84

Patterns 89
Figure 6-1 A pattern drawn to a window 89
Figure 6-2 A pattern cell 89
Figure 6-3 Pattern cells with black rectangles drawn to show the bounds of each cell 90
Figure 6-4 Spacing between pattern cells 90
Figure 6-5 A scaled pattern cell 92
Figure 6-6 A rotated pattern cell 92
Figure 6-7 A translated pattern cell 93
Figure 6-8 A colored pattern has inherent color 93
Figure 6-9 A stencil pattern does not have inherent color 93
Figure 6-10 A stencil pattern cell 102
Listing 6-1 A drawing callback that draws a colored pattern cell 96
Listing 6-2 Creating a base pattern color space 97
Listing 6-3 The CGPatternCreate function prototype 97
Listing 6-4 A function that paints a colored pattern 99
Listing 6-5 A drawing callback that draws a stencil pattern cell 102
Listing 6-6 Code that creates a pattern color space for a stencil pattern 103
Listing 6-7 Code that sets opacity for a colored pattern 104
Listing 6-8 A function that paints a stencil pattern 105

Shadows 107
Figure 7-1 A shadow 107
Figure 7-2 A shadow with no blur and another with a soft edge 107
Figure 7-3 A colored shadow and a gray shadow 109
Listing 7-1 A function that sets up shadows 109

Gradients 112
Figure 8-1 An axial gradient along a 45 degree axis 112
Figure 8-2 An axial gradient created with seven locations and colors 113
Figure 8-3 A radial gradient that varies between two circles 113
Figure 8-4 A radial gradient created by varying only the alpha component 114
Figure 8-5 A radial gradient that varies between a point and a circle 114
Figure 8-6 Nested radial gradients 115
Figure 8-7 Extending an axial gradient 117

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Figures, Tables, and Listings

Figure 8-8 Extending a radial gradient 117

Figure 8-9 A radial gradient painted using a CGGradient object 120
Figure 8-10 An axial gradient with three locations 121
Figure 8-11 An axial gradient that is clipped and painted 123
Figure 8-12 A radial gradient created using a CGShading object 130
Table 8-1 Differences between CGShading and CGGradient objects 116
Listing 8-1 Creating a CGGradient object 118
Listing 8-2 Painting an axial gradient using a CGGradient object 119
Listing 8-3 Painting a radial gradient using a CGGradient object 119
Listing 8-4 The variables used to create a radial gradient by varying alpha 120
Listing 8-5 The variables used to create a gray gradient 121
Listing 8-6 Computing color component values 124
Listing 8-7 Creating a CGFunction object 125
Listing 8-8 Creating a CGShading object for an axial gradient 126
Listing 8-9 Adding a semicircle clip to the graphics context 127
Listing 8-10 Releasing objects 127
Listing 8-11 Painting an axial gradient using a CGShading object 127
Listing 8-12 Computing color component values 131
Listing 8-13 Creating a CGShading object for a radial gradient 131
Listing 8-14 Code that releases objects 132
Listing 8-15 A routine that paints a radial gradient using a CGShading object 132

Transparency Layers 136

Figure 9-1 Three circles as a composite in a transparency layer 136
Figure 9-2 Three circles painted as separate entities 137
Figure 9-3 Three rectangles painted to a transparency layer 138
Listing 9-1 Painting to a transparency layer 138

Data Management in Quartz 2D 140

Figure 10-1 Moving data to and from Quartz 2D in Mac OS X 141
Table 10-1 Functions that move data into Quartz 2D 142
Table 10-2 Functions that move data out of Quartz 2D 144

Bitmap Images and Image Masks 146

Figure 11-1 Bitmap images 147
Figure 11-2 32-bit and 16-bit pixel formats for CMYK and RGB color spaces in Quartz 2D 150
Figure 11-3 A subimage created from a larger image 152
Figure 11-4 An image, a subimage taken from it and drawn so it’s enlarged 153
Figure 11-5 The original image 156
Figure 11-6 An image mask 156

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Figures, Tables, and Listings

Figure 11-7 The image that results from applying the image mask to the original image 157
Figure 11-8 The image that results from masking the original image with an image 158
Figure 11-9 Chroma key masking 158
Figure 11-10 The original image 159
Figure 11-11 An image with light to midrange brown colors masked out 160
Figure 11-12 A image after masking colors from dark brown to black 161
Figure 11-13 An image drawn after masking a range of colors and setting a fill color 162
Figure 11-14 A masking image 163
Figure 11-15 An image drawn to a context after clipping the content with an image mask 163
Figure 11-16 An image drawn to a context after clipping the content with an image 164
Figure 11-17 Background drawing (left) and foreground image (right) 165
Figure 11-18 Drawing an image over a background using normal blend mode 166
Figure 11-19 Drawing an image over a background using multiply blend mode 166
Figure 11-20 Drawing an image over a background using screen blend mode 167
Figure 11-21 Drawing an image over a background using overlay blend mode 168
Figure 11-22 Drawing an image over a background using darken blend mode 169
Figure 11-23 Drawing an image over a background using lighten blend mode 169
Figure 11-24 Drawing an image over a background using color dodge blend mode 170
Figure 11-25 Drawing an image over a background using color burn blend mode 171
Figure 11-26 Drawing an image over a background using soft light blend mode 172
Figure 11-27 Drawing an image over a background using hard light blend mode 173
Figure 11-28 Drawing an image over a background using difference blend mode 173
Figure 11-29 Drawing an image over a background using exclusion blend mode 174
Figure 11-30 Drawing an image over a background using hue blend mode 175
Figure 11-31 Drawing an image over a background using saturation blend mode 176
Figure 11-32 Drawing an image over a background using color blend mode 177
Figure 11-33 Drawing an image over a background using luminosity blend mode 178
Table 11-1 Functions for creating images 151
Listing 11-1 Code that creates a subimage and draws it enlarged 153
Listing 11-2 The prototype for the function CGImageMaskCreate 155
Listing 11-3 Masking light to mid-range brown colors in an image 160
Listing 11-4 Masking shades of brown to black 160
Listing 11-5 Masking a range of colors and setting a fill color and 161

Core Graphics Layer Drawing 179

Figure 12-1 Repeatedly painting the same butterfly image 179
Figure 12-2 Layer drawing 180
Figure 12-3 A layer that contains two rectangles and a series of lines 182
Figure 12-4 Drawing a layer repeatedly 183

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Figures, Tables, and Listings

Figure 12-5 The result of using layers to draw the United States flag 184
Listing 12-1 Code that uses layers to draw a flag 185

PDF Document Creation, Viewing, and Transforming 190

Figure 13-1 Quartz creates high-quality PDF documents 190
Figure 13-2 A PDF document 191
Figure 13-3 A PDF page rotated 90 degrees to the right 194
Listing 13-1 Creating a CGPDFDocument object from a PDF file 191
Listing 13-2 Drawing a PDF page 192
Listing 13-3 Creating an affine transform for a PDF page 195
Listing 13-4 Creating a PDF file 196

PDF Document Parsing 200

Figure 14-1 Metadata for two images in a PDF file 201
Figure 14-2 Thumbnail images 202
Table 14-1 Marked content operators represent some of the PDF operators that you can parse 203
Listing 14-1 Getting a thumbnail view of a PDF 201
Listing 14-2 A callback for the MP operator 204
Listing 14-3 Setting callbacks for an operator table 204
Listing 14-4 Opening a PDF document from a URL 205
Listing 14-5 Scanning each page of a document 206

PostScript Conversion 208

Figure 15-1 A status message for a PostScript conversion application 208
Listing 15-1 The PostScript converter callbacks data structure 209

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SwiftObjective-C

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Introduction

Quartz 2D is an advanced, two-dimensional drawing engine available for iOS application development and to
all Mac OS X application environments outside of the kernel. Quartz 2D provides low-level, lightweight 2D
rendering with unmatched output fidelity regardless of display or printing device. Quartz 2D is resolution- and
device-independent; you don’t need to think about the final destination when you use the Quartz 2D application
programming interface (API) for drawing.

The Quartz 2D API is easy to use and provides access to powerful features such as transparency layers, path-based
drawing, offscreen rendering, advanced color management, anti-aliased rendering, and PDF document creation,
display, and parsing.

The Quartz 2D API is part of the Core Graphics framework, so you may see Quartz referred to as Core Graphics
or, simply, CG.

Who Should Read This Document?

This document is intended for iOS and Mac OS X developers who need to perform any of the following tasks:
● Draw graphics
● Provide graphics editing capabilities in an application
● Create or display bitmap images
● Work with PDF documents

Organization of This Document

This document is organized into the following chapters:
● Overview of Quartz 2D (page 17) describes the page, drawing destinations, Quartz opaque data types,
graphics states, coordinates, and memory management, and it takes a look at how Quartz works “under
the hood.”
● Graphics Contexts (page 27) describes the kinds of drawing destinations and provides step-by-step
instructions for creating all flavors of graphics contexts.

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Introduction
See Also

● Paths (page 42) discusses the basic elements that make up paths, shows how to create and paint them,
shows how to set up a clipping area, and explains how blend modes affect painting.
● Color and Color Spaces (page 68) discusses color values and using alpha values for transparency, and it
describes how to create a color space, set colors, create color objects, and set rendering intent.
● Transforms (page 76) describes the current transformation matrix and explains how to modify it, shows
how to set up affine transforms, shows how to convert between user and device space, and provides
background information on the mathematical operations that Quartz performs.
● Patterns (page 89) defines what a pattern and its parts are, tells how Quartz renders them, and shows
how to create colored and stenciled patterns.
● Shadows (page 107) describes what shadows are, explains how they work, and shows how to paint with
them.
● Gradients (page 112) discusses axial and radial gradients and shows how to create and use CGShading and
CGGradient objects.
● Transparency Layers (page 136) gives examples of what transparency layers look like, discusses how they
work, and provides step-by-step instructions for implementing them.
● Data Management in Quartz 2D (page 140) discusses how to move data into and out of Quartz.
● Bitmap Images and Image Masks (page 146) describes what makes up a bitmap image definition and shows
how to use a bitmap image as a Quartz drawing primitive. It also describes masking techniques you can
use on images and shows the various effects you can achieve by using blend modes when drawing images.
● Core Graphics Layer Drawing (page 179) describes how to create and use drawing layers to achieve
high-performance patterned drawing or to draw offscreen.
● PDF Document Creation, Viewing, and Transforming (page 190) shows how to open and view PDF
documents, apply transforms to them, create a PDF file, access PDF metadata, add links, and add security
features (such as password protection).
● PDF Document Parsing (page 200) describes how to use CGPDFScanner and CGPDFContentStream objects
to parse and inspect PDF documents.
● PostScript Conversion (page 208) gives an overview of the functions you can use in Mac OS X to convert
a PostScript file to a PDF document. These functions are not available in iOS.
● Text (page 212) describes Quartz 2D low-level support for text and glyphs, and alternatives that provide
higher-level and Unicode text support. It also discusses how to copy font variations.
● Glossary (page 213) defines the terms used in this guide.

See Also
These items are essential reading for anyone using Quartz 2D:

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Introduction
See Also

● Quartz 2D Reference Collection , organized by header file, provides a complete reference for the Quartz 2D
application programming interface.
● Color Management Overview is a brief introduction to the principles of color perception, color spaces, and
color management systems.
● Mailing lists. Join the quartz-dev mailing list to discuss problems using Quartz 2D.
● Programming With Quartz: 2D and PDF Graphics in Mac OS X provides in-depth information on using
Quartz. This book is current through Mac OS X v10.4 and was written prior to the introduction of iOS. The
book includes examples that show how to support earlier versions of Mac OS X as well as how to use the
features introduced in v10.4. The sample code associated with this book is available from the publisher.

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Overview of Quartz 2D

SwiftObjective-C
Quartz 2D is a two-dimensional drawing engine accessible in the iOS environment and from all Mac OS X
application environments outside of the kernel. You can use the Quartz 2D application programming interface
(API) to gain access to features such as path-based drawing, painting with transparency, shading, drawing
shadows, transparency layers, color management, anti-aliased rendering, PDF document generation, and PDF
metadata access. Whenever possible, Quartz 2D leverages the power of the graphics hardware.

In Mac OS X, Quartz 2D can work with all other graphics and imaging technologies—Core Image, Core Video,
OpenGL, and QuickTime. It’s possible to create an image in Quartz from a QuickTime graphics importer, using
the QuickTime function GraphicsImportCreateCGImage. See QuickTime Framework Reference for details.
Moving Data Between Quartz 2D and Core Image in Mac OS X (page 144) describes how you can provide images
to Core Image, which is a framework that supports image processing.

Similarly, in iOS, Quartz 2D works with all available graphics and animation technologies, such as Core Animation,
OpenGL ES, and the UIKit classes.

The Page
Quartz 2D uses the painter’s model for its imaging. In the painter’s model, each successive drawing operation
applies a layer of “paint” to an output “canvas,” often called a page. The paint on the page can be modified by
overlaying more paint through additional drawing operations. An object drawn on the page cannot be modified
except by overlaying more paint. This model allows you to construct extremely sophisticated images from a
small number of powerful primitives.

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Overview of Quartz 2D
Drawing Destinations: The Graphics Context

Figure 1-1 shows how the painter’s model works. To get the image in the top part of the figure, the shape on
the left was drawn first followed by the solid shape. The solid shape overlays the first shape, obscuring all but
the perimeter of the first shape. The shapes are drawn in the opposite order in the bottom of the figure, with
the solid shape drawn first. As you can see, in the painter’s model the drawing order is important.

Figure 1-1 The painter’s model

Drawing order Result

Result
Drawing order

The page may be a real sheet of paper (if the output device is a printer); it may be a virtual sheet of paper (if
the output device is a PDF file); it may even be a bitmap image. The exact nature of the page depends on the
particular graphics context you use.

Drawing Destinations: The Graphics Context

A graphics context is an opaque data type (CGContextRef) that encapsulates the information Quartz uses to
draw images to an output device, such as a PDF file, a bitmap, or a window on a display. The information inside
a graphics context includes graphics drawing parameters and a device-specific representation of the paint on
the page. All objects in Quartz are drawn to, or contained by, a graphics context.

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Overview of Quartz 2D
Drawing Destinations: The Graphics Context

You can think of a graphics context as a drawing destination, as shown in Figure 1-2. When you draw with
Quartz, all device-specific characteristics are contained within the specific type of graphics context you use. In
other words, you can draw the same image to a different device simply by providing a different graphics
context to the same sequence of Quartz drawing routines. You do not need to perform any device-specific
calculations; Quartz does it for you.

Figure 1-2 Quartz drawing destinations

Window

Printer Layer

Drawing

PDF Bitmap

These graphics contexts are available to your application:

● A bitmap graphics context allows you to paint RGB colors, CMYK colors, or grayscale into a bitmap. A bitmap
is a rectangular array (or raster) of pixels, each pixel representing a point in an image. Bitmap images are
also called sampled images . See Creating a Bitmap Graphics Context (page 35).
● A PDF graphics context allows you to create a PDF file. In a PDF file, your drawing is preserved as a sequence
of commands. There are some significant differences between PDF files and bitmaps:
● PDF files, unlike bitmaps, may contain more than one page.
● When you draw a page from a PDF file on a different device, the resulting image is optimized for the
display characteristics of that device.
● PDF files are resolution independent by nature—the size at which they are drawn can be increased
or decreased infinitely without sacrificing image detail. The user-perceived quality of a bitmap image
is tied to the resolution at which the bitmap is intended to be viewed.
See Creating a PDF Graphics Context (page 30).

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Overview of Quartz 2D
Quartz 2D Opaque Data Types

● A window graphics context is a graphics context that you can use to draw into a window. Note that because
Quartz 2D is a graphics engine and not a window management system, you use one of the application
frameworks to obtain a graphics context for a window. See Creating a Window Graphics Context in Mac
OS X (page 28) for details.
● A layer context (CGLayerRef) is an offscreen drawing destination associated with another graphics context.
It is designed for optimal performance when drawing the layer to the graphics context that created it. A
layer context can be a much better choice for offscreen drawing than a bitmap graphics context. See Core
Graphics Layer Drawing (page 179).
● When you want to print in Mac OS X, you send your content to a PostScript graphics context that is managed
by the printing framework. See Obtaining a Graphics Context for Printing (page 41) for more information.

Quartz 2D Opaque Data Types

The Quartz 2D API defines a variety of opaque data types in addition to graphics contexts. Because the API is
part of the Core Graphics framework, the data types and the routines that operate on them use the CG prefix.

Quartz 2D creates objects from opaque data types that your application operates on to achieve a particular
drawing output. Figure 1-3 shows the sorts of results you can achieve when you apply drawing operations to
three of the objects provided by Quartz 2D. For example:
● You can rotate and display a PDF page by creating a PDF page object, applying a rotation operation to
the graphics context, and asking Quartz 2D to draw the page to a graphics context.
● You can draw a pattern by creating a pattern object, defining the shape that makes up the pattern, and
setting up Quartz 2D to use the pattern as paint when it draws to a graphics context.

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Overview of Quartz 2D
Quartz 2D Opaque Data Types

● You can fill an area with an axial or radial shading by creating a shading object, providing a function that
determines the color at each point in the shading, and then asking Quartz 2D to use the shading as a fill
color.

Figure 1-3 Opaque data types are the basis of drawing primitives in Quartz 2D

PDF pages Patterns Shading

The opaque data types available in Quartz 2D include the following:

● CGPathRef, used for vector graphics to create paths that you fill or stroke. See Paths (page 42).
● CGImageRef, used to represent bitmap images and bitmap image masks based on sample data that you
supply. See Bitmap Images and Image Masks (page 146).
● CGLayerRef, used to represent a drawing layer that can be used for repeated drawing (such as for
backgrounds or patterns) and for offscreen drawing. See Core Graphics Layer Drawing (page 179)
● CGPatternRef, used for repeated drawing. See Patterns (page 89).
● CGShadingRef and CGGradientRef, used to paint gradients. See Gradients (page 112).
● CGFunctionRef, used to define callback functions that take an arbitrary number of floating-point
arguments. You use this data type when you create gradients for a shading. See Gradients (page 112).
● CGColorRef and CGColorSpaceRef, used to inform Quartz how to interpret color. See Color and Color
Spaces (page 68).
● CGImageSourceRef and CGImageDestinationRef, which you use to move data into and out of Quartz.
See Data Management in Quartz 2D (page 140) and Image I/O Programming Guide .
● CGFontRef, used to draw text. See Text (page 212).
● CGPDFDictionaryRef, CGPDFObjectRef, CGPDFPageRef, CGPDFStream, CGPDFStringRef, and
CGPDFArrayRef, which provide access to PDF metadata. See PDF Document Creation, Viewing, and
Transforming (page 190).
● CGPDFScannerRef and CGPDFContentStreamRef, which parse PDF metadata. See PDF Document
Parsing (page 200).

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Overview of Quartz 2D
Graphics States

● CGPSConverterRef, used to convert PostScript to PDF. It is not available in iOS. See PostScript
Conversion (page 208).

Graphics States
Quartz modifies the results of drawing operations according to the parameters in the current graphics state.
The graphics state contains parameters that would otherwise be taken as arguments to drawing routines.
Routines that draw to a graphics context consult the graphics state to determine how to render their results.
For example, when you call a function to set the fill color, you are modifying a value stored in the current
graphics state. Other commonly used elements of the current graphics state include the line width, the current
position, and the text font size.

The graphics context contains a stack of graphics states. When Quartz creates a graphics context, the stack is
empty. When you save the graphics state, Quartz pushes a copy of the current graphics state onto the stack.
When you restore the graphics state, Quartz pops the graphics state off the top of the stack. The popped state
becomes the current graphics state.

To save the current graphics state, use the function CGContextSaveGState to push a copy of the current
graphics state onto the stack. To restore a previously saved graphics state, use the function
CGContextRestoreGState to replace the current graphics state with the graphics state that’s on top of the
stack.

Note that not all aspects of the current drawing environment are elements of the graphics state. For example,
the current path is not considered part of the graphics state and is therefore not saved when you call the
function CGContextSaveGState. The graphics state parameters that are saved when you call this function
are listed in Table 1-1.

Table 1-1 Parameters that are associated with the graphics state

Parameters Discussed in this chapter

Current transformation matrix (CTM) Transforms (page 76)

Clipping area Paths (page 42)

Line: width, join, cap, dash, miter limit Paths (page 42)

Accuracy of curve estimation (flatness) Paths (page 42)

Anti-aliasing setting Graphics Contexts (page 27)

Color: fill and stroke settings Color and Color Spaces (page 68)

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Overview of Quartz 2D
Quartz 2D Coordinate Systems

Parameters Discussed in this chapter

Alpha value (transparency) Color and Color Spaces (page 68)

Rendering intent Color and Color Spaces (page 68)

Color space: fill and stroke settings Color and Color Spaces (page 68)

Text: font, font size, character spacing, text Text (page 212)
drawing mode

Blend mode Paths (page 42) and Bitmap Images and Image
Masks (page 146)

Quartz 2D Coordinate Systems

A coordinate system, shown in Figure 1-4, defines the range of locations used to express the location and sizes
of objects to be drawn on the page. You specify the location and size of graphics in the user-space coordinate
system, or, more simply, the user space. Coordinates are defined as floating-point values.

Figure 1-4 The Quartz coordinate system

y-axis

(0,0) x-axis

Because different devices have different underlying imaging capabilities, the locations and sizes of graphics
must be defined in a device-independent manner. For example, a screen display device might be capable of
displaying no more than 96 pixels per inch, while a printer might be capable of displaying 300 pixels per inch.
If you define the coordinate system at the device level (in this example, either 96 pixels or 300 pixels), objects
drawn in that space cannot be reproduced on other devices without visible distortion. They will appear too
large or too small.

Quartz accomplishes device independence with a separate coordinate system—user space—mapping it to

the coordinate system of the output device—device space—using the current transformation matrix, or CTM.
A matrix is a mathematical construct used to efficiently describe a set of related equations. The current

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Overview of Quartz 2D
Quartz 2D Coordinate Systems

transformation matrix is a particular type of matrix called an affine transform, which maps points from one
coordinate space to another by applying translation, rotation, and scaling operations (calculations that move,
rotate, and resize a coordinate system).

The current transformation matrix has a secondary purpose: It allows you to transform how objects are drawn.
For example, to draw a box rotated by 45 degrees, you rotate the coordinate system of the page (the CTM)
before you draw the box. Quartz draws to the output device using the rotated coordinate system.

A point in user space is represented by a coordinate pair (x ,y ), where x represents the location along the
horizontal axis (left and right) and y represents the vertical axis (up and down). The origin of the user coordinate
space is the point (0,0). The origin is located at the lower-left corner of the page, as shown in Figure 1-4 (page
23). In the default coordinate system for Quartz, the x-axis increases as it moves from the left toward the right
of the page. The y-axis increases in value as it moves from the bottom toward the top of the page.

Some technologies set up their graphics contexts using a different default coordinate system than the one
used by Quartz. Relative to Quartz, such a coordinate system is a modified coordinate system and must be
compensated for when performing some Quartz drawing operations. The most common modified coordinate
system places the origin in the upper-left corner of the context and changes the y-axis to point towards the
bottom of the page. A few places where you might see this specific coordinate system used are the following:
● In Mac OS X, a subclass of NSView that overrides its isFlipped method to return YES.
● In iOS, a drawing context returned by an UIView.
● In iOS, a drawing context created by calling the UIGraphicsBeginImageContextWithOptions function.

The reason UIKit returns Quartz drawing contexts with modified coordinate systems is that UIKit uses a different
default coordinate convention; it applies the transform to Quartz contexts it creates so that they match its
conventions. If your application wants to use the same drawing routines to draw to both a UIView object and
a PDF graphics context (which is created by Quartz and uses the default coordinate system), you need to apply
a transform so that the PDF graphics context receives the same modified coordinate system. To do this, apply
a transform that translates the origin to the upper-left corner of the PDF context and scales the y-coordinate
by -1.

Using a scaling transform to negate the y-coordinate alters some conventions in Quartz drawing. For example,
if you call CGContextDrawImage to draw an image into the context, the image is modified by the transform
when it is drawn into the destination. Similarly, path drawing routines accept parameters that specify whether
an arc is drawn in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction in the default coordinate system. If a coordinate

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Overview of Quartz 2D
Quartz 2D Coordinate Systems

system is modified, the result is also modified, as if the image were reflected in a mirror. In Figure 1-5, passing
the same parameters into Quartz results in a clockwise arc in the default coordinate system and a
counterclockwise arc after the y-coordinate is negated by the transform.

Figure 1-5 Modifying the coordinate system creates a mirrored image.

y (0,0)
x

(0,0)
x
y
Default Coordinates Modified Coordinates

flipped_coordinates.eps
Cocoa Drawing
Apple Computer, Inc.
February 9, 2006

It is up to your application to adjust any Quartz calls it makes to a context that has a transform applied to it.
For example, if you want an image or PDF to draw correctly into a graphics context, your application may need
to temporarily adjust the CTM of the graphics context. In iOS, if you use a UIImage object to wrap a CGImage
object you create, you do not need to modify the CTM. The UIImage object automatically compensates for
the modified coordinate system applied by UIKit.

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Overview of Quartz 2D
Memory Management: Object Ownership

Important: The above discussion is essential to understand if you plan to write applications that directly
target Quartz on iOS, but it is not sufficient. On iOS 3.2 and later, when UIKit creates a drawing context for
your application, it also makes additional changes to the context to match the default UIKIt conventions.
In particular, patterns and shadows, which are not affected by the CTM, are adjusted separately so that
their conventions match UIKit’s coordinate system. In this case, there is no equivalent mechanism to the
CTM that your application can use to change a context created by Quartz to match the behavior for a
context provided by UIKit; your application must recognize the what kind of context it is drawing into and
adjust its behavior to match the expectations of the context.

Memory Management: Object Ownership

Quartz uses the Core Foundation memory management model, in which objects are reference counted. When
created, Core Foundation objects start out with a reference count of 1. You can increment the reference count
by calling a function to retain the object, and decrement the reference count by calling a function to release
the object. When the reference count is decremented to 0, the object is freed. This model allows objects to
safely share references to other objects.

There are a few simple rules to keep in mind:

● If you create or copy an object, you own it, and therefore you must release it. That is, in general, if you
obtain an object from a function with the words “Create” or “Copy” in its name, you must release the
object when you’re done with it. Otherwise, a memory leak results.
● If you obtain an object from a function that does not contain the words “Create” or “Copy” in its name,
you do not own a reference to the object, and you must not release it. The object will be released by its
owner at some point in the future.
● If you do not own an object and you need to keep it around, you must retain it and release it when you’re
done with it. You use the Quartz 2D functions specific to an object to retain and release that object. For
example, if you receive a reference to a CGColorspace object, you use the functions CGColorSpaceRetain
and CGColorSpaceRelease to retain and release the object as needed. You can also use the Core
Foundation functions CFRetain and CFRelease, but you must be careful not to pass NULL to these
functions.

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Graphics Contexts

A graphics context represents a drawing destination. It contains drawing parameters and all device-specific
information that the drawing system needs to perform any subsequent drawing commands. A graphics context
defines basic drawing attributes such as the colors to use when drawing, the clipping area, line width and style
information, font information, compositing options, and several others.

You can obtain a graphics context by using Quartz context creation functions or by using higher-level functions
provided by one of the Mac OS X frameworks or the UIKit framework in iOS. Quartz provides functions for
various flavors of Quartz graphics contexts including bitmap and PDF, which you can use to create custom
content.

This chapter shows you how to create a graphics context for a variety of drawing destinations. A graphics
context is represented in your code by the data type CGContextRef, which is an opaque data type. After you
obtain a graphics context, you can use Quartz 2D functions to draw to the context, perform operations (such
as translations) on the context, and change graphics state parameters, such as line width and fill color.

Drawing to a View Graphics Context in iOS

To draw to the screen in an iOS application, you set up a UIView object and implement its drawRect: method
to perform drawing. The view’s drawRect: method is called when the view is visible onscreen and its contents
need updating. Before calling your custom drawRect: method, the view object automatically configures its
drawing environment so that your code can start drawing immediately. As part of this configuration, the
UIView object creates a graphics context (a CGContextRef opaque type) for the current drawing environment.
You obtain this graphics context in your drawRect: method by calling the UIKit function
UIGraphicsGetCurrentContext.

The default coordinate system used throughout UIKit is different from the coordinate system used by Quartz.
In UIKit, the origin is in the upper-left corner, with the positive-y value pointing downward. The UIView object
modifies the CTM of the Quartz graphics context to match the UIKit conventions by translating the origin to
the upper left corner of the view and inverting the y-axis by multiplying it by -1. For more information on
modified-coordinate systems and the implications in your own drawing code, see Quartz 2D Coordinate
Systems (page 23).

UIView objects are described in detail in View Programming Guide for iOS .

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Graphics Contexts
Creating a Window Graphics Context in Mac OS X

Creating a Window Graphics Context in Mac OS X

When drawing in Mac OS X, you need to create a window graphics context that’s appropriate for the framework
you are using. The Quartz 2D API itself provides no functions to obtain a windows graphics context. Instead,
you use the Cocoa framework to obtain a context for a window created in Cocoa.

You obtain a Quartz graphics context from within the drawRect: routine of a Cocoa application using the
following line of code:

CGContextRef myContext = [[NSGraphicsContext currentContext] graphicsPort];

The method currentContext returns the NSGraphicsContext instance of the current thread. The method
graphicsPort returns the low-level, platform-specific graphics context represented by the receiver, which
is a Quartz graphics context. (Don’t get confused by the method names; they are historical.) For more information
see NSGraphicsContext Class Reference .

After you obtain the graphics context, you can call any of the Quartz 2D drawing functions in your Cocoa
application. You can also mix Quartz 2D calls with Cocoa drawing calls. You can see an example of Quartz 2D
drawing to a Cocoa view by looking at Figure 2-1. The drawing consists of two overlapping rectangles, an
opaque red one and a partially transparent blue one. You’ll learn more about transparency in Color and Color
Spaces (page 68). The ability to control how much you can “see through” colors is one of the hallmark features
of Quartz 2D.

Figure 2-1 A view in the Cocoa framework that contains Quartz drawing

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Graphics Contexts
Creating a Window Graphics Context in Mac OS X

To create the drawing in Figure 2-1, you first create a Cocoa application Xcode project. In Interface Builder,
drag a Custom View to the window and subclass it. Then write an implementation for the subclassed view,
similar to what Listing 2-1 shows. For this example, the subclassed view is named MyQuartzView. The
drawRect: method for the view contains all the Quartz drawing code. A detailed explanation for each numbered
line of code appears following the listing.

Note: The drawRect: method of the NSView class is invoked automatically each time the view
needs to be drawn. To find out more about overriding the drawRect: method, see NSView Class
Reference .

Listing 2-1 Drawing to a window graphics context

@implementation MyQuartzView

- (id)initWithFrame:(NSRect)frameRect

self = [super initWithFrame:frameRect];

return self;

- (void)drawRect:(NSRect)rect

CGContextRef myContext = [[NSGraphicsContext // 1

currentContext] graphicsPort];

// ********** Your drawing code here ********** // 2

CGContextSetRGBFillColor (myContext, 1, 0, 0, 1); // 3

CGContextFillRect (myContext, CGRectMake (0, 0, 200, 100 )); // 4

CGContextSetRGBFillColor (myContext, 0, 0, 1, .5); // 5

CGContextFillRect (myContext, CGRectMake (0, 0, 100, 200)); // 6

@end

Here’s what the code does:

1. Obtains a graphics context for the view.

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Graphics Contexts
Creating a PDF Graphics Context

2. This is where you insert your drawing code. The four lines of code that follow are examples of using Quartz
2D functions.
3. Sets a red fill color that’s fully opaque. For information on colors and alpha (which sets opacity), see Color
and Color Spaces (page 68).
4. Fills a rectangle whose origin is (0,0) and whose width is 200 and height is 100. For information on
drawing rectangles, see Paths (page 42).
5. Sets a blue fill color that’s partially transparent.
6. Fills a rectangle whose origin is (0,0) and whose width is 100 and height is 200.

Creating a PDF Graphics Context

When you create a PDF graphics context and draw to that context, Quartz records your drawing as a series of
PDF drawing commands written to a file. You supply a location for the PDF output and a default media box—a
rectangle that specifies bounds of the page. Figure 2-2 shows the result of drawing to a PDF graphics context
and then opening the resulting PDF in Preview.

Figure 2-2 A PDF created by using CGPDFContextCreateWithURL

The Quartz 2D API provides two functions that create a PDF graphics context:

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Graphics Contexts
Creating a PDF Graphics Context

● CGPDFContextCreateWithURL, which you use when you want to specify the location for the PDF output
as a Core Foundation URL. Listing 2-2 (page 31) shows how to use this function to create a PDF graphics
context.
● CGPDFContextCreate, which you use when you want the PDF output sent to a data consumer. (For
more information see Data Management in Quartz 2D (page 140).) Listing 2-3 (page 32) shows how to use
this function to create a PDF graphics context.

A detailed explanation for each numbered line of code follows each listing.

iOS Note: A PDF graphics context in iOS uses the default coordinate system provided by Quartz,
without applying a transform to match the UIKit coordinate system. If your application plans on
sharing drawing code between your PDF graphics context and the graphics context provided by
UIView object, your application should modify the CTM of the PDF graphics context to modify the
coordinate system. See Quartz 2D Coordinate Systems (page 23).

Listing 2-2 Calling CGPDFContextCreateWithURL to create a PDF graphics context

CGContextRef MyPDFContextCreate (const CGRect *inMediaBox,

CFStringRef path)

CGContextRef myOutContext = NULL;

CFURLRef url;

url = CFURLCreateWithFileSystemPath (NULL, // 1

path,

kCFURLPOSIXPathStyle,

false);

if (url != NULL) {

myOutContext = CGPDFContextCreateWithURL (url, // 2

inMediaBox,

NULL);

CFRelease(url); // 3

return myOutContext; // 4

Here’s what the code does:

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Graphics Contexts
Creating a PDF Graphics Context

1. Calls the Core Foundation function to create a CFURL object from the CFString object supplied to the
MyPDFContextCreate function. You pass NULL as the first parameter to use the default allocator. You
also need to specify a path style, which for this example is a POSIX-style pathname.
2. Calls the Quartz 2D function to create a PDF graphics context using the PDF location just created (as a
CFURL object) and a rectangle that specifies the bounds of the PDF. The rectangle (CGRect) was passed
to the MyPDFContextCreate function and is the default page media bounding box for the PDF.
3. Releases the CFURL object.
4. Returns the PDF graphics context. The caller must release the graphics context when it is no longer needed.

Listing 2-3 Calling CGPDFContextCreate to create a PDF graphics context

CGContextRef MyPDFContextCreate (const CGRect *inMediaBox,

CFStringRef path)

CGContextRef myOutContext = NULL;

CFURLRef url;

CGDataConsumerRef dataConsumer;

url = CFURLCreateWithFileSystemPath (NULL, // 1

path,

kCFURLPOSIXPathStyle,

false);

if (url != NULL)

dataConsumer = CGDataConsumerCreateWithURL (url); // 2

if (dataConsumer != NULL)

myOutContext = CGPDFContextCreate (dataConsumer, // 3

inMediaBox,

NULL);

CGDataConsumerRelease (dataConsumer); // 4

CFRelease(url); // 5

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Graphics Contexts
Creating a PDF Graphics Context

return myOutContext; // 6

Here’s what the code does:

1. Calls the Core Foundation function to create a CFURL object from the CFString object supplied to the
MyPDFContextCreate function. You pass NULL as the first parameter to use the default allocator. You
also need to specify a path style, which for this example is a POSIX-style pathname.
2. Creates a Quartz data consumer object using the CFURL object. If you don’t want to use a CFURL object
(for example, you want to place the PDF data in a location that can’t be specified by a CFURL object), you
can instead create a data consumer from a set of callback functions that you implement in your application.
For more information, see Data Management in Quartz 2D (page 140).
3. Calls the Quartz 2D function to create a PDF graphics context passing as parameters the data consumer
and the rectangle (of type CGRect) that was passed to the MyPDFContextCreate function. This rectangle
is the default page media bounding box for the PDF.
4. Releases the data consumer.
5. Releases the CFURL object.
6. Returns the PDF graphics context. The caller must release the graphics context when it is no longer needed.

Listing 2-4 shows how to call the MyPDFContextCreate routine and draw to it. A detailed explanation for
each numbered line of code appears following the listing.

Listing 2-4 Drawing to a PDF graphics context

CGRect mediaBox; // 1

mediaBox = CGRectMake (0, 0, myPageWidth, myPageHeight); // 2

myPDFContext = MyPDFContextCreate (&mediaBox, CFSTR("test.pdf")); // 3

CFStringRef myKeys[1]; // 4

CFTypeRef myValues[1];

myKeys[0] = kCGPDFContextMediaBox;

myValues[0] = (CFTypeRef) CFDataCreate(NULL,(const UInt8 *)&mediaBox, sizeof

(CGRect));

CFDictionaryRef pageDictionary = CFDictionaryCreate(NULL, (const void **)

myKeys,
(const void **) myValues,
1,

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Graphics Contexts
Creating a PDF Graphics Context

&kCFTypeDictionaryKeyCallBacks,
&
kCFTypeDictionaryValueCallBacks);

CGPDFContextBeginPage(myPDFContext, &pageDictionary); // 5

// ********** Your drawing code here ********** // 6

CGContextSetRGBFillColor (myPDFContext, 1, 0, 0, 1);

CGContextFillRect (myPDFContext, CGRectMake (0, 0, 200, 100 ));

CGContextSetRGBFillColor (myPDFContext, 0, 0, 1, .5);

CGContextFillRect (myPDFContext, CGRectMake (0, 0, 100, 200 ));

CGPDFContextEndPage(myPDFContext); // 7

CFRelease(pageDictionary); // 8

CFRelease(myValues[0]);

CGContextRelease(myPDFContext);

Here’s what the code does:

1. Declares a variable for the rectangle that you use to define the PDF media box.
2. Sets the origin of the media box to (0,0) and the width and height to variables supplied by the application.
3. Calls the function MyPDFContextCreate (See Listing 2-3 (page 32)) to obtain a PDF graphics context,
supplying a media box and a pathname. The macro CFSTR converts a string to a CFStringRef data type.
4. Sets up a dictionary with the page options. In this example, only the media box is specified. You don’t
have to pass the same rectangle you used to set up the PDF graphics context. The media box you add
here supersedes the rectangle you pass to set up the PDF graphics context.
5. Signals the start of a page. This function is used for page-oriented graphics, which is what PDF drawing
is.
6. Calls Quartz 2D drawing functions. You replace this and the following four lines of code with the drawing
code appropriate for your application.
7. Signals the end of the PDF page.
8. Releases the dictionary and the PDF graphics context when they are no longer needed.

You can write any content to a PDF that’s appropriate for your application—images, text, path drawing—and
you can add links and encryption. For more information see PDF Document Creation, Viewing, and
Transforming (page 190).

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Graphics Contexts
Creating a Bitmap Graphics Context

Creating a Bitmap Graphics Context

A bitmap graphics context accepts a pointer to a memory buffer that contains storage space for the bitmap.
When you paint into the bitmap graphics context, the buffer is updated. After you release the graphics context,
you have a fully updated bitmap in the pixel format you specify.

Note: Bitmap graphics contexts are sometimes used for drawing offscreen. Before you decide to
use a bitmap graphics context for this purpose, see Core Graphics Layer Drawing (page 179). CGLayer
objects (CGLayerRef) are optimized for offscreen drawing because, whenever possible, Quartz
caches layers on the video card.

iOS Note: iOS applications should use the function UIGraphicsBeginImageContextWithOptions

instead of using the low-level Quartz functions described here. If your application creates an offscreen
bitmap using Quartz, the coordinate system used by bitmap graphics context is the default Quartz
coordinate system. In contrast, if your application creates an image context by calling the function
UIGraphicsBeginImageContextWithOptions, UIKit applies the same transformation to the
context’s coordinate system as it does to a UIView object’s graphics context. This allows your
application to use the same drawing code for either without having to worry about different
coordinate systems. Although your application can manually adjust the coordinate transformation
matrix to achieve the correct results, in practice, there is no performance benefit to doing so.

You use the function CGBitmapContextCreate to create a bitmap graphics context. This function takes the
following parameters:
● data. Supply a pointer to the destination in memory where you want the drawing rendered. The size of
this memory block should be at least (bytesPerRow*height) bytes.
● width. Specify the width, in pixels, of the bitmap.
● height. Specify the height, in pixels, of the bitmap.
● bitsPerComponent. Specify the number of bits to use for each component of a pixel in memory. For
example, for a 32-bit pixel format and an RGB color space, you would specify a value of 8 bits per
component. See Supported Pixel Formats (page 39).
● bytesPerRow. Specify the number of bytes of memory to use per row of the bitmap.

Tip: When you create a bitmap graphics context, you’ll get the best performance if you make
sure the data and bytesPerRow are 16-byte aligned.

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Graphics Contexts
Creating a Bitmap Graphics Context

● colorspace. The color space to use for the bitmap context. You can provide a Gray, RGB, CMYK, or NULL
color space when you create a bitmap graphics context. For detailed information on color spaces and
color management principles, see Color Management Overview . For information on creating and using
color spaces in Quartz, see Color and Color Spaces (page 68). For information about supported color
spaces, see Color Spaces and Bitmap Layout (page 149) in the Bitmap Images and Image Masks (page 146)
chapter.
● bitmapInfo. Bitmap layout information, expressed as a CGBitmapInfo constant, that specifies whether
the bitmap should contain an alpha component, the relative location of the alpha component (if there is
one) in a pixel, whether the alpha component is premultiplied, and whether the color components are
integer or floating-point values. For detailed information on what these constants are, when each is used,
and Quartz-supported pixel formats for bitmap graphics contexts and images, see Color Spaces and Bitmap
Layout (page 149) in the Bitmap Images and Image Masks (page 146) chapter.

Listing 2-5 shows how to create a bitmap graphics context. When you draw into the resulting bitmap graphics
context, Quartz records your drawing as bitmap data in the specified block of memory. A detailed explanation
for each numbered line of code follows the listing.

Listing 2-5 Creating a bitmap graphics context

CGContextRef MyCreateBitmapContext (int pixelsWide,

int pixelsHigh)

CGContextRef context = NULL;

CGColorSpaceRef colorSpace;

void * bitmapData;

int bitmapByteCount;
int bitmapBytesPerRow;

bitmapBytesPerRow = (pixelsWide * 4); // 1

bitmapByteCount = (bitmapBytesPerRow * pixelsHigh);

colorSpace = CGColorSpaceCreateWithName(kCGColorSpaceGenericRGB); // 2

bitmapData = calloc( bitmapByteCount ); // 3

if (bitmapData == NULL)

fprintf (stderr, "Memory not allocated!");

return NULL;

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Graphics Contexts
Creating a Bitmap Graphics Context

context = CGBitmapContextCreate (bitmapData, // 4

pixelsWide,

pixelsHigh,

8, // bits per component

bitmapBytesPerRow,

colorSpace,

kCGImageAlphaPremultipliedLast);

if (context== NULL)

free (bitmapData); // 5

fprintf (stderr, "Context not created!");

return NULL;

CGColorSpaceRelease( colorSpace ); // 6

return context; // 7

Here’s what the code does:

1. Declares a variable to represent the number of bytes per row. Each pixel in the bitmap in this example is
represented by 4 bytes; 8 bits each of red, green, blue, and alpha.
2. Creates a generic RGB color space. You can also create a CMYK color space. See Color and Color Spaces (page
68) for more information and for a discussion of generic color spaces versus device dependent ones.
3. Calls the calloc function to create and clear a block of memory in which to store the bitmap data. This
example creates a 32-bit RGBA bitmap (that is, an array with 32 bits per pixel, each pixel containing 8 bits
each of red, green, blue, and alpha information). Each pixel in the bitmap occupies 4 bytes of memory. In
Mac OS X 10.6 and iOS 4, this step can be omitted—if you pass NULL as bitmap data, Quartz automatically
allocates space for the bitmap.
4. Creates a bitmap graphics context, supplying the bitmap data, the width and height of the bitmap, the
number of bits per component, the bytes per row, the color space, and a constant that specifies whether
the bitmap should contain an alpha channel and its relative location in a pixel. The constant
kCGImageAlphaPremultipliedLast indicates that the alpha component is stored in the last byte of
each pixel and that the color components have already been multiplied by this alpha value. See The Alpha
Value (page 69) for more information on premultiplied alpha.

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Graphics Contexts
Creating a Bitmap Graphics Context

5. If the context isn’t created for some reason, frees the memory allocated for the bitmap data.
6. Releases the color space.
7. Returns the bitmap graphics context. The caller must release the graphics context when it is no longer
needed.

Listing 2-6 shows code that calls MyCreateBitmapContext to create a bitmap graphics context, uses the
bitmap graphics context to create a CGImage object, then draws the resulting image to a window graphics
context. Figure 2-3 (page 39) shows the image drawn to the window. A detailed explanation for each numbered
line of code follows the listing.

Listing 2-6 Drawing to a bitmap graphics context

CGRect myBoundingBox; // 1

myBoundingBox = CGRectMake (0, 0, myWidth, myHeight); // 2

myBitmapContext = MyCreateBitmapContext (400, 300); // 3

// ********** Your drawing code here ********** // 4

CGContextSetRGBFillColor (myBitmapContext, 1, 0, 0, 1);

CGContextFillRect (myBitmapContext, CGRectMake (0, 0, 200, 100 ));

CGContextSetRGBFillColor (myBitmapContext, 0, 0, 1, .5);

CGContextFillRect (myBitmapContext, CGRectMake (0, 0, 100, 200 ));

myImage = CGBitmapContextCreateImage (myBitmapContext); // 5

CGContextDrawImage(myContext, myBoundingBox, myImage); // 6

char *bitmapData = CGBitmapContextGetData(myBitmapContext); // 7

CGContextRelease (myBitmapContext); // 8

if (bitmapData) free(bitmapData); // 9

CGImageRelease(myImage); // 10

Here’s what the code does:

1. Declares a variable to store the origin and dimensions of the bounding box into which Quartz will draw
an image created from the bitmap graphics context.
2. Sets the origin of the bounding box to (0,0) and the width and height to variables previously declared,
but whose declaration are not shown in this code.
3. Calls the application-supplied function MyCreateBitmapContext (see Listing 2-5 (page 36)) to create
a bitmap context that is 400 pixels wide and 300 pixels high. You can create a bitmap graphics context
using any dimensions that are appropriate for your application.

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Graphics Contexts
Creating a Bitmap Graphics Context

4. Calls Quartz 2D functions to draw into the bitmap graphics context. You would replace this and the next
four lines of code with drawing code appropriate for your application.
5. Creates a Quartz 2D image (CGImageRef) from the bitmap graphics context.
6. Draws the image into the location in the window graphics context that is specified by the bounding box.
The bounding box specifies the location and dimensions in user space in which to draw the image.
This example does not show the creation of the window graphics context. See Creating a Window Graphics
Context in Mac OS X (page 28) for information on how to create one.
7. Gets the bitmap data associated with the bitmap graphics context.
8. Releases the bitmap graphics context when it is no longer needed.
9. Free the bitmap data if it exists.
10. Releases the image when it is no longer needed.

Figure 2-3 An image created from a bitmap graphics context and drawn to a window graphics context

Supported Pixel Formats

Table 2-1 summarizes the pixel formats that are supported for bitmap graphics context, the associated color
space (cs), and the version of Mac OS X in which the format was first available. The pixel format is specified
as bits per pixel (bpp) and bits per component (bpc). The table also includes the bitmap information constant
associated with that pixel format. See CGImage Reference for details on what each of the bitmap information
format constants represent.

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Graphics Contexts
Creating a Bitmap Graphics Context

Table 2-1 Pixel formats supported for bitmap graphics contexts

CS Pixel format and bitmap information constant Availability

Null 8 bpp, 8 bpc, kCGImageAlphaOnly Mac OS X, iOS

Gray 8 bpp, 8 bpc,kCGImageAlphaNone Mac OS X, iOS

Gray 8 bpp, 8 bpc,kCGImageAlphaOnly Mac OS X, iOS

Gray 16 bpp, 16 bpc, kCGImageAlphaNone Mac OS X

Gray 32 bpp, 32 bpc, kCGImageAlphaNone|kCGBitmapFloatComponents Mac OS X

RGB 16 bpp, 5 bpc, kCGImageAlphaNoneSkipFirst Mac OS X, iOS

RGB 32 bpp, 8 bpc, kCGImageAlphaNoneSkipFirst Mac OS X, iOS

RGB 32 bpp, 8 bpc, kCGImageAlphaNoneSkipLast Mac OS X, iOS

RGB 32 bpp, 8 bpc, kCGImageAlphaPremultipliedFirst Mac OS X, iOS

RGB 32 bpp, 8 bpc, kCGImageAlphaPremultipliedLast Mac OS X, iOS

RGB 64 bpp, 16 bpc, kCGImageAlphaPremultipliedLast Mac OS X

RGB 64 bpp, 16 bpc, kCGImageAlphaNoneSkipLast Mac OS X

RGB 128 bpp, 32 bpc, kCGImageAlphaNoneSkipLast |kCGBitmapFloat- Mac OS X

Components

RGB 128 bpp, 32 bpc, kCGImageAlphaPremultipliedLast Mac OS X

|kCGBitmapFloatComponents

CMYK 32 bpp, 8 bpc, kCGImageAlphaNone Mac OS X

CMYK 64 bpp, 16 bpc, kCGImageAlphaNone Mac OS X

CMYK 128 bpp, 32 bpc, kCGImageAlphaNone |kCGBitmapFloatComponents Mac OS X

Anti-Aliasing
Bitmap graphics contexts support anti-aliasing, which is the process of artificially correcting the jagged (or
aliased) edges you sometimes see in bitmap images when text or shapes are drawn. These jagged edges occur
when the resolution of the bitmap is significantly lower than the resolution of your eyes. To make objects
appear smooth in the bitmap, Quartz uses different colors for the pixels that surround the outline of the shape.

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Graphics Contexts
Obtaining a Graphics Context for Printing

By blending the colors in this way, the shape appears smooth. You can see the effect of using anti-aliasing in
Figure 2-4. You can turn anti-aliasing off for a particular bitmap graphics context by calling the function
CGContextSetShouldAntialias. The anti-aliasing setting is part of the graphics state.

You can control whether to allow anti-aliasing for a particular graphics context by using the function
CGContextSetAllowsAntialiasing. Pass true to this function to allow anti-aliasing; false not to allow
it. This setting is not part of the graphics state. Quartz performs anti-aliasing when the context and the graphic
state settings are set to true.

Figure 2-4 A comparison of aliased and anti-aliasing drawing

Obtaining a Graphics Context for Printing

Cocoa applications in Mac OS X implement printing through custom NSView subclasses. A view is told to print
by invoking its print: method. The view then creates a graphics context that targets a printer and calls its
drawRect: method. Your application uses the same drawing code to draw to the printer that it uses to draw
to the screen. It can also customize the drawRect: call to an image to the printer that is different from the
one sent to the screen.

For a detailed discussion of printing in Cocoa, see Printing Programming Guide for Mac .

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Paths

A path defines one or more shapes, or subpaths. A subpath can consist of straight lines, curves, or both. It can
be open or closed. A subpath can be a simple shape, such as a line, circle, rectangle, or star, or a more complex
shape such as the silhouette of a mountain range or an abstract doodle. Figure 3-1 shows some of the paths
you can create. The straight line (at the upper left of the figure) is dashed; lines can also be solid. The squiggly
path (in the middle top) is made up of several curves and is an open path. The concentric circles are filled, but
not stroked. The State of California is a closed path, made up of many curves and lines, and the path is both
stroked and filled. The stars illustrate two options for filling paths, which you’ll read about later in this chapter.

Figure 3-1 Quartz supports path-based drawing

In this chapter, you’ll learn about the building blocks that make up paths, how to stroke and paint paths, and
the parameters that affect the appearance of paths.

Path Creation and Path Painting

Path creation and path painting are separate tasks. First you create a path. When you want to render a path,
you request Quartz to paint it. As you can see in Figure 3-1, you can choose to stroke the path, fill the path, or
both stroke and fill the path. You can also use a path to constrain the drawing of other objects within the
bounds of the path creating, in effect, a clipping area.

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Paths
Path Creation and Path Painting

Figure 3-2 shows a path that has been painted and that contains two subpaths. The subpath on the left is a
rectangle, and the subpath on the right is an abstract shape made up of straight lines and curves. Each subpath
is filled and its outline stroked.

Figure 3-2 A path that contains two shapes, or subpaths

Figure 3-3 shows multiple paths drawn independently. Each path contains a randomly generated curve, some
of which are filled and others stroked. Drawing is constrained to a circular area by a clipping area.

Figure 3-3 A clipping area constrains drawing

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Paths
The Building Blocks

The Building Blocks

Subpaths are built from lines, arcs, and curves. Quartz also provides convenience functions to add rectangles
and ellipses with a single function call. Points are also essential building blocks of paths because points define
starting and ending locations of shapes.

Points
Points are x and y coordinates that specify a location in user space. You can call the function
CGContextMoveToPoint to specify a starting position for a new subpath. Quartz keeps track of the current
point, which is the last location used for path construction. For example, if you call the function
CGContextMoveToPoint to set a location at (10,10), that moves the current point to (10,10). If you then draw
a horizontal line 50 units long, the last point on the line, that is, (60,10), becomes the current point. Lines, arcs,
and curves are always drawn starting from the current point.

Most of the time you specify a point by passing to Quartz functions two floating-point values to specify x and
y coordinates. Some functions require that you pass a CGPoint data structure, which holds two floating-point
values.

Lines
A line is defined by its endpoints. Its starting point is always assumed to be the current point, so when you
create a line, you specify only its endpoint. You use the function CGContextAddLineToPoint to append a
single line to a subpath.

You can add a series of connected lines to a path by calling the function CGContextAddLines. You pass this
function an array of points. The first point must be the starting point of the first line; the remaining points are
endpoints. Quartz begins a new subpath at the first point and connects a straight line segment to each endpoint.

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Paths
The Building Blocks

Arcs
Arcs are circle segments. Quartz provides two functions that create arcs. The function CGContextAddArc
creates a curved segment from a circle. You specify the center of the circle, the radius, and the radial angle (in
radians). You can create a full circle by specifying a radial angle of 2 pi. Figure 3-4 shows multiple paths drawn
independently. Each path contains a randomly generated circle; some are filled and others are stroked.

Figure 3-4 Multiple paths; each path contains a randomly generated circle

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Paths
The Building Blocks

The function CGContextAddArcToPoint is ideal to use when you want to round the corners of a rectangle.
Quartz uses the endpoints you supply to create two tangent lines. You also supply the radius of the circle from
which Quartz slices the arc. The center point of the arc is the intersection of two radii, each of which is
perpendicular to one of the two tangent lines. Each endpoint of the arc is a tangent point on one of the tangent
lines, as shown in Figure 3-5. The red portion of the circle is what’s actually drawn.

Figure 3-5 Defining an arc with two tangent lines and a radius
Tangent Tangent
line 1 point 1

Tangent
line 2
Radius

Tangent
point 2

If the current path already contains a subpath, Quartz appends a straight line segment from the current point
to the starting point of the arc. If the current path is empty, Quartz creates a new subpath at the starting point
for the arc and does not add the initial straight line segment.

Curves
Quadratic and cubic Bézier curves are algebraic curves that can specify any number of interesting curvilinear
shapes. Points on these curves are calculated by applying a polynomial formula to starting and ending points,
and one or more control points. Shapes defined in this way are the basis for vector graphics. A formula is much
more compact to store than an array of bits and has the advantage that the curve can be re-created at any
resolution.

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Paths
The Building Blocks

Figure 3-6 shows a variety of curves created by drawing multiple paths independently. Each path contains a
randomly generated curve; some are filled and others are stroked.

Figure 3-6 Multiple paths; each path contains a randomly generated curve

The polynomial formulas that give to rise to quadratic and cubic Bézier curves, and the details on how to
generate the curves from the formulas, are discussed in many mathematics texts and online sources that
describe computer graphics. These details are not discussed here.

You use the function CGContextAddCurveToPoint to append a cubic Bézier curve from the current point,
using control points and an endpoint you specify. Figure 3-7 shows the cubic Bézier curve that results from
the current point, control points, and endpoint shown in the figure. The placement of the two control points
determines the geometry of the curve. If the control points are both above the starting and ending points, the
curve arches upward. If the control points are both below the starting and ending points, the curve arches
downward. If the second control point is closer to the current point (starting point) than the first control point,
the curve crosses over itself, creating a loop.

Figure 3-7 A cubic Bézier curve uses two control points

Point 2
Control point

Point 1 Point 3 Point 4

Current point Control point Endpoint

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Paths
The Building Blocks

You can append a quadratic Bézier curve from the current point by calling the function
CGContextAddQuadCurveToPoint, and specifying a control point and an endpoint. Figure 3-8 shows two
curves that result from using the same endpoints but different control points. The control point determines
the direction that the curve arches. It’s not possible to create as many interesting shapes with a quadratic
Bézier curve as you can with a cubic one because quadratic curves use only one control point. For example,
it’s not possible to create a crossover using a single control point.

Figure 3-8 A quadratic Bézier curve uses one control point

B Control point
B Control point

A Current point C Endpoint A Current point C Endpoint

Closing a Subpath
To close the current subpath, your application should call CGContextClosePath. This function adds a line
segment from the current point to the starting point of the subpath and closes the subpath. Lines, arcs, and
curves that end at the starting point of a subpath do not actually close the subpath. You must explicitly call
CGContextClosePath to close a subpath.

Some Quartz functions treat a path’s subpaths as if they were closed by your application. Those commands
treat each subpath as if your application had called CGContextClosePath to close it, implicitly adding a line
segment to the starting point of the subpath.

After closing a subpath, if your application makes additional calls to add lines, arcs, or curves to the path, Quartz
begins a new subpath starting at the starting point of the subpath you just closed.

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The Building Blocks

Ellipses
An ellipse is essentially a squashed circle. You create one by defining two focus points and then plotting all
the points that lie at a distance such that adding the distance from any point on the ellipse to one focus to
the distance from that same point to the other focus point is always the same value. Figure 3-9 shows multiple
paths drawn independently. Each path contains a randomly generated ellipse; some are filled and others are
stroked.

Figure 3-9 Multiple paths; each path contains a randomly generated ellipse

You can add an ellipse to the current path by calling the function CGContextAddEllipseInRect. You supply
a rectangle that defines the bounds of the ellipse. Quartz approximates the ellipse using a sequence of Bézier
curves. The center of the ellipse is the center of the rectangle. If the width and height of the rectangle are equal
(that is, a square), the ellipse is circular, with a radius equal to one-half the width (or height) of the rectangle.
If the width and height of the rectangle are unequal, they define the major and minor axes of the ellipse.

The ellipse that is added to the path starts with a move-to operation and ends with a close-subpath operation,
with all moves oriented in the clockwise direction.

Rectangles
You can add a rectangle to the current path by calling the function CGContextAddRect. You supply a CGRect
structure that contains the origin of the rectangle and its width and height.

The rectangle that is added to the path starts with a move-to operation and ends with a close-subpath operation,
with all moves oriented in the counter-clockwise direction.

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Creating a Path

You can add many rectangles to the current path by calling the function CGContextAddRects and supplying
an array of CGRect structures. Figure 3-10 shows multiple paths drawn independently. Each path contains a
randomly generated rectangle; some are filled and others are stroked.

Figure 3-10 Multiple paths; each path contains a randomly generated rectangle

Creating a Path
When you want to construct a path in a graphics context, you signal Quartz by calling the function
CGContextBeginPath . Next, you set the starting point for the first shape, or subpath, in the path by calling
the function CGContextMoveToPoint. After you establish the first point, you can add lines, arcs, and curves
to the path, keeping in mind the following:
● Before you begin a new path, call the function CGContextBeginPath.
● Lines, arcs, and curves are drawn starting at the current point. An empty path has no current point; you
must call CGContextMoveToPoint to set the starting point for the first subpath or call a convenience
function that implicitly does this for you.
● When you want to close the current subpath within a path, call the function CGContextClosePath to
connect a segment to the starting point of the subpath. Subsequent path calls begin a new subpath, even
if you do not explicitly set a new starting point.
● When you draw arcs, Quartz draws a line between the current point and the starting point of the arc.
● Quartz routines that add ellipses and rectangles add a new closed subpath to the path.
● You must call a painting function to fill or stroke the path because creating a path does not draw the path.
See Painting a Path (page 51) for detailed information.

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Painting a Path

After you paint a path, it is flushed from the graphics context. You might not want to lose your path so easily,
especially if it depicts a complex scene you want to use over and over again. For that reason, Quartz provides
two data types for creating reusable paths—CGPathRef and CGMutablePathRef. You can call the function
CGPathCreateMutable to create a mutable CGPath object to which you can add lines, arcs, curves, and
rectangles. Quartz provides a set of CGPath functions that parallel the functions discussed in The Building
Blocks (page 44). The path functions operate on a CGPath object instead of a graphics context. These functions
are:
● CGPathCreateMutable, which replacesCGContextBeginPath
● CGPathMoveToPoint, which replaces CGContextMoveToPoint
● CGPathAddLineToPoint, which replaces CGContextAddLineToPoint
● CGPathAddCurveToPoint, which replaces CGContextAddCurveToPoint
● CGPathAddEllipseInRect, which replaces CGContextAddEllipseInRect
● CGPathAddArc, which replaces CGContextAddArc
● CGPathAddRect, which replaces CGContextAddRect
● CGPathCloseSubpath, which replaces CGContextClosePath

See Quartz 2D Reference Collection for a complete list of the path functions.

When you want to append the path to a graphics context, you call the function CGContextAddPath. The
path stays in the graphics context until Quartz paints it. You can add the path again by calling
CGContextAddPath.

Note: You can replace the path in a graphics context with the stroked version of the path by calling
the function CGContextReplacePathWithStrokedPath.

Painting a Path
You can paint the current path by stroking or filling or both. Stroking paints a line that straddles the path. Filling
paints the area contained within the path. Quartz has functions that let you stroke a path, fill a path, or both
stroke and fill a path. The characteristics of the stroked line (width, color, and so forth), the fill color, and the
method Quartz uses to calculate the fill area are all part of the graphics state (see Graphics States (page 22)).

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Painting a Path

Parameters That Affect Stroking

You can affect how a path is stroked by modifying the parameters listed in Table 3-1. These parameters are
part of the graphics state, which means that the value you set for a parameter affects all subsequent stroking
until you set the parameter to another value.

Table 3-1 Parameters that affect how Quartz strokes the current path

Parameter Function to set parameter value

Line width CGContextSetLineWidth

Line join CGContextSetLineJoin

Line cap CGContextSetLineCap

Miter limit CGContextSetMiterLimit

Line dash pattern CGContextSetLineDash

Stroke color space CGContextSetStrokeColorSpace

Stroke color CGContextSetStrokeColorCGContextSetStrokeColorWithColor

Stroke pattern CGContextSetStrokePattern

The line width is the total width of the line, expressed in units of the user space. The line straddles the path,
with half of the total width on either side.

The line join specifies how Quartz draws the junction between connected line segments. Quartz supports the
line join styles described in Table 3-2. The default style is miter join.

Table 3-2 Line join styles

Style Appearance Description

Miter join Quartz extends the outer edges of the strokes for the two segments
until they meet at an angle, as in a picture frame. If the segments
meet at too sharp an angle, a bevel join is used instead. A segment
is too sharp if the length of the miter divided by the line width is
greater than the miter limit.

Round join Quartz draws a semicircular arc with a diameter equal to the line
width around the endpoint. The enclosed area is filled in.

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Painting a Path

Style Appearance Description

Bevel join Quartz finishes the two segments with butt caps. The resulting
notch beyond the ends of the segments is filled with a triangle.

The line cap specifies the method used by CGContextStrokePath to draw the endpoint of the line. Quartz
supports the line cap styles described in Table 3-3. The default style is butt cap.

Table 3-3 Line cap styles

Style Appearance Description

Butt cap Quartz squares off the stroke at the endpoint of the path.
There is no projection beyond the end of the path.

Round cap Quartz draws a circle with a diameter equal to the line width
around the point where the two segments meet, producing
a rounded corner. The enclosed area is filled in.

Projecting Quartz extends the stroke beyond the endpoint of the path
square cap for a distance equal to half the line width. The extension is
squared off.

A closed subpath treats the starting point as a junction between connected line segments; the starting point
is rendered using the selected line-join method. In contrast, if you close the path by adding a line segment
that connects to the starting point, both ends of the path are drawn using the selected line-cap method.

A line dash pattern allows you to draw a segmented line along the stroked path. You control the size and
placement of dash segments along the line by specifying the dash array and the dash phase as parameters to
CGContextSetLineDash:

void CGContextSetLineDash (

CGContextRef ctx,

CGFloat phase,

const CGFloat lengths[],

size_t count

);

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Painting a Path

The elements of the lengths parameter specify the widths of the dashes, alternating between the painted
and unpainted segments of the line. The phase parameter specifies the starting point of the dash pattern.
Figure 3-11 shows some line dash patterns.

Figure 3-11 Examples of line dash patterns

Phase:0 pattern: {2,3}

Phase:0 pattern: {6,5}

Phase:3 pattern: {6,5}

Phase:0 pattern: {6,2}

Phase:0 pattern: {5,1,4,1,3,1,2,1,1,1,1,2,1,3,1,4,1,5}

The stroke color space determines how the stroke color values are interpreted by Quartz. You can also specify
a Quartz color (CGColorRef data type) that encapsulates both color and color space. For more information
on setting color space and color, see Color and Color Spaces (page 68).

Functions for Stroking a Path

Quartz provides the functions shown in Table 3-4 for stroking the current path. Some are convenience functions
for stroking rectangles or ellipses.

Table 3-4 Functions that stroke paths

Function Description

CGContextStrokePath Strokes the current path.

CGContextStrokeRect Strokes the specified rectangle.

CGContextStrokeRectWithWidth Strokes the specified rectangle, using the specified line width.

CGContextStrokeEllipseInRect Strokes an ellipse that fits inside the specified rectangle.

CGContextStrokeLineSegments Strokes a sequence of lines.

CGContextDrawPath If you pass the constant kCGPathStroke, strokes the current

path. See Filling a Path (page 55) if you want to both fill and
stroke a path.

The function CGContextStrokeLineSegments is equivalent to the following code:

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Painting a Path

CGContextBeginPath (context);

for (k = 0; k < count; k += 2) {

CGContextMoveToPoint(context, s[k].x, s[k].y);

CGContextAddLineToPoint(context, s[k+1].x, s[k+1].y);

CGContextStrokePath(context);

When you call CGContextStrokeLineSegments, you specify the line segments as an array of points, organized
as pairs. Each pair consists of the starting point of a line segment followed by the ending point of a line segment.
For example, the first point in the array specifies the starting position of the first line, the second point specifies
the ending position of the first line, the third point specifies the starting position of the second line, and so
forth.

Filling a Path
When you fill the current path, Quartz acts as if each subpath contained in the path were closed. It then uses
these closed subpaths and calculates the pixels to fill. There are two ways Quartz can calculate the fill area.
Simple paths such as ovals and rectangles have a well-defined area. But if your path is composed of overlapping
segments or if the path includes multiple subpaths, such as the concentric circles shown in Figure 3-12, there
are two rules you can use to determine the fill area.

The default fill rule is called the nonzero winding number rule. To determine whether a specific point should be
painted, start at the point and draw a line beyond the bounds of the drawing. Starting with a count of 0, add
1 to the count every time a path segment crosses the line from left to right, and subtract 1 every time a path
segment crosses the line from right to left. If the result is 0, the point is not painted. Otherwise, the point is
painted. The direction that the path segments are drawn affects the outcome. Figure 3-12 (page 56) shows
two sets of inner and outer circles that are filled using the nonzero winding number rule. When each circle is
drawn in the same direction, both circles are filled. When the circles are drawn in opposite directions, the inner
circle is not filled.

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Painting a Path

You can opt to use the even-odd rule. To determine whether a specific point should be painted, start at the
point and draw a line beyond the bounds of the drawing. Count the number of path segments that the line
crosses. If the result is odd, the point is painted. If the result is even, the point is not painted. The direction that
the path segments are drawn doesn’t affect the outcome. As you can see in Figure 3-12, it doesn’t matter which
direction each circle is drawn, the fill will always be as shown.

Figure 3-12 Concentric circles filled using different fill rules

Winding-number Even-odd

Quartz provides the functions shown in Table 3-5 for filling the current path. Some are convenience functions
for stroking rectangles or ellipses.

Table 3-5 Functions that fill paths

Function Description

CGContextEOFillPath Fills the current path using the even-odd rule.

CGContextFillPath Fills the current path using the nonzero winding number rule.

CGContextFillRect Fills the area that fits inside the specified rectangle.

CGContextFillRects Fills the areas that fits inside the specified rectangles.

CGContextFillEllipseInRect Fills an ellipse that fits inside the specified rectangle.

CGContextDrawPath Fills the current path if you pass kCGPathFill (nonzero winding
number rule) or kCGPathEOFill (even-odd rule). Fills and strokes
the current path if you pass kCGPathFillStroke or
kCGPathEOFillStroke.

Setting Blend Modes

Blend modes specify how Quartz applies paint over a background. Quartz uses normal blend mode by default,
which combines the foreground painting with the background painting using the following formula:

result = (alpha * foreground) + (1 - alpha) * background

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Painting a Path

Color and Color Spaces (page 68) provides a detailed discussion of the alpha component of a color, which
specifies the opacity of a color. For the examples in this section, you can assume a color is completely opaque
(alpha value = 1.0). For opaque colors, when you paint using normal blend mode, anything you paint over the
background completely obscures the background.

You can set the blend mode to achieve a variety of effects by calling the function CGContextSetBlendMode,
passing the appropriate blend mode constant. Keep in mind that the blend mode is part of the graphics state.
If you use the function CGContextSaveGState prior to changing the blend mode, then calling the function
CGContextRestoreGState resets the blend mode to normal.

The rest of this section show the results of painting the rectangles shown in Figure 3-13 over the rectangles
shown in Figure 3-14. In each case (Figure 3-15 through Figure 3-30), the background rectangles are painted
using normal blend mode. Then the blend mode is changed by calling the function CGContextSetBlendMode
with the appropriate constant. Finally, the foreground rectangles are painted.

Figure 3-13 The rectangles painted in the foreground

Figure 3-14 The rectangles painted in the background

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Painting a Path

Note: You can also use blend modes to composite two images or to composite an image over any
content that’s already drawn to the graphics context. Using Blend Modes with Images (page 164)
provides information on how to use blend modes to composite images and shows the results of
applying blend modes to two images.

Normal Blend Mode

Because normal blend mode is the default blend mode, you call the function CGContextSetBlendMode with
the constant kCGBlendModeNormal only to reset the blend mode back to the default after you’ve used one
of the other blend mode constants. Figure 3-15 shows the result of painting Figure 3-13 (page 57) over Figure
3-14 (page 57) using normal blend mode.

Figure 3-15 Rectangles painted using normal blend mode

Multiply Blend Mode

Multiply blend mode specifies to multiply the foreground image samples with the background image samples.
The resulting colors are at least as dark as either of the two contributing sample colors. Figure 3-16 shows the
result of painting Figure 3-13 (page 57) over Figure 3-14 (page 57) using multiply blend mode. To use this
blend mode, call the function CGContextSetBlendMode with the constant kCGBlendModeMultiply.

Figure 3-16 Rectangles painted using multiply blend mode

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Painting a Path

Screen Blend Mode

Screen blend mode specifies to multiply the inverse of the foreground image samples with the inverse of the
background image samples. The resulting colors are at least as light as either of the two contributing sample
colors. Figure 3-17 shows the result of painting Figure 3-13 (page 57) over Figure 3-14 (page 57) using screen
blend mode. To use this blend mode, call the function CGContextSetBlendMode with the constant
kCGBlendModeScreen.

Figure 3-17 Rectangles painted using screen blend mode

Overlay Blend Mode

Overlay blend mode specifies to either multiply or screen the foreground image samples with the background
image samples, depending on the background color. The background color mixes with the foreground color
to reflect the lightness or darkness of the background. Figure 3-18 shows the result of painting Figure 3-13 (page
57) over Figure 3-14 (page 57) using overlay blend mode. To use this blend mode, call the function
CGContextSetBlendMode with the constant kCGBlendModeOverlay.

Figure 3-18 Rectangles painted using overlay blend mode

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Paths
Painting a Path

Darken Blend Mode

Specifies to create the composite image samples by choosing the darker samples (either from the foreground
image or the background). The background image samples are replaced by any foreground image samples
that are darker. Otherwise, the background image samples are left unchanged. Figure 3-19 shows the result
of painting Figure 3-13 (page 57) over Figure 3-14 (page 57) using darken blend mode. To use this blend
mode, call the function CGContextSetBlendMode with the constant kCGBlendModeDarken.

Figure 3-19 Rectangles painted using darken blend mode

Lighten Blend Mode

Specifies to create the composite image samples by choosing the lighter samples (either from the foreground
or the background). The result is that the background image samples are replaced by any foreground image
samples that are lighter. Otherwise, the background image samples are left unchanged. Figure 3-20 shows the
result of painting Figure 3-13 (page 57) over Figure 3-14 (page 57) using lighten blend mode. To use this
blend mode, call the function CGContextSetBlendMode with the constant kCGBlendModeLighten.

Figure 3-20 Rectangles painted using lighten blend mode

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Paths
Painting a Path

Color Dodge Blend Mode

Specifies to brighten the background image samples to reflect the foreground image samples. Foreground
image sample values that specify black do not produce a change. Figure 3-21 shows the result of painting
Figure 3-13 (page 57) over Figure 3-14 (page 57) using color dodge blend mode. To use this blend mode, call
the function CGContextSetBlendMode with the constant kCGBlendModeColorDodge.

Figure 3-21 Rectangles painted using color dodge blend mode

Color Burn Blend Mode

Specifies to darken the background image samples to reflect the foreground image samples. Foreground image
sample values that specify white do not produce a change. Figure 3-22 shows the result of painting Figure
3-13 (page 57) over Figure 3-14 (page 57) using color burn blend mode. To use this blend mode, call the
function CGContextSetBlendMode with the constant kCGBlendModeColorBurn.

Figure 3-22 Rectangles painted using color burn blend mode

Soft Light Blend Mode

Specifies to either darken or lighten colors, depending on the foreground image sample color. If the foreground
image sample color is lighter than 50% gray, the background is lightened, similar to dodging. If the foreground
image sample color is darker than 50% gray, the background is darkened, similar to burning. If the foreground
image sample color is equal to 50% gray, the background is not changed. Image samples that are equal to

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Paths
Painting a Path

pure black or pure white produce darker or lighter areas, but do not result in pure black or white. The overall
effect is similar to what you’d achieve by shining a diffuse spotlight on the foreground image. Use this to add
highlights to a scene. Figure 3-23 shows the result of painting Figure 3-13 (page 57) over Figure 3-14 (page
57) using soft light blend mode. To use this blend mode, call the function CGContextSetBlendMode with
the constant kCGBlendModeSoftLight.

Figure 3-23 Rectangles painted using soft light blend mode

Hard Light Blend Mode

Specifies to either multiply or screen colors, depending on the foreground image sample color. If the foreground
image sample color is lighter than 50% gray, the background is lightened, similar to screening. If the foreground
image sample color is darker than 50% gray, the background is darkened, similar to multiplying. If the foreground
image sample color is equal to 50% gray, the foreground image is not changed. Image samples that are equal
to pure black or pure white result in pure black or white. The overall effect is similar to what you’d achieve by
shining a harsh spotlight on the foreground image. Use this to add highlights to a scene. Figure 3-24 shows
the result of painting Figure 3-13 (page 57) over Figure 3-14 (page 57) using hard light blend mode. To use
this blend mode, call the function CGContextSetBlendMode with the constant kCGBlendModeHardLight.

Figure 3-24 Rectangles painted using hard light blend mode

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Paths
Painting a Path

Difference Blend Mode

Specifies to subtract either the foreground image sample color from the background image sample color, or
the reverse, depending on which sample has the greater brightness value. Foreground image sample values
that are black produce no change; white inverts the background color values. Figure 3-25 shows the result of
painting Figure 3-13 (page 57) over Figure 3-14 (page 57) using difference blend mode. To use this blend
mode, call the function CGContextSetBlendMode with the constant kCGBlendModeDifference.

Figure 3-25 Rectangles painted using difference blend mode

Exclusion Blend Mode

Specifies an effect similar to that produced by kCGBlendModeDifference, but with lower contrast. Foreground
image sample values that are black don’t produce a change; white inverts the background color values. Figure
3-26 shows the result of painting Figure 3-13 (page 57) over Figure 3-14 (page 57) using exclusion blend
mode. To use this blend mode, call the function CGContextSetBlendMode with the constant
kCGBlendModeExclusion.

Figure 3-26 Rectangles painted using exclusion blend mode

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Paths
Painting a Path

Hue Blend Mode

Specifies to use the luminance and saturation values of the background with the hue of the foreground image.
Figure 3-27 shows the result of painting Figure 3-13 (page 57) over Figure 3-14 (page 57) using hue blend
mode. To use this blend mode, call the function CGContextSetBlendMode with the constant
kCGBlendModeHue.

Figure 3-27 Rectangles painted using hue blend mode

Saturation Blend Mode

Specifies to use the luminance and hue values of the background with the saturation of the foreground image.
Areas of the background that have no saturation (that is, pure gray areas) don’t produce a change. Figure 3-28
shows the result of painting Figure 3-13 (page 57) over Figure 3-14 (page 57) using saturation blend mode.
To use this blend mode, call the function CGContextSetBlendMode with the constant
kCGBlendModeSaturation.

Figure 3-28 Rectangles painted using saturation blend mode

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Paths
Painting a Path

Color Blend Mode

Specifies to use the luminance values of the background with the hue and saturation values of the foreground
image. This mode preserves the gray levels in the image. You can use this mode to color monochrome images
or to tint color images. Figure 3-29 shows the result of painting Figure 3-13 (page 57) over Figure 3-14 (page
57) using color blend mode. To use this blend mode, call the function CGContextSetBlendMode with the
constant kCGBlendModeColor.

Figure 3-29 Rectangles painted using color blend mode

Luminosity Blend Mode

Specifies to use the hue and saturation of the background with the luminance of the foreground image. This
mode creates an effect that is inverse to the effect created by kCGBlendModeColor. Figure 3-30 shows the
result of painting Figure 3-13 (page 57) over Figure 3-14 (page 57) using luminosity blend mode. To use this
blend mode, call the function CGContextSetBlendMode with the constant kCGBlendModeLuminosity.

Figure 3-30 Rectangles painted using luminosity blend mode

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Paths
Clipping to a Path

Clipping to a Path
The current clipping area is created from a path that serves as a mask, allowing you to block out the part of the
page that you don’t want to paint. For example, if you have a very large bitmap image and want to show only
a small portion of it, you could set the clipping area to display only the portion you want to show.

When you paint, Quartz renders paint only within the clipping area. Drawing that occurs inside the closed
subpaths of the clipping area is visible; drawing that occurs outside the closed subpaths of the clipping area
is not.

When the graphics context is initially created, the clipping area includes all of the paintable area of the context
(for example, the media box of a PDF context). You alter the clipping area by setting the current path and then
using a clipping function instead of a drawing function. The clipping function intersects the filled area of the
current path with the existing clipping area. Thus, you can intersect the clipping area, shrinking the visible
area of the picture, but you cannot increase the area of the clipping area.

The clipping area is part of the graphics state. To restore the clipping area to a previous state, you can save
the graphics state before you clip, and restore the graphics state after you’re done with clipped drawing.

Listing 3-1 shows a code fragment that sets up a clipping area in the shape of a circle. This code causes drawing
to be clipped, similar to what’s shown in Figure 3-3 (page 43). (For another example, see Clip the Context (page
126) in the chapter Gradients (page 112).)

Listing 3-1 Setting up a circular clip area

CGContextBeginPath (context);

CGContextAddArc (context, w/2, h/2, ((w>h) ? h : w)/2, 0, 2*PI, 0);

CGContextClosePath (context);

CGContextClip (context);

Table 3-6 Functions that clip the graphics context

Function Description

CGContextClip Uses the nonzero winding number rule to calculate the intersection of
the current path with the current clipping path.

CGContextEOClip Uses the even-odd rule to calculate the intersection of the current path
with the current clipping path.

CGContextClipToRect Sets the clipping area to the area that intersects both the current clipping
path and the specified rectangle.

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Paths
Clipping to a Path

Function Description

CGContextClipToRects Sets the clipping area to the area that intersects both the current clipping
path and region within the specified rectangles.

CGContextClipToMask Maps a mask into the specified rectangle and intersects it with the current
clipping area of the graphics context. Any subsequent path drawing you
perform to the graphics context is clipped. (See Masking an Image by
Clipping the Context (page 162).)

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Color and Color Spaces

Devices (displays, printers, scanners, cameras) don’t treat color the same way; each has its own range of colors
that the device can produce faithfully. A color produced on one device might not be able to be produced on
another device.

To work with color effectively and to understand the Quartz 2D functions for using color spaces and color, you
should be familiar with the terminology discussed in Color Management Overview . That document discusses
color perception, color values, device-independent and device color spaces, the color-matching problem,
rendering intent, color management modules, and ColorSync.

In this chapter, you’ll learn how Quartz represents color and color spaces, and what the alpha component is.
This chapter also discusses how to:
● Create color spaces
● Create and set colors
● Set rendering intent

About Color and Color Spaces

A color in Quartz is represented by a set of values. The values are meaningless without a color space that
dictates how to interpret color information. For example, the values in Table 4-1 all represent the color blue
at full intensity. But without knowing the color space or the allowable range of values for each color space,
you have no way of knowing which color each set of values represents.

Table 4-1 Color values in different color spaces

Values Color space Components

240 degrees, 100%, 100% HSB Hue, saturation, brightness

0, 0, 1 RGB Red, green, blue

1, 1, 0, 0 CMYK Cyan, magenta, yellow, black

1, 0, 0 BGR Blue, green, red

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Color and Color Spaces
The Alpha Value

If you provide the wrong color space, you can get quite dramatic differences, as shown in Figure 4-1. Although
the green color is interpreted the same in BGR and RGB color spaces, the red and blue values are flipped.

Figure 4-1 Applying a BGR and an RGB color profile to the same image

BGR color profile RGB color profile

Color spaces can have different numbers of components. Three of the color spaces in the table have three
components, while the CMYK color space has four. Value ranges are relative to that color space. For most color
spaces, color values in Quartz range from 0.0 to 1.0, with 1.0 meaning full intensity. For example, the color blue
at full intensity, specified in the RGB color space in Quartz, has the values (0, 0, 1.0). In Quartz, color also has
an alpha value that specifies the transparency of a color. The color values in Table 4-1 don’t show an alpha
value.

The Alpha Value

The alpha value is the graphics state parameter that Quartz uses to determine how to composite newly painted
objects to the existing page. At full intensity, newly painted objects are opaque. At zero intensity, newly painted
objects are invisible. Figure 4-2 shows five large rectangles, drawn using alpha values of 1.0, 0.75, 0.5, 0.1, and
0.0. As the large rectangle becomes transparent, it exposes a smaller, opaque red rectangle drawn underneath.

Figure 4-2 A comparison of large rectangles painted using various alpha values
1.0 0.75 0.5 0.1 0.0

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Color and Color Spaces
The Alpha Value

You can make both the objects on the page and the page itself transparent by setting the alpha value globally
in the graphics context before painting. Figure 4-3 compares a global alpha setting of 0.5 with the default
value of 1.0.

Figure 4-3 A comparison of global alpha values

Global alpha = 0.5 Global alpha = 1.0

In the normal blend mode (which is the default for the graphics state) Quartz performs alpha blending by
combining the components of the source color with the components of the destination color using the formula:

destination = (alpha * source) + (1 - alpha) * destination

where source is one component of the new paint color and destination is one component of the background
color. This formula is executed for each newly painted shape or image.

For object transparency, set the alpha value to 1.0 to specify that objects you draw should be fully opaque;
set it to 0.0 to specify that newly drawn objects are fully transparent. An alpha value between 0.0 and 1.0
specifies a partially transparent object. You can supply an alpha value as the last color component to all routines
that accept colors. You can also set the global alpha value using the CGContextSetAlpha function. Keep in
mind that if you set both, Quartz multiplies the alpha color component by the global alpha value.

To allow the page itself to be fully transparent, you can explicitly clear the alpha channel of the graphics context
using the CGContextClearRect function, as long as the graphics context is a window or bitmap graphics
context. You might want to do this when creating a transparency mask for an icon, for example, or to make
the background of a window transparent.

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Color and Color Spaces
Creating Color Spaces

Creating Color Spaces

Quartz supports the standard color spaces used by color management systems for device-independent color
spaces and also supports generic, indexed, and pattern color spaces. Device-independent color spaces represent
color in a way that is portable between devices. They are used for the interchanges of color data from the
native color space of one device to the native color space of another device. Colors in a device-independent
color space appear the same when displayed on different devices, to the extent that the capabilities of the
device allow. For that reason, device-independent color spaces are your best choice for representing color.

Applications that have precise color requirements should always use a device-independent color space. A
common device independent color space is the generic color space. Generic color spaces let the operating
system provide the best color space for your application. Drawing to the display looks as good as printing the
same content to a printer.

Important: iOS does not support device-independent or generic color spaces. iOS applications must use
device color spaces instead.

Creating Device-Independent Color Spaces

To create a device-independent color space, you provide Quartz with the reference white point, reference
black point, and gamma values for a particular device. Quartz uses this information to convert colors from your
source color space into the color space of the output device.

The device-independent color spaces supported by Quartz, and the functions that create them are:
● L*a*b* is a nonlinear transformation of the Munsell color notation system (a system that specifies colors
by hue, value, and saturation—or chroma —values). This color space matches perceived color difference
with quantitative distance in color space. The L* component represents the lightness value, the a*
component represents values from green to red, and the b* component represents values from blue to
yellow. This color space is designed to mimic how the human brain decodes color. Use the function
CGColorSpaceCreateLab.
● ICC is a color space from an ICC color profile, as defined by the International Color Consortium. ICC profiles
define the gamut of colors supported by a device along with other device characteristics so that this
information can be used to accurately transform the color space of one device to the color space of another.
The manufacturer of the device typically provides an ICC profile. Some color monitors and printers contain
embedded ICC profile information, as do some bitmap formats such as TIFF. Use the function
CGColorSpaceCreateICCBased.
● Calibrated RGB is a device-independent RGB color space that represents colors relative to a reference white
point that is based on the whitest light that can be generated by the output device. Use the function
CGColorSpaceCreateCalibratedRGB.

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Color and Color Spaces
Creating Color Spaces

● Calibrated gray is a device-independent grayscale color space that represents colors relative to a reference
white point that is based on the whitest light that can be generated by the output device. Use the function
CGColorSpaceCreateCalibratedGray.

Creating Generic Color Spaces

Generic color spaces leave color matching to the system. For most cases, the result is acceptable. Although
the name may imply otherwise, each “generic” color space—generic gray, generic RGB, and generic CMYK—is
a specific device-independent color space.

Generic color spaces are easy to use; you don’t need to supply any reference point information. You create a
generic color space by using the function CGColorSpaceCreateWithName along with one of the following
constants:
● kCGColorSpaceGenericGray, which specifies generic gray, a monochromatic color space that permits
the specification of a single value ranging from absolute black (value 0.0) to absolute white (value 1.0).
● kCGColorSpaceGenericRGB, which specifies generic RGB, a three-component color space (red, green,
and blue) that models the way an individual pixel is composed on a color monitor. Each component of
the RGB color space ranges in value from 0.0 (zero intensity) to 1.0 (full intensity).
● kCGColorSpaceGenericCMYK, which specifies generic CMYK, a four-component color space (cyan,
magenta, yellow, and black) that models the way ink builds up during printing. Each component of the
CMYK color space ranges in value from 0.0 (does not absorb the color) to 1.0 (fully absorbs the color).

Creating Device Color Spaces

Device color spaces are primarily used by iOS applications because other options are not available. In most
cases, a Mac OS X application should use a generic color space instead of creating a device color space. However,
some Quartz routines expect images with a device color space. For example, if you call
CGImageCreateWithMask and specify an image as the mask, the image must be defined with the device
gray color space.

You create a device color space by using one of the following functions:
● CGColorSpaceCreateDeviceGray for a device-dependent grayscale color space.
● CGColorSpaceCreateDeviceRGB for a device-dependent RGB color space.
● CGColorSpaceCreateDeviceCMYK for a device-dependent CMYK color space.

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Color and Color Spaces
Setting and Creating Colors

Creating Indexed and Pattern Color Spaces

Indexed color spaces contain a color table with up to 256 entries, and a base color space to which the color
table entries are mapped. Each entry in the color table specifies one color in the base color space. Use the
function CGColorSpaceCreateIndexed.

Pattern color spaces, discussed in Patterns (page 89), are used when painting with patterns. Use the function
CGColorSpaceCreatePattern.

Setting and Creating Colors

Quartz provides a suite of functions for setting fill color, stroke color, color spaces, and alpha. Each of these
color parameters apply to the graphics state, which means that once set, that setting remains in effect until
set to another value.

A color must have an associated color space. Otherwise, Quartz won’t know how to interpret color values.
Further, you need to supply an appropriate color space for the drawing destination. Compare the blue fill color
on the left side of Figure 4-4, which is a CMYK fill color, with the blue color shown on the right side, which is
an RGB fill color. If you view the onscreen version of this document, you’ll see a large difference between the
fill colors. The colors are theoretically identical, but appear identical only if the RGB color is used for an RGB
device and the CMYK color is used for a CMYK device.

Figure 4-4 A CMYK fill color and an RGB fill color

CMYK RGB

You can use the functions CGContextSetFillColorSpace and CGContextSetStrokeColorSpace to set

the fill and stroke color spaces, or you can use one of the convenience functions (listed in Table 4-2) that set
color for a device color space.

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Color and Color Spaces
Setting and Creating Colors

Table 4-2 Color-setting functions

Function Use to set color for

CGContextSetRGBStrokeColor Device RGB. At PDF-generation time, Quartz writes the

CGContextSetRGBFillColor
colors as if they were in the corresponding generic color
space.

CGContextSetCMYKStrokeColor Device CMYK. (Remains device CMYK at PDF-generation

CGContextSetCMYKFillColor
time.)

CGContextSetGrayStrokeColor Device Gray. At PDF-generation time, Quartz writes the

CGContextSetGrayFillColor
colors as if they were in the corresponding generic color
space.

CGContextSetStrokeColorWithColor Any color space; you supply a CGColor object that specifies
CGContextSetFillColorWithColor
the color space. Use these functions for colors you need
repeatedly.

CGContextSetStrokeColor The current color space. Not recommended. Instead, set

CGContextSetFillColor
color using a CGColor object and the functions
CGContextSetStrokeColorWithColor and
CGContextSetFillColorWithColor.

You specify the fill and stroke colors as values located within the fill and stroke color spaces. For example, a
fully saturated red color in the RGB color space is specified as an array of four numbers: (1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0). The
first three numbers specify full red intensity and no green or blue intensity. The fourth number is the alpha
value, which is used to specify the opacity of the color.

If you reuse colors in your application, the most efficient way to set fill and stroke colors is to create a CGColor
object, which you then pass as a parameter to the functions CGContextSetFillColorWithColor and
CGContextSetStrokeColorWithColor. You can keep the CGColor object around as long as you need it.
You can improve your application’s performance by using CGColor objects directly.

You create a CGColor object by calling the function CGColorCreate, passing a CGColorspace object and an
array of floating-point values that specify the intensity values for the color. The last component in the array
specifies the alpha value.

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Color and Color Spaces
Setting Rendering Intent

Setting Rendering Intent

The rendering intent specifies how Quartz maps colors from the source color space to those that are within
the gamut of the destination color space of a graphics context. If you don’t explicitly set the rendering intent,
Quartz uses relative colorimetric rendering intent for all drawing except bitmap (sampled) images. Quartz uses
perceptual rendering intent for those.

To set the rendering intent, call the function CGContextSetRenderingIntent, passing a graphics context
and one of the following constants:
● kCGRenderingIntentDefault. Uses the default rendering intent for the context.
● kCGRenderingIntentAbsoluteColorimetric. Maps colors outside of the gamut of the output device
to the closest possible match inside the gamut of the output device. This can produce a clipping effect,
where two different color values in the gamut of the graphics context are mapped to the same color value
in the output device’s gamut. This is the best choice when the colors used in the graphics are within the
gamut of both the source and the destination, as is often the case with logos or when spot colors are used.
● kCGRenderingIntentRelativeColorimetric. The relative colorimetric shifts all colors (including
those within the gamut) to account for the difference between the white point of the graphics context
and the white point of the output device.
● kCGRenderingIntentPerceptual. Preserves the visual relationship between colors by compressing
the gamut of the graphics context to fit inside the gamut of the output device. Perceptual intent is good
for photographs and other complex, detailed images.
● kCGRenderingIntentSaturation. Preserves the relative saturation value of the colors when converting
into the gamut of the output device. The result is an image with bright, saturated colors. Saturation intent
is good for reproducing images with low detail, such as presentation charts and graphs.

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Transforms

The Quartz 2D drawing model defines two completely separate coordinate spaces: user space, which represents
the document page, and device space, which represents the native resolution of a device. User space coordinates
are floating-point numbers that are unrelated to the resolution of pixels in device space. When you want to
print or display your document, Quartz maps user space coordinates to device space coordinates. Therefore,
you never have to rewrite your application or write additional code to adjust the output from your application
for optimum display on different devices.

You can modify the default user space by operating on the current transformation matrix, or CTM. After you
create a graphics context, the CTM is the identity matrix. You can use Quartz transformation functions to modify
the CTM and, as a result, modify drawing in user space.

This chapter:
● Provides an overview of the functions you can use to perform transformations
● Shows how to modify the CTM
● Describes how to create an affine transform
● Shows how to determine if two transforms are equivalent
● Describes how to obtain the user-to-device-space transform
● Discusses the math behind affine transforms

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Transforms
About Quartz Transformation Functions

About Quartz Transformation Functions

You can easily translate, scale, and rotate your drawing using the Quartz 2D built-in transformation functions.
With just a few lines of code, you can apply these transformations in any order and in any combination. Figure
5-1 illustrates the effects of scaling and rotating an image. Each transformation you apply updates the CTM.
The CTM always represents the current mapping between user space and device space. This mapping ensures
that the output from your application looks great on any display screen or printer.

Figure 5-1 Applying scaling and rotation

120
100 120
80 100
80
60
60
40 40
20 20
0
0

The Quartz 2D API provides five functions that allow you to obtain and modify the CTM. You can rotate, translate,
and scale the CTM, and you can concatenate an affine transformation matrix with the CTM. See Modifying the
Current Transformation Matrix (page 77).

Quartz also allows you to create affine transforms that don’t operate on user space until you decide to apply
the transform to the CTM. You use another set of functions to create affine transforms, which can then be
concatenated with the CTM. See Creating Affine Transforms (page 83).

You can use either set of functions without understanding anything about matrix math. However if you want
to understand what Quartz does when you call one of the transform functions, read The Math Behind the
Matrices (page 85).

Modifying the Current Transformation Matrix

You manipulate the CTM to rotate, scale, or translate the page before drawing an image, thereby transforming
the object you are about to draw. Before you transform the CTM, you need to save the graphics state so that
you can restore it after drawing. You can also concatenate the CTM with an affine transform (see Creating
Affine Transforms (page 83)). Each of these four operations—translation, rotation, scaling, and concatenation—is
described in this section along with the CTM functions that perform each operation.

The following line of code draws an image, assuming that you provide a valid graphics context, a pointer to
the rectangle to draw the image to, and a valid CGImage object. The code draws an image, such as the sample
rooster image shown in Figure 5-2. As you read the rest of this section, you’ll see how the image changes as
you apply transformations.

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Transforms
Modifying the Current Transformation Matrix

CGContextDrawImage (myContext, rect, myImage);

Figure 5-2 An image that is not transformed

Translation moves the origin of the coordinate space by the amount you specify for the x and y axes. You call
the function CGContextTranslateCTM to modify the x and y coordinates of each point by a specified amount.
Figure 5-3 shows an image translated by 100 units in the x-axis and 50 units in the y-axis, using the following
line of code:

CGContextTranslateCTM (myContext, 100, 50);

Figure 5-3 A translated image

100

50

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Transforms
Modifying the Current Transformation Matrix

Rotation moves the coordinate space by the angle you specify. You call the function CGContextRotateCTM
to specify the rotation angle, in radians. Figure 5-4 shows an image rotated by –45 degrees about the origin,
which is the lower left of the window, using the following line of code:

CGContextRotateCTM (myContext, radians(–45.));

The image is clipped because the rotation moved part of the image to a location outside the context. You
need to specify the rotation angle in radians.

It’s useful to write a radians routine if you plan to perform many rotations.

#include <math.h>

static inline double radians (double degrees) {return degrees * M_PI/180;}

Figure 5-4 A rotated image

45°

Scaling changes the scale of the coordinate space by the x and y factors you specify, effectively stretching or
shrinking the image. The magnitude of the x and y factors governs whether the new coordinates are larger or
smaller than the original. In addition, by making the x factor negative, you can flip the coordinates along the
x-axis; similarly, you can flip coordinates horizontally, along the y-axis, by making the y factor negative. You
call the function CGContextScaleCTM to specify the x and y scaling factors. Figure 5-5 shows an image whose
x values are scaled by .5 and whose y values are scaled by .75, using the following line of code:

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Transforms
Modifying the Current Transformation Matrix

CGContextScaleCTM (myContext, .5, .75);

Figure 5-5 A scaled image

.5

.75

Concatenation combines two matrices by multiplying them together. You can concatenate several matrices
to form a single matrix that contains the cumulative effects of the matrices. You call the function
CGContextConcatCTM to combine the CTM with an affine transform. Affine transforms, and the functions
that create them, are discussed in Creating Affine Transforms (page 83).

Another way to achieve a cumulative effect is to perform two or more transformations without restoring the
graphics state between transformation calls. Figure 5-6 shows an image that results from translating an image
and then rotating it, using the following lines of code:

CGContextTranslateCTM (myContext, w,h);

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Modifying the Current Transformation Matrix

CGContextRotateCTM (myContext, radians(-180.));

Figure 5-6 An image that is translated and rotated

Figure 5-7 shows an image that is translated, scaled, and rotated, using the following lines of code:

CGContextTranslateCTM (myContext, w/4, 0);

CGContextScaleCTM (myContext, .25, .5);

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Modifying the Current Transformation Matrix

CGContextRotateCTM (myContext, radians ( 22.));

Figure 5-7 An image that is translated, scaled, and then rotated

1 Original image 2 Translate

3 Scale 4 Rotate

The order in which you perform multiple transformations matters; you get different results if you reverse the
order. Reverse the order of transformations used to create Figure 5-7 and you get the results shown in Figure
5-8, which is produced with this code:

CGContextRotateCTM (myContext, radians ( 22.));

CGContextScaleCTM (myContext, .25, .5);

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Creating Affine Transforms

CGContextTranslateCTM (myContext, w/4, 0);

Figure 5-8 An image that is rotated, scaled, and then translated

2 Rotate

1 Original image

3 Scale 4 Translate

Creating Affine Transforms

The affine transform functions available in Quartz operate on matrices, not on the CTM. You can use these
functions to construct a matrix that you later apply to the CTM by calling the function CGContextConcatCTM.
The affine transform functions either operate on, or return, a CGAffineTransform data structure. You can
construct simple or complex affine transforms that are reusable.

The affine transform functions perform the same operations as the CTM functions—translation, rotation, scaling,
and concatenation. Table 5-1 lists the functions that perform these operations along with information on their
use. Note that there are two functions for each of the translation, rotation, and scaling operations.

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Creating Affine Transforms

Table 5-1 Affine transform functions for translation, rotation, and scaling

Function Use

CGAffineTransform- To construct a new translation matrix from x and y values that

MakeTranslation specify how much to move the origin.

CGAffineTransformTranslate To apply a translation operation to an existing affine transform.

CGAffineTransformMakeRotation To construct a new rotation matrix from a value that specifies

in radians how much to rotate the coordinate system.

CGAffineTransformRotate To apply a rotation operation to an existing affine transform.

CGAffineTransformMakeScale To construct a new scaling matrix from x and y values that

specify how much to stretch or shrink coordinates.

CGAffineTransformScale To apply a scaling operation to an existing affine transform.

Quartz also provides an affine transform function that inverts a matrix, CGAffineTransformInvert. Inversion
is generally used to provide reverse transformation of points within transformed objects. Inversion can be
useful when you need to recover a value that has been transformed by a matrix: Invert the matrix, and multiply
the value by the inverted matrix, and the result is the original value. You usually don’t need to invert transforms
because you can reverse the effects of transforming the CTM by saving and restoring the graphics state.

In some situations you might not want to transform the entire space, but just a point or a size. You operate
on a CGPoint structure by calling the function CGPointApplyAffineTransform. You operate on a CGSize
structure by calling the function CGSizeApplyAffineTransform. You can operate on a CGRect structure
by calling the function CGRectApplyAffineTransform. This function returns the smallest rectangle that
contains the transformed corner points of the rectangle passed to it. If the affine transform that operates on
the rectangle performs only scaling and translation operations, the returned rectangle coincides with the
rectangle constructed from the four transformed corners.

You can create a new affine transform by calling the function CGAffineTransformMake, but unlike the other
functions that make new affine transforms, this one requires you to supply matrix entries. To effectively use
this function, you need to have an understanding of matrix math. See The Math Behind the Matrices (page
85).

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Evaluating Affine Transforms

Evaluating Affine Transforms

You can determine whether one affine transform is equal to another by calling the function
CGAffineTransformEqualToTransform. This function returns true if the two transforms passed to it are
equal and false otherwise.

The function CGAffineTransformIsIdentity is a useful function for checking whether a transform is the
identity transform. The identity transform performs no translation, scaling, or rotation. Applying this transform
to the input coordinates always returns the input coordinates. The Quartz constant
CGAffineTransformIdentity represents the identity transform.

Getting the User to Device Space Transform

Typically when you draw with Quartz 2D, you work only in user space. Quartz takes care of transforming
between user and device space for you. If your application needs to obtain the affine transform that Quartz
uses to convert between user and device space, you can call the function
CGContextGetUserSpaceToDeviceSpaceTransform.

Quartz provides a number of convenience functions to transform the following geometries between user space
and device space. You might find these functions easier to use than applying the affine transform returned
from the function CGContextGetUserSpaceToDeviceSpaceTransform.
● Points. The functions CGContextConvertPointToDeviceSpace and
CGContextConvertPointToUserSpace transform a CGPoint data type from one space to the other.
● Sizes. The functions CGContextConvertSizeToDeviceSpace and
CGContextConvertSizeToUserSpace transform a CGSize data type from one space to the other.
● Rectangles. The functions CGContextConvertRectToDeviceSpace and
CGContextConvertRectToUserSpace transform a CGRect data type from one space to the other.

The Math Behind the Matrices

The only Quartz 2D function for which you need an understanding of matrix math is the function
CGAffineTransformMake, which makes an affine transform from the six critical entries in a 3 x 3 matrix. Even
if you never plan to construct an affine transformation matrix from scratch, you might find the math behind
the transform functions interesting. If not, you can skip the rest of this chapter.

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The Math Behind the Matrices

The six critical values of a 3 x 3 transformation matrix —a , b , c , d , tx and ty — are shown in the following
matrix:

Note: The rightmost column of the matrix always contains the constant values 0, 0, 1. Mathematically,
this third column is required to allow concatenation, which is explained later in this section. It appears
in this section for the sake of mathematical correctness only.

Given the 3 x 3 transformation matrix described above, Quartz uses this equation to transform a point (x , y )
into a resultant point (x’, y ’):

The result is in a different coordinate system, the one transformed by the variable values in the transformation
matrix. The following equations are the definition of the previous matrix transform:

The following matrix is the identity matrix. It performs no translation, scaling, or rotation. Multiplying this
matrix by the input coordinates always returns the input coordinates.

Using the formulas discussed earlier, you can see that this matrix would generate a new point (x ’, y ’) that is
the same as the old point (x , y ):

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The Math Behind the Matrices

This matrix describes a translation operation:

These are the resulting equations that Quartz uses to apply the translation:

This matrix describes a scaling operation on a point (x , y ):

These are the resulting equations that Quartz uses to scale the coordinates:

This matrix describes a rotation operation, rotating the point (x , y ) counterclockwise by an angle a:

These are the resulting equations that Quartz uses to apply the rotation:

This equation concatenates a rotation operation with a translation operation:

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The Math Behind the Matrices

These are the resulting equations that Quartz uses to apply the transform:

Note that the order in which you concatenate matrices is important—matrix multiplication is not commutative.
That is, the result of multiplying matrix A by matrix B does not necessarily equal the result of multiplying matrix
B by matrix A.

As previously mentioned, concatenation is the reason the affine transformation matrix contains a third column
with the constant values 0, 0, 1. To multiply one matrix against another matrix, the number of columns of one
matrix must match the number of rows of the other. This means that a 2 x 3 matrix cannot be multiplied against
a 2 x 3 matrix. Thus we need the extra column containing the constant values.

An inversion operation produces original coordinates from transformed ones. Given the coordinates (x , y ),
which have been transformed by a given matrix A to new coordinates (x ’, y ’), transforming the coordinates
(x ’, y ’) by the inverse of matrix A produces the original coordinates (x , y ). When a matrix is multiplied by its
inverse, the result is the identity matrix.

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Patterns

A pattern is a sequence of drawing operations that is repeatedly painted to a graphics context. You can use
patterns in the same way as you use colors. When you paint using a pattern, Quartz divides the page into a
set of pattern cells, with each cell the size of the pattern image, and draws each cell using a callback you
provide. Figure 6-1 shows a pattern drawn to a window graphics context.

Figure 6-1 A pattern drawn to a window

The Anatomy of a Pattern

The pattern cell is the basic component of a pattern. The pattern cell for the pattern shown in Figure 6-1 (page
89) is shown in Figure 6-2. The black rectangle is not part of the pattern; it’s drawn to show where the pattern
cell ends.

Figure 6-2 A pattern cell

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Patterns
The Anatomy of a Pattern

The size of this particular pattern cell includes the area of the four colored rectangles and space above and to
the right of the rectangles, as shown in Figure 6-3. The black rectangle surrounding each pattern cell in the
figure is not part of the cell; it’s drawn to indicate the bounds of the cell. When you create a pattern cell, you
define the bounds of the cell and draw within the bounds.

Figure 6-3 Pattern cells with black rectangles drawn to show the bounds of each cell

You can specify how far apart Quartz draws the start of each pattern cell from the next in the horizontal and
vertical directions. The pattern cells in Figure 6-3 are drawn so that the start of one pattern cell is exactly a
pattern width apart from the next pattern cell, resulting in each pattern cell abutting on the next. The pattern
cells in Figure 6-4 have space added in both directions, horizontal and vertical. You can specify different spacing
values for each direction. If you make the spacing less than the width or height of a pattern cell, the pattern
cells overlap.

Figure 6-4 Spacing between pattern cells

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Patterns
The Anatomy of a Pattern

When you draw a pattern cell, Quartz uses pattern space as the coordinate system. Pattern space is an abstract
space that maps to the default user space by the transformation matrix you specify when you create the
pattern—the pattern matrix.

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Patterns
The Anatomy of a Pattern

Note: Pattern space is separate from user space. The untransformed pattern space maps to the base
(untransformed) user space, regardless of the state of the current transformation matrix. When you
apply a transformation to pattern space, Quartz applies the transform only to pattern space.
The default conventions for a pattern’s coordinate systems are those of the underlying graphics
context. By default, Quartz uses a coordinate system where a positive x value represents a
displacement to the right and a positive y value represents an upward displacement. However, a
graphics context created by UIKit uses a different convention, where positive y values indicate a
downward displacement. While this convention is normally applied to the graphics context by
concatenating a transformation onto the coordinate system, in this case, Quartz also modifies the
default conventions of pattern space to match.

If you don’t want Quartz to transform the pattern cell, you can specify the identity matrix. However, you can
achieve interesting effects by supplying a transformation matrix. Figure 6-5 shows the effect of scaling the
pattern cell shown in Figure 6-2. Figure 6-6 demonstrates rotating the pattern cell. Translating the pattern cell
is a bit more subtle. Figure 6-7 shows the origin of the pattern, with the pattern cell translated in both directions,
horizontal and vertical, so that the pattern no longer abuts the window as it does in Figure 6-1 (page 89).

Figure 6-5 A scaled pattern cell

Figure 6-6 A rotated pattern cell

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Patterns
Colored Patterns and Stencil (Uncolored) Patterns

Figure 6-7 A translated pattern cell

Colored Patterns and Stencil (Uncolored) Patterns

Colored patterns have inherent colors associated with them. Change the coloring used to create the pattern
cell, and the pattern loses its meaning. A Scottish tartan (such as the sample one shown in Figure 6-8) is an
example of a colored pattern. The color in a colored pattern is specified as part of the pattern cell creation
process, not as part of the pattern drawing process.

Figure 6-8 A colored pattern has inherent color

Other patterns are defined solely on their shape and, for that reason, can be thought of as stencil patterns,
uncolored patterns, or even as an image mask. The red and black stars shown in Figure 6-9 are each renditions
of the same pattern cell. The cell itself consists of one shape—a filled star. When the pattern cell was defined,
no color was associated with it. The color is specified as part of the pattern drawing process, not as part of the
pattern cell creation.

Figure 6-9 A stencil pattern does not have inherent color

You can create either kind of pattern—colored or stencil—in Quartz 2D.

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Patterns
Tiling

Tiling
Tiling is the process of rendering pattern cells to a portion of a page. When Quartz renders a pattern to a device,
Quartz may need to adjust the pattern to fit the device space. That is, the pattern cell as defined in user space
might not fit perfectly when rendered to the device because of differences between user space units and
device pixels.

Quartz has three tiling options it can use to adjust patterns when necessary. Quartz can preserve:
● The pattern, at the expense of adjusting the spacing between pattern cells slightly, but by no more than
one device pixel. This is referred to as no distortion.
● Spacing between cells, at the expense of distorting the pattern cell slightly, but by no more than one
device pixel. This is referred to as constant spacing with minimal distortion.
● Spacing between cells (as for the minimal distortion option) at the expense of distorting the pattern cell
as much as needed to get fast tiling. This is referred to as constant spacing.

How Patterns Work

Patterns operate similarly to colors, in that you set a fill or stroke pattern and then call a painting function.
Quartz uses the pattern you set as the “paint.” For example, if you want to paint a filled rectangle with a solid
color, you first call a function, such as CGContextSetFillColor, to set the fill color. Then you call the function
CGContextFillRect to paint the filled rectangle with the color you specify. To paint with a pattern, you first
call the function CGContextSetFillPattern to set the pattern. Then you call CGContextFillRect to
actually paint the filled rectangle with the pattern you specify. The difference between painting with colors
and with patterns is that you must define the pattern. You supply the pattern and color information to the
function CGContextSetFillPattern. You’ll see how to create, set, and paint patterns in Painting Colored
Patterns (page 95) and Painting Stencil Patterns (page 101).

Here’s an example of how Quartz works behind the scenes to paint with a pattern you provide. When you fill
or stroke with a pattern, Quartz conceptually performs the following tasks to draw each pattern cell:
1. Saves the graphics state.
2. Translates the current transformation matrix to the origin of the pattern cell.
3. Concatenates the CTM with the pattern matrix.
4. Clips to the bounding rectangle of the pattern cell.
5. Calls your drawing callback to draw the pattern cell.
6. Restores the graphics state.

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Patterns
Painting Colored Patterns

Quartz takes care of all the tiling for you, repeatedly rendering the pattern cell to the drawing space until the
entire space is painted. You can fill or stroke with a pattern. The pattern cell can be of any size you specify. If
you want to see the pattern, you should make sure the pattern cell fits in the drawing space. For example, if
your pattern cell is 8 units by 10 units, and you use the pattern to stroke a line that has a width of 2 units, the
pattern cell will be clipped since it is 10 units wide. In this case, you might not recognize the pattern.

Painting Colored Patterns

The five steps you need to perform to paint a colored pattern are described in the following sections:
1. Write a Callback Function That Draws a Colored Pattern Cell (page 95)
2. Set Up the Colored Pattern Color Space (page 97)
3. Set Up the Anatomy of the Colored Pattern (page 97)
4. Specify the Colored Pattern as a Fill or Stroke Pattern (page 99)
5. Draw With the Colored Pattern (page 99)

These are the same steps you use to paint a stencil pattern. The difference between the two is how you set up
color information. You can see how all the steps fit together in A Complete Colored Pattern Painting
Function (page 99).

Write a Callback Function That Draws a Colored Pattern Cell

What a pattern cell looks like is entirely up to you. For this example, the code in Listing 6-1 (page 96) draws
the pattern cell shown in Figure 6-2 (page 89). Recall that the black line surrounding the pattern cell is not
part of the cell; it’s drawn to show that the bounds of the pattern cell are larger than the rectangles painted
by the code. You specify the pattern size to Quartz later.

Your pattern cell drawing function is a callback that follows this form:

typedef void (*CGPatternDrawPatternCallback) (

void *info,

CGContextRef context

);

You can name your callback whatever you like. The one in Listing 6-1 is named MyDrawColoredPattern.
The callback takes two parameters:

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Painting Colored Patterns

● info, a generic pointer to private data associated with the pattern. This parameter is optional; you can
pass NULL. The data passed to your callback is the same data you supply later, when you create the pattern.
● context, the graphics context for drawing the pattern cell.

The pattern cell drawn by the code in Listing 6-1 is arbitrary. Your code draws whatever is appropriate for the
pattern you create. These details about the code are important:
● The pattern size is declared. You need to keep the pattern size in mind as you write your drawing code.
Here, the size is declared as a global. The drawing function doesn’t specifically refer to the size, except in
a comment. Later, you specify the pattern size to Quartz 2D. See Set Up the Anatomy of the Colored
Pattern (page 97).
● The drawing function follows the prototype defined by the CGPatternDrawPatternCallback callback
type definition.
● The drawing performed in the code sets colors, which makes this a colored pattern.

Listing 6-1 A drawing callback that draws a colored pattern cell

#define H_PATTERN_SIZE 16

#define V_PATTERN_SIZE 18

void MyDrawColoredPattern (void *info, CGContextRef myContext)

CGFloat subunit = 5; // the pattern cell itself is 16 by 18

CGRect myRect1 = {{0,0}, {subunit, subunit}},

myRect2 = {{subunit, subunit}, {subunit, subunit}},

myRect3 = {{0,subunit}, {subunit, subunit}},

myRect4 = {{subunit,0}, {subunit, subunit}};

CGContextSetRGBFillColor (myContext, 0, 0, 1, 0.5);

CGContextFillRect (myContext, myRect1);

CGContextSetRGBFillColor (myContext, 1, 0, 0, 0.5);

CGContextFillRect (myContext, myRect2);

CGContextSetRGBFillColor (myContext, 0, 1, 0, 0.5);

CGContextFillRect (myContext, myRect3);

CGContextSetRGBFillColor (myContext, .5, 0, .5, 0.5);

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Painting Colored Patterns

CGContextFillRect (myContext, myRect4);

Set Up the Colored Pattern Color Space

The code in Listing 6-1 (page 96) uses colors to draw the pattern cell. You must ensure that Quartz paints with
the colors you use in your drawing routine by setting the base pattern color space to NULL, as shown in Listing
6-2. A detailed explanation for each numbered line of code follows the listing.

Listing 6-2 Creating a base pattern color space

CGColorSpaceRef patternSpace;

patternSpace = CGColorSpaceCreatePattern (NULL); // 1

CGContextSetFillColorSpace (myContext, patternSpace); // 2

CGColorSpaceRelease (patternSpace); // 3

Here’s what the code does:

1. Creates a pattern color space appropriate for a colored pattern by calling the function
CGColorSpaceCreatePattern, passing NULL as the base color space.

2. Sets the fill color space to the pattern color space. If you are stroking your pattern, call
CGContextSetStrokeColorSpace.

3. Releases the pattern color space.

Set Up the Anatomy of the Colored Pattern

Information about the anatomy of a pattern is kept in a CGPattern object. You create a CGPattern object by
calling the function CGPatternCreate, whose prototype is shown in Listing 6-3.

Listing 6-3 The CGPatternCreate function prototype

CGPatternRef CGPatternCreate ( void *info,

CGRect bounds,

CGAffineTransform matrix,

CGFloat xStep,

CGFloat yStep,

CGPatternTiling tiling,

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bool isColored,

const CGPatternCallbacks *callbacks );

The info parameter is a pointer to data you want to pass to your drawing callback. This is the same pointer
discussed in Write a Callback Function That Draws a Colored Pattern Cell (page 95).

You specify the size of the pattern cell in the bounds parameter. The matrix parameter is where you specify
the pattern matrix, which maps the pattern coordinate system to the default coordinate system of the graphics
context. Use the identity matrix if you want to draw the pattern using the same coordinate system as the
graphics context. The xStep and yStep parameters specify the horizontal and vertical spacing between cells
in the pattern coordinate system. See The Anatomy of a Pattern (page 89) to review information on bounds,
pattern matrix, and spacing.

The tiling parameter can be one of three values:

● kCGPatternTilingNoDistortion
● kCGPatternTilingConstantSpacingMinimalDistortion
● kCGPatternTilingConstantSpacing

See Tiling (page 94) to review information on tiling.

The isColored parameter specifies whether the pattern cell is a colored pattern (true) or a stencil pattern
(false). If you pass true here, your drawing pattern callback specifies the pattern color, and you must set
the pattern color space to the colored pattern color space (see Set Up the Colored Pattern Color Space (page
97)).

The last parameter you pass to the function CGPatternCreate is a pointer to a CGPatternCallbacks data
structure. This structure has three fields:

struct CGPatternCallbacks

unsigned int version;

CGPatternDrawPatternCallback drawPattern;

CGPatternReleaseInfoCallback releaseInfo;

};

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Painting Colored Patterns

You set the version field to 0. The drawPattern field is a pointer to your drawing callback. The releaseInfo
field is a pointer to a callback that’s invoked when the CGPattern object is released, to release storage for the
info parameter you passed to your drawing callback. If you didn’t pass any data in this parameter, you set
this field to NULL.

Specify the Colored Pattern as a Fill or Stroke Pattern

You can use your pattern for filling or stroking by calling the appropriate
function—CGContextSetFillPattern or CGContextSetStrokePattern. Quartz uses your pattern for
any subsequent filling or stroking.

These functions each take three parameters:

● The graphics context
● The CGPattern object that you created previously
● An array of color components

Although colored patterns supply their own color, you must pass a single alpha value to inform Quartz of the
overall opacity of the pattern when it’s drawn. Alpha can vary from 1 (completely opaque) to 0 (completely
transparent). These lines of code show an example of how to set opacity for a colored pattern used to fill.

CGFloat alpha = 1;

CGContextSetFillPattern (myContext, myPattern, &alpha);

Draw With the Colored Pattern

After you’ve completed the previous steps, you can call any Quartz 2D function that paints. Your pattern is
used as the “paint.” For example, you can call CGContextStrokePath, CGContextFillPath,
CGContextFillRect, or any other function that paints.

A Complete Colored Pattern Painting Function

The code in Listing 6-4 contains a function that paints a colored pattern. The function incorporates all the steps
discussed previously. A detailed explanation for each numbered line of code follows the listing.

Listing 6-4 A function that paints a colored pattern

void MyColoredPatternPainting (CGContextRef myContext,

CGRect rect)

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Painting Colored Patterns

CGPatternRef pattern; // 1

CGColorSpaceRef patternSpace; // 2

CGFloat alpha = 1, // 3

width, height; // 4

static const CGPatternCallbacks callbacks = {0, // 5

&MyDrawPattern,

NULL};

CGContextSaveGState (myContext);
patternSpace = CGColorSpaceCreatePattern (NULL); // 6

CGContextSetFillColorSpace (myContext, patternSpace); // 7

CGColorSpaceRelease (patternSpace); // 8

pattern = CGPatternCreate (NULL, // 9

CGRectMake (0, 0, H_PSIZE, V_PSIZE), // 10

CGAffineTransformMake (1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0), // 11

H_PATTERN_SIZE, // 12

V_PATTERN_SIZE, // 13

kCGPatternTilingConstantSpacing, // 14

true, // 15

&callbacks); // 16

CGContextSetFillPattern (myContext, pattern, &alpha); // 17

CGPatternRelease (pattern); // 18

CGContextFillRect (myContext, rect); // 19

CGContextRestoreGState (myContext);

Here’s what the code does:

1. Declares storage for a CGPattern object that is created later.
2. Declares storage for a pattern color space that is created later.
3. Declares a variable for alpha and sets it to 1, which specifies the opacity of the pattern as completely
opaque.

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Painting Stencil Patterns

4. Declares variable to hold the height and width of the window. In this example, the pattern is painted over
the area of a window.
5. Declares and fills a callbacks structure, passing 0 as the version and a pointer to a drawing callback function.
This example does not provide a release info callback, so that field is set to NULL.
6. Creates a pattern color space object, setting the pattern’s base color space to NULL. When you paint a
colored pattern, the pattern supplies its own color in the drawing callback, which is why you set the color
space to NULL.
7. Sets the fill color space to the pattern color space object you just created.
8. Releases the pattern color space object.
9. Passes NULL because the pattern does not need any additional information passed to the drawing callback.
10. Passes a CGRect object that specifies the bounds of the pattern cell.

11. Passes a CGAffineTransform matrix that specifies how to translate the pattern space to the default user
space of the context in which the pattern is used. This example passes the identity matrix.
12. Passes the horizontal pattern size as the horizontal displacement between the start of each cell. In this
example, one cell is painted adjacent to the next.
13. Passes the vertical pattern size as the vertical displacement between start of each cell.

14. Passes the constant kCGPatternTilingConstantSpacing to specify how Quartz should render the
pattern. For more information, see Tiling (page 94).
15. Passes true for the isColored parameter, to specify that the pattern is a colored pattern.

16. Passes a pointer to the callbacks structure that contains version information, and a pointer to your drawing
callback function.
17. Sets the fill pattern, passing the context, the CGPattern object you just created, and a pointer to the alpha
value that specifies an opacity for Quartz to apply to the pattern.
18. Releases the CGPattern object.

19. Fills a rectangle that is the size of the window passed to the MyColoredPatternPainting routine.
Quartz fills the rectangle using the pattern you just set up.

Painting Stencil Patterns

The five steps you need to perform to paint a stencil pattern are described in the following sections:
1. Write a Callback Function That Draws a Stencil Pattern Cell (page 102)
2. Set Up the Stencil Pattern Color Space (page 103)
3. Set Up the Anatomy of the Stencil Pattern (page 104)

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Patterns
Painting Stencil Patterns

4. Specify the Stencil Pattern as a Fill or Stroke Pattern (page 104)

5. Drawing with the Stencil Pattern (page 104)

These are actually the same steps you use to paint a colored pattern. The difference between the two is how
you set up color information. You can see how all the steps fit together in A Complete Stencil Pattern Painting
Function (page 104).

Write a Callback Function That Draws a Stencil Pattern Cell

The callback you write for drawing a stencil pattern follows the same form as that described for a colored
pattern cell. See Write a Callback Function That Draws a Colored Pattern Cell (page 95). The only difference is
that your drawing callback does not specify any color. The pattern cell shown in Figure 6-10 does not get its
color from the drawing callback. The color is set outside the drawing color in the pattern color space.

Figure 6-10 A stencil pattern cell

Take a look at the code in Listing 6-5, which draws the pattern cell shown in Figure 6-10. Notice that the code
simply creates a path and fills the path. The code does not set color.

Listing 6-5 A drawing callback that draws a stencil pattern cell

#define PSIZE 16 // size of the pattern cell

static void MyDrawStencilStar (void *info, CGContextRef myContext)

int k;

double r, theta;

r = 0.8 * PSIZE / 2;

theta = 2 * M_PI * (2.0 / 5.0); // 144 degrees

CGContextTranslateCTM (myContext, PSIZE/2, PSIZE/2);

CGContextMoveToPoint(myContext, 0, r);

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Painting Stencil Patterns

for (k = 1; k < 5; k++) {

CGContextAddLineToPoint (myContext,

r * sin(k * theta),

r * cos(k * theta));

CGContextClosePath(myContext);

CGContextFillPath(myContext);

Set Up the Stencil Pattern Color Space

Stencil patterns require that you set up a pattern color space for Quartz to paint with, as shown in Listing 6-6.
A detailed explanation for each numbered line of code follows the listing.

Listing 6-6 Code that creates a pattern color space for a stencil pattern

CGPatternRef pattern;

CGColorSpaceRef baseSpace;

CGColorSpaceRef patternSpace;

baseSpace = CGColorSpaceCreateWithName (kCGColorSpaceGenericRGB); // 1

patternSpace = CGColorSpaceCreatePattern (baseSpace); // 2

CGContextSetFillColorSpace (myContext, patternSpace); // 3

CGColorSpaceRelease(patternSpace); // 4

CGColorSpaceRelease(baseSpace); // 5

Here’s what the code does:

1. This function creates a generic RGB space. Generic color spaces leave color matching to the system. For
more information, see Creating Generic Color Spaces (page 72).
2. Creates a pattern color space. The color space you supply specifies how colors are represented for the
pattern. Later, when you set colors for the pattern, you must set them using the pattern color space. For
this example, you will need to specify color using RGB values.
3. Sets the color space to use when filling a pattern. You can set a stroke color space by calling the function
CGContextSetStrokeColorSpace.

4. Releases the pattern color space object.

5. Releases the base color space object.

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Painting Stencil Patterns

Set Up the Anatomy of the Stencil Pattern

You specify information about the anatomy of a pattern the way you would for a colored pattern—by calling
the function CGPatternCreate. The only difference is that you pass false for the isColored parameter.
See Set Up the Anatomy of the Colored Pattern (page 97) for more information on the parameters you supply
to the CGPatternCreate function.

Specify the Stencil Pattern as a Fill or Stroke Pattern

You can use your pattern for filling or stroking by calling the appropriate function, CGContextSetFillPattern
or CGContextSetStrokePattern. Quartz uses your pattern for any subsequent filling or stroking.

These functions each take three parameters:

● The graphics context
● The CGPattern object that you created previously
● An array of color components

A stencil pattern does not supply a color in the drawing callback, so you must pass a color to the fill or stroke
functions to inform Quartz what color to use. Listing 6-7 shows an example of how to set color for a stencil
pattern. The values in the color array are interpreted by Quartz in the color space you set up earlier. Because
this example uses device RGB, the color array contains values for red, green, and blue components. The fourth
value specifies the opacity of the color.

Listing 6-7 Code that sets opacity for a colored pattern

static const CGFloat color[4] = { 0, 1, 1, 0.5 }; //cyan, 50% transparent

CGContextSetFillPattern (myContext, myPattern, color);

Drawing with the Stencil Pattern

After you’ve completed the previous steps, you can call any Quartz 2D function that paints. Your pattern is
used as the “paint.” For example, you can call CGContextStrokePath, CGContextFillPath,
CGContextFillRect, or any other function that paints.

A Complete Stencil Pattern Painting Function

The code in Listing 6-8 contains a function that paints a stencil pattern. The function incorporates all the steps
discussed previously. A detailed explanation for each numbered line of code follows the listing.

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Painting Stencil Patterns

Listing 6-8 A function that paints a stencil pattern

#define PSIZE 16

void MyStencilPatternPainting (CGContextRef myContext,

const Rect *windowRect)

CGPatternRef pattern;

CGColorSpaceRef baseSpace;

CGColorSpaceRef patternSpace;

static const CGFloat color[4] = { 0, 1, 0, 1 }; // 1

static const CGPatternCallbacks callbacks = {0, &drawStar, NULL}; // 2

baseSpace = CGColorSpaceCreateDeviceRGB (); // 3

patternSpace = CGColorSpaceCreatePattern (baseSpace); // 4

CGContextSetFillColorSpace (myContext, patternSpace); // 5

CGColorSpaceRelease (patternSpace);

CGColorSpaceRelease (baseSpace);

pattern = CGPatternCreate(NULL, CGRectMake(0, 0, PSIZE, PSIZE), // 6

CGAffineTransformIdentity, PSIZE, PSIZE,

kCGPatternTilingConstantSpacing,

false, &callbacks);

CGContextSetFillPattern (myContext, pattern, color); // 7

CGPatternRelease (pattern); // 8

CGContextFillRect (myContext,CGRectMake (0,0,PSIZE*20,PSIZE*20)); // 9

Here’s what the code does:

1. Declares an array to hold a color value and sets the value (which will be in RGB color space) to opaque
green.
2. Declares and fills a callbacks structure, passing 0 as the version and a pointer to a drawing callback function.
This example does not provide a release info callback, so that field is set to NULL.
3. Creates an RGB device color space. If the pattern is drawn to a display, you need to supply this type of
color space.
4. Creates a pattern color space object from the RGB device color space.
5. Sets the fill color space to the pattern color space object you just created.

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Painting Stencil Patterns

6. Creates a pattern object. Note that the second to last parameter—the isColored parameter—is false.
Stencil patterns do not supply color, so you must pass false for this parameter. All other parameters are
similar to those passed for the colored pattern example. See A Complete Colored Pattern Painting
Function (page 99).
7. Sets the fill pattern, passing the color array declared previously.
8. Releases the CGPattern object.
9. Fills a rectangle. Quartz fills the rectangle using the pattern you just set up.

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Shadows

A shadow is an image painted underneath, and offset from, a graphics object such that the shadow mimics
the effect of a light source cast on the graphics object, as shown in Figure 7-1. Text can also be shadowed.
Shadows can make an image appear three dimensional or as if it’s floating.

Figure 7-1 A shadow

Shadows have three characteristics:

● An x-offset, which specifies how far in the horizontal direction the shadow is offset from the image.
● A y-offset, which specifies how far in the vertical direction the shadow is offset from the image.
● A blur value, which specifies whether the image has a hard edge, as seen in the left side of Figure 7-2, or
a diffuse edge, as seen in the right side of the figure.

This chapter describes how shadows work and shows how to use the Quartz 2D API to create them.

Figure 7-2 A shadow with no blur and another with a soft edge

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Shadows
How Shadows Work

How Shadows Work

Shadows in Quartz are part of the graphics state. You call the function CGContextSetShadow, passing a
graphics context, offset values, and a blur value. After shadowing is set, any object you draw has a shadow
drawn with a black color that has a 1/3 alpha value in the device RGB color space. In other words, the shadow
is drawn using RGBA values set to {0, 0, 0, 1.0/3.0}.

You can draw colored shadows by calling the function CGContextSetShadowWithColor, passing a graphics
context, offset values, a blur value, and a CGColor object. The values to supply for the color depend on the
color space you want to draw in.

If you save the graphics state before you call CGContextSetShadow or CGContextSetShadowWithColor,
you can turn off shadowing by restoring the graphics state. You also disable shadows by setting the shadow
color to NULL.

Shadow Drawing Conventions Vary Based on the Context

The offsets described earlier specify where the shadow is located related to the image that cast the shadow.
Those offsets are interpreted by the context and used to calculate the shadow’s location:
● A positive x offset indicates the shadows is to the right of the graphics object.
● In Mac OS X, a positive y offset indicates upward displacement. This matches the default coordinate system
for Quartz 2D.
● In iOS, if your application uses Quartz 2D APIs to create a PDF or bitmap context, a positive y offset indicates
upwards displacement.
● In iOS, if the graphics context was created by UIKit, such as a graphics context created by a UIView object
or a context created by calling the UIGraphicsBeginImageContextWithOptions function, then a
positive y offset indicates a downward displacement. This matches the drawing conventions of the UIKit
coordinate system.
● The shadow-drawing convention is not affected by the current transformation matrix.

Painting with Shadows

Follow these steps to paint with shadows:
1. Save the graphics state.
2. Call the function CGContextSetShadow, passing the appropriate values.

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Shadows
Painting with Shadows

3. Perform all the drawing to which you want to apply shadows.

4. Restore the graphics state.

Follow these steps to paint with colored shadows:

1. Save the graphics state.
2. Create a CGColorSpace object to ensure that Quartz interprets the shadow color values correctly.
3. Create a CGColor object that specifies the shadow color you want to use.
4. Call the function CGContextSetShadowWithColor, passing the appropriate values.
5. Perform all the drawing to which you want to apply shadows.
6. Restore the graphics state.

The two rectangles in Figure 7-3 are drawn with shadows—one with a colored shadow.

Figure 7-3 A colored shadow and a gray shadow

The function in Listing 7-1 shows how to set up shadows to draw the rectangles shown in Figure 7-3. A detailed
explanation for each numbered line of code appears following the listing.

Listing 7-1 A function that sets up shadows

void MyDrawWithShadows (CGContextRef myContext, // 1

CGFloat wd, CGFloat ht);

CGSize myShadowOffset = CGSizeMake (-15, 20); // 2

CGFloat myColorValues[] = {1, 0, 0, .6}; // 3

CGColorRef myColor; // 4

CGColorSpaceRef myColorSpace; // 5

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Painting with Shadows

CGContextSaveGState(myContext); // 6

CGContextSetShadow (myContext, myShadowOffset, 5); // 7

// Your drawing code here // 8

CGContextSetRGBFillColor (myContext, 0, 1, 0, 1);

CGContextFillRect (myContext, CGRectMake (wd/3 + 75, ht/2 , wd/4, ht/4));

myColorSpace = CGColorSpaceCreateDeviceRGB (); // 9

myColor = CGColorCreate (myColorSpace, myColorValues); // 10

CGContextSetShadowWithColor (myContext, myShadowOffset, 5, myColor); // 11

// Your drawing code here // 12

CGContextSetRGBFillColor (myContext, 0, 0, 1, 1);

CGContextFillRect (myContext, CGRectMake (wd/3-75,ht/2-100,wd/4,ht/4));

CGColorRelease (myColor); // 13

CGColorSpaceRelease (myColorSpace); // 14

CGContextRestoreGState(myContext); // 15

Here’s what the code does:

1. Takes three parameters—a graphics context and a width and height to use when constructing the
rectangles.
2. Declares and creates a CGSize object that contains offset values for the shadow. These values specify a
shadow offset 15 units to the left of the object and 20 units above the object.
3. Declares an array of color values. This example uses RGBA, but these values won’t take on any meaning
until they are passed to Quartz along with a color space, which is necessary for Quartz to interpret the
values correctly.
4. Declares storage for a color reference.
5. Declares storage for a color space reference.
6. Saves the current graphics state so that you can restore it later.
7. Sets a shadow to have the previously declared offset values and a blur value of 5, which indicates a soft
shadow edge. The shadow will appear gray, having an RGBA value of {0, 0, 0, 1/3}.

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Shadows
Painting with Shadows

8. The next two lines of code draw the rectangle on the right side of Figure 7-3 (page 109). You replace these
lines with your own drawing code.
9. Creates a device RGB color space. You need to supply a color space when you create a CGColor object.
10. Creates a CGColor object, supplying the device RGB color space and the RGBA values declared previously.
This object specifies the shadow color, which in this case is red with an alpha value of 0.6.
11. Sets up a color shadow, supplying the red color you just created. The shadow uses the offset created
previously and a blur value of 5, which indicates a soft shadow edge.
12. The next two lines of code draw the rectangle on the left side of Figure 7-3 (page 109). You replace these
lines with your own drawing code.
13. Releases the color object because it is no longer needed.

14. Releases the color space object because it is no longer needed.

15. Restores the graphics state to what it was prior to setting up the shadows.

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Gradients

Quartz provides two opaque data types for creating gradients—CGShadingRef and CGGradientRef. You
can use either of these to create axial or radial gradients. A gradient is a fill that varies from one color to another.

An axial gradient (also called a linear gradient ) varies along an axis between two defined end points. All points
that lie on a line perpendicular to the axis have the same color value.

A radial gradient is a fill that varies radially along an axis between two defined ends, which typically are both
circles. Points share the same color value if they lie on the circumference of a circle whose center point falls
on the axis. The radius of the circular sections of the gradient are defined by the radii of the end circles; the
radius of each intermediate circle varies linearly from one end to the other.

This chapter provides examples of the sorts of linear and radial gradients you can create with Quartz, compares
the two approaches you can take to painting gradients, and then shows how to use each opaque data type
to create a gradient.

Axial and Radial Gradient Examples

Quartz functions provide a rich vocabulary for creating gradient effects. This section shows some of the results
you can achieve. The axial gradient in Figure 8-1 varies between one endpoint that is a shade of orange and
another that is a shade of yellow. In this case, the axis is at a 45 degree angle with respect to the origin.

Figure 8-1 An axial gradient along a 45 degree axis

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Axial and Radial Gradient Examples

Quartz also lets you specify colors and locations along an axis to create more complex axial gradients, as shown
in Figure 8-2. The color at the starting point is a shade of red and the color at the ending point is a shade of
violet. However, there are also five locations on the axis whose color is set to orange, yellow, green, blue, and
indigo, respectively. You can think of the result as six sequential linear gradients along the same axis. Although
the axis used here is the same as that used in Figure 8-1 (45 degree angle), it doesn’t have to be. The angle of
the axis is defined by the starting and ending point that you provide.

Figure 8-2 An axial gradient created with seven locations and colors

Figure 8-3 shows a radial gradient that varies between a small, bright red circle and a larger black one.

Figure 8-3 A radial gradient that varies between two circles

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Gradients
Axial and Radial Gradient Examples

With Quartz, you are not restricted to creating gradients based on color changes; you can vary only the alpha,
or you can vary the alpha along with the other color components. Figure 8-4 shows a gradient whose red,
green, and blue components remain constant as the alpha value varies from 1.0 to 0.1.

Note: If you vary a gradient using alpha, you will not be able to capture that gradient when drawing
to a PDF content. Because of this, such a gradient can’t be printed. If you need to draw a gradient
to a PDF, use an alpha of 1.0.

Figure 8-4 A radial gradient created by varying only the alpha component

You can position the circles in a radial gradient to create a variety of shapes. If one circle is partially or fully
outside the other, Quartz creates a conical surface for circles that have unequal circumferences, and a cylindrical
surface for circles that have equal circumferences. A common use of a radial gradient is to create a shaded
sphere, as shown in Figure 8-5. In this case, a single point (a circle with a radius of 0) lies within a larger circle.

Figure 8-5 A radial gradient that varies between a point and a circle

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Gradients
A Comparison of CGShading and CGGradient Objects

You can create more complex effects by nesting several radial gradients similar to the shape shown in Figure
8-6. The toroidal portion of the shape is created using concentric circles.

Figure 8-6 Nested radial gradients

A Comparison of CGShading and CGGradient Objects

With two type of objects available for creating gradients, you might be wondering which one is best to use.
This section helps answer that question.

The CGShadingRef opaque data type gives you control over how the color at each point in the gradient is
computed. Before you can create a CGShading object, you must create a CGFunction object (CGFunctionRef)
that defines a function for computing colors in the gradient. Writing a custom function gives you the freedom
to create smooth gradients, such as those shown in Figure 8-1 (page 112), Figure 8-3 (page 113), and Figure
8-5 (page 114) or more unconventional effects, such as that shown in Figure 8-12 (page 130).

When you create a CGShading object, you specify whether it is axial (linear) or radial. Along with the gradient
calculation function (encapsulated as a CGFunction object) you also supply a color space, and starting and
ending points or radii, depending on whether you draw an axial or radial gradient. At drawing time, you simply
pass the CGShading object along with the drawing context to the function CGContextDrawShading. Quartz
invokes your gradient calculation function for each point in the gradient.

A CGGradient object is a subset of a CGShading object that’s designed with ease-of-use in mind. The
CGGradientRef opaque data type is straightforward to use because Quartz calculates the color at each point
in the gradient for you—you don’t supply a gradient calculation function. When you create a gradient object,
you provide an array of locations and colors. Quartz calculates a gradient for each set of contiguous locations,
using the color you assign to each location as the end points for the gradient. You can set a gradient object
to use a single starting and ending location, as shown in Figure 8-1 (page 112), or you can provide a number
of points to create an effect similar to what’s shown in Figure 8-2 (page 113). The ability to provide more than
two locations is an advantage over using a CGShading object, which is limited to two locations.

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Gradients
Extending Color Beyond the End of a Gradient

When you create a CGGradient object, you simply set up a color space, locations, and a color for each location.
When you draw to a context using a gradient object, you specify whether Quartz should draw an axial or radial
gradient. At drawing time, you specify starting and ending points or radii, depending on whether you draw
an axial or radial gradient, in contrast to CGShading objects, whose geometry is defined at creation time, not
at drawing time.

Table 8-1 summarizes the differences between the two opaque data types.

Table 8-1 Differences between CGShading and CGGradient objects

CGGradient CGShading

Can use the same object to draw axial and Need to create separate objects for axial and radial
radial gradients. gradients.

Set the geometry of the gradient at drawing Set the geometry of the gradient at object creation
time. time.

Quartz calculates the colors for each point You must supply a callback function that calculates the
in the gradient. colors for each point in the gradient.

Easy to define more than two locations and Need to design your callback to use more than two
colors. locations and colors, so it takes a bit more work on your
part.

Extending Color Beyond the End of a Gradient

When you create a gradient, you have the option of filling the space beyond the ends of the gradient with a
solid color. Quartz uses the color defined at the boundary of the gradient as the fill color. You can extend
beyond the start of a gradient, the end of a gradient, or both. You can apply the option to an axial or a radial
gradient created using either a CGShading object or a CGGradient object. Each type of object supplies constants
you can use to set the extension option, as you’ll see in Using a CGGradient Object (page 118) and Using a
CGShading Object (page 121).

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Gradients
Extending Color Beyond the End of a Gradient

Figure 8-7 shows an axial gradient that extends at both the starting and ending locations. The line in the figure
shows the axis of the gradient. As you can see, the fill colors correspond to the colors at the starting and ending
points.

Figure 8-7 Extending an axial gradient

Figure 8-8 compares a radial gradient that does not use the extension options with one that uses extension
options for both the starting and ending locations. Quartz takes the starting and ending color values and uses
those solid colors to extend the surface as shown. The figure shows the starting and ending circles, and the
axis of the gradient.

Figure 8-8 Extending a radial gradient

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Using a CGGradient Object

Using a CGGradient Object

The CGGradient object is an abstract definition of a gradient—it simply specifies colors and locations, but not
the geometry. You can use this same object for both axial and radial geometries. As an abstract definition,
CGGradient objects are perhaps more readily reusable than their counterparts, CGShading objects. Not having
the geometry locked in the CGGradient object allows for the possibility of iteratively painting gradients based
on the same color scheme without the need for also tying up memory resources in multiple CGGradient objects.

Because Quartz calculates the gradient for you, using a CGGradient object to create and draw a gradient is
fairly straightforward, requiring these steps:
1. Create a CGGradient object, supplying a color space, an array of two or more color components, an array
of two or more locations, and the number of items in each of the two arrays.
2. Paint the gradient by calling either CGContextDrawLinearGradient or
CGContextDrawRadialGradient and supplying a context, a CGGradient object, drawing options, and
the stating and ending geometry (points for axial gradients or circle centers and radii for radial gradients).
3. Release the CGGradient object when you no longer need it.

A location is a CGFloat value in the range of 0.0 to 1.0, inclusive, that specifies the normalized distance along
the axis of the gradient. A value of 0.0 specifies the starting point of the axis, while 1.0 specifies the ending
point of the axis. Other values specify a proportion of the distance, such as 0.25 for one-fourth of the distance
from the starting point and 0.5 for the halfway point on the axis. At a minimum, Quartz uses two locations. If
you pass NULL for the locations array, Quartz uses 0 for the first location and 1 for the second.

The number of color components per color depends on the color space. For onscreen drawing, you’ll use an
RGB color space. Because Quartz draws with alpha, each onscreen color has four components—red, green,
blue, and alpha. So, for onscreen drawing, the number of elements in the color component array that you
provide must contain four times the number of locations. Quartz RGBA color components can vary in value
from 0.0 to 1.0, inclusive.

Listing 8-1 is a code fragment that creates a CGGradient object. After declaring the necessary variables, the
code sets the locations and the requisite number of color components (for this example, 2 X 4 = 8). It creates
a generic RGB color space. (In iOS, where generic RGB color spaces are not available, your code should call
CGColorSpaceCreateDeviceRGB instead.) Then, it passes the necessary parameters to the function
CGGradientCreateWithColorComponents. You can also use the function CGGradientCreateWithColors
which is convenient if your application sets up CGColor objects.

Listing 8-1 Creating a CGGradient object

CGGradientRef myGradient;

CGColorSpaceRef myColorspace;

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Using a CGGradient Object

size_t num_locations = 2;

CGFloat locations[2] = { 0.0, 1.0 };

CGFloat components[8] = { 1.0, 0.5, 0.4, 1.0, // Start color

0.8, 0.8, 0.3, 1.0 }; // End color

myColorspace = CGColorSpaceCreateWithName(kCGColorSpaceGenericRGB);

myGradient = CGGradientCreateWithColorComponents (myColorspace, components,

locations, num_locations);

After you create a CGGradient object, you can use it to paint an axial or linear gradient. Listing 8-2 is a code
fragment that declares and sets the starting and ending points for a linear gradient and then paints the gradient.
Figure 8-1 (page 112) shows the result. The code does not show how to obtain the CGContext object
(myContext).

Listing 8-2 Painting an axial gradient using a CGGradient object

CGPoint myStartPoint, myEndPoint;

myStartPoint.x = 0.0;

myStartPoint.y = 0.0;

myEndPoint.x = 1.0;

myEndPoint.y = 1.0;

CGContextDrawLinearGradient (myContext, myGradient, myStartPoint, myEndPoint, 0);

Listing 8-3 is a code fragment that uses the CGGradient object created in Listing 8-1 (page 118) to paint the
radial gradient shown in Figure 8-9 (page 120). This example illustrates the result of extending the area of the
gradient by filling it with a solid color.

Listing 8-3 Painting a radial gradient using a CGGradient object

CGPoint myStartPoint, myEndPoint;

CGFloat myStartRadius, myEndRadius;

myStartPoint.x = 0.15;

myStartPoint.y = 0.15;

myEndPoint.x = 0.5;

myEndPoint.y = 0.5;

myStartRadius = 0.1;

myEndRadius = 0.25;

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Using a CGGradient Object

CGContextDrawRadialGradient (myContext, myGradient, myStartPoint,

myStartRadius, myEndPoint, myEndRadius,

kCGGradientDrawsAfterEndLocation);

Figure 8-9 A radial gradient painted using a CGGradient object

The radial gradient shown in Figure 8-4 (page 114) was created using the variables shown in Listing 8-4.

Listing 8-4 The variables used to create a radial gradient by varying alpha

CGPoint myStartPoint, myEndPoint;

CGFloat myStartRadius, myEndRadius;

myStartPoint.x = 0.2;

myStartPoint.y = 0.5;

myEndPoint.x = 0.65;

myEndPoint.y = 0.5;

myStartRadius = 0.1;

myEndRadius = 0.25;

size_t num_locations = 2;

CGFloat locations[2] = { 0, 1.0 };

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Gradients
Using a CGShading Object

CGFloat components[8] = { 0.95, 0.3, 0.4, 1.0,

0.95, 0.3, 0.4, 0.1 };

Listing 8-5 shows the variables used to create the gray gradient shown in Figure 8-10, which has three locations.

Listing 8-5 The variables used to create a gray gradient

size_t num_locations = 3;

CGFloat locations[3] = { 0.0, 0.5, 1.0};

CGFloat components[12] = { 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0,

0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 1.0,

1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0 };

Figure 8-10 An axial gradient with three locations

Using a CGShading Object

You set up a gradient by creating a CGShading object calling the function CGShadingCreateAxial or
CGShadingCreateRadial, supplying the following parameters:
● A CGColorSpace object that describe the color space for Quartz to use when it interprets the color
component values your callback supplies.

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Using a CGShading Object

● Starting and ending points. For axial gradients, these are the starting and ending coordinates (in user
space) of the axis. For radial gradients, these are the coordinates of the center of the starting and ending
circles.
● Starting and ending radii (only for a radial gradient) for the circles used to define the gradient area.
● A CGFunction object, which you obtain by calling the function CGFunctionCreate, discussed later in
this section. This callback routine must return a color to draw at a particular point.
● Boolean values that specify whether to fill the area beyond the starting or ending points with a solid color.

The CGFunction object you supply to the CGShading creation functions contains a callbacks structure and all
the information Quartz needs to implement your callback. Perhaps the trickiest part of setting up a CGShading
object is creating the CGFunction object. When you call the function CGFunctionCreate, you supply the
following:
● A pointer to any data your callback needs.
● The number of input values to your callback. Quartz requires that your callback takes one input value.
● An array of floating-point values. Quartz supplies your callback with only one element in this array. An
input value can range from 0, for the color at the start of the gradient, to 1, for the color at the end of the
gradient.
● The number of output values provided by your callback. For each input value, your callback must supply
a value for each color component and an alpha value to designate opacity. The color component values
are interpreted by Quartz in the color space you create and supply to the CGShading creation function.
For example, if you are using an RGB color space, you supply the value 4 as the number of output values
(R, G, B, and A).
● An array of floating-point values that specify each of the color components and an alpha value.
● A callbacks data structure that contains the version of the structure (set this field to 0), your callback for
generating color component values, and an optional callback to release the data supplied to your callback
in the info parameter. If you were to name your callback myCalculateShadingValues, it would look
like this:
void myCalculateShadingValues (void *info, const CGFloat *in, CGFloat *out)

After you create the CGShading object, you can set up additional clipping if you need to do so. Then, call the
function CGContextDrawShading to paint the clipping area of the context with the gradient. When you call
this function, Quartz invokes your callback to obtain color values that span the range from the starting point
to the ending point.

When you no longer need the CGShading object, you release it by calling the function CGShadingRelease.

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Painting an Axial Gradient Using a CGShading Object (page 123) and Painting a Radial Gradient Using a
CGShading Object (page 130) provide step-by-step instructions on writing code that uses a CGShading object
to draw a gradient.

Painting an Axial Gradient Using a CGShading Object

Axial and radial gradients require you to perform similar steps. This example shows how to draw an axial
gradient using a CGShading object, create a semicircular clipping path in a graphics context, then paint the
gradient to the clipped context to achieve the output shown in Figure 8-11.

Figure 8-11 An axial gradient that is clipped and painted

To paint the axial gradient shown in the figure, follow the steps explained in these sections:
1. Set Up a CGFunction Object to Compute Color Values (page 123)
2. Create a CGShading Object for an Axial Gradient (page 126)
3. Clip the Context (page 126)
4. Paint the Axial Gradient Using a CGShading Object (page 127)
5. Release Objects (page 127)

Set Up a CGFunction Object to Compute Color Values

You can compute color values any way you like, as long as your color computation function takes three
parameters:
● void *info. This is NULL or a pointer to data you pass to the CGShading creation function.
● const CGFloat *in. Quartz passes the in array to your callback. The values in the array must be in the
input value range defined for your CGFunction object. For this example, the input range is 0 to 1; see
Listing 8-7 (page 125).

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● CGFloat *out. Your callback passes the out array to Quartz. It contains one element for each color
component in the color space, and an alpha value. Output values should be in the output value range
defined for your CGFunction object. For this example, the output range is 0 to 1; see Listing 8-7 (page 125).

For more information on these parameters, see CGFunctionEvaluateCallback.

Listing 8-6 shows a function that computes color component values by multiplying the values defined in a
constant array by the input value. Because the input value ranges from 0 through 1, the output values range
from black (for RGB, the values 0, 0, 0), through (1, 0, .5) which is a purple hue. Note that the last component
is always set to 1, so that the colors are always fully opaque.

Listing 8-6 Computing color component values

static void myCalculateShadingValues (void *info,

const CGFloat *in,

CGFloat *out)

CGFloat v;

size_t k, components;

static const CGFloat c[] = {1, 0, .5, 0 };

components = (size_t)info;

v = *in;

for (k = 0; k < components -1; k++)

*out++ = c[k] * v;

*out++ = 1;

After you write your callback to compute color values, you package it as part of a CGFunction object. It’s the
CGFunction object you supply to Quartz when you create a CGShading object. Listing 8-7 shows a function
that creates a CGFunction object that contains the callback from Listing 8-6. A detailed explanation for each
numbered line of code appears following the listing.

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Listing 8-7 Creating a CGFunction object

static CGFunctionRef myGetFunction (CGColorSpaceRef colorspace) // 1

size_t numComponents;

static const CGFloat input_value_range [2] = { 0, 1 };

static const CGFloat output_value_ranges [8] = { 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1 };

static const CGFunctionCallbacks callbacks = { 0, // 2

&myCalculateShadingValues,

NULL };

numComponents = 1 + CGColorSpaceGetNumberOfComponents (colorspace); // 3

return CGFunctionCreate ((void *) numComponents, // 4

1, // 5

input_value_range, // 6

numComponents, // 7

output_value_ranges, // 8

&callbacks); // 9

Here’s what the code does:

1. Takes a color space as a parameter.
2. Declares a callbacks structure and fills it with the version of the structure (0), a pointer to your color
component calculation callback, and NULL for the optional release function.
3. Calculates the number of color components in the color space and increments the value by 1 to account
for the alpha value.
4. Passes a pointer to the numComponents value. This value is used by the callback
myCalculateShadingValues to determine the number of components to compute.

5. Specifies that 1 is the number of input values to the callback.

6. Provides an array that specifies the valid intervals for the input. This array contains 0 and 1.
7. Passes the number of output values, which is the number of color components plus alpha.
8. Provides an array that specifies the valid intervals for each output value. This array specifies, for each
component, the intervals 0 and 1. Because there are four components, there are eight elements in this
array.

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Using a CGShading Object

9. Passes a pointer to the callback structure declared and filled previously.

Create a CGShading Object for an Axial Gradient

To create a CGShading object, you call the function CGShadingCreateAxial, as shown in Listing 8-8, passing
a color space, starting and ending points, a CGFunction object, and a Boolean value that specifies whether to
fill the area beyond the starting and ending points of the gradient.

Listing 8-8 Creating a CGShading object for an axial gradient

CGPoint startPoint,

endPoint;

CGFunctionRef myFunctionObject;

CGShadingRef myShading;

startPoint = CGPointMake(0,0.5);

endPoint = CGPointMake(1,0.5);

colorspace = CGColorSpaceCreateDeviceRGB();

myFunctionObject = myGetFunction (colorspace);

myShading = CGShadingCreateAxial (colorspace,

startPoint, endPoint,

myFunctionObject,

false, false);

Clip the Context

When you paint a gradient, Quartz fills the current context. Painting a gradient is different from working with
colors and patterns, which are used to stroke and fill path objects. As a result, if you want your gradient to
appear in a particular shape, you need to clip the context accordingly. The code in Listing 8-9 adds a semicircle
to the current context so that the gradient is painted into that clip area, as shown in Figure 8-11 (page 123).

If you look carefully, you’ll notice that the code should result in a half circle, whereas the figure shows a half
ellipse. Why? You’ll see, when you look at the entire routine in A Complete Routine for an Axial Gradient Using
a CGShading Object (page 127), that the context is also scaled. More about that later. Although you might not
need to apply scaling or a clip in your application, these and many other options exist in Quartz 2D to help
you achieve interesting effects.

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Listing 8-9 Adding a semicircle clip to the graphics context

CGContextBeginPath (myContext);

CGContextAddArc (myContext, .5, .5, .3, 0,

my_convert_to_radians (180), 0);

CGContextClosePath (myContext);

CGContextClip (myContext);

Paint the Axial Gradient Using a CGShading Object

Call the function CGContextDrawShading to fill the current context using the color gradient specified in the
CGShading object:

CGContextDrawShading (myContext, myShading);

Release Objects
You call the function CGShadingRelease when you no longer need the CGShading object. You also need to
release the CGColorSpace object and the CGFunction object as shown in Listing 8-10.

Listing 8-10 Releasing objects

CGShadingRelease (myShading);

CGColorSpaceRelease (colorspace);

CGFunctionRelease (myFunctionObject);

A Complete Routine for an Axial Gradient Using a CGShading Object

The code in Listing 8-11 shows a complete routine that paints an axial gradient, using the CGFunction object
set up in Listing 8-7 (page 125) and the callback shown in Listing 8-6 (page 124). A detailed explanation for each
numbered line of code appears following the listing.

Listing 8-11 Painting an axial gradient using a CGShading object

void myPaintAxialShading (CGContextRef myContext, // 1

CGRect bounds)

{
CGPoint startPoint,

endPoint;

CGAffineTransform myTransform;

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CGFloat width = bounds.size.width;

CGFloat height = bounds.size.height;

startPoint = CGPointMake(0,0.5); // 2

endPoint = CGPointMake(1,0.5); // 3

colorspace = CGColorSpaceCreateDeviceRGB(); // 4

myShadingFunction = myGetFunction(colorspace); // 5

shading = CGShadingCreateAxial (colorspace, // 6

startPoint, endPoint,

myShadingFunction,

false, false);

myTransform = CGAffineTransformMakeScale (width, height); // 7

CGContextConcatCTM (myContext, myTransform); // 8

CGContextSaveGState (myContext); // 9

CGContextClipToRect (myContext, CGRectMake(0, 0, 1, 1)); // 10

CGContextSetRGBFillColor (myContext, 1, 1, 1, 1);

CGContextFillRect (myContext, CGRectMake(0, 0, 1, 1));

CGContextBeginPath (myContext); // 11

CGContextAddArc (myContext, .5, .5, .3, 0,

my_convert_to_radians (180), 0);

CGContextClosePath (myContext);

CGContextClip (myContext);

CGContextDrawShading (myContext, shading); // 12

CGColorSpaceRelease (colorspace); // 13

CGShadingRelease (shading);

CGFunctionRelease (myShadingFunction);

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CGContextRestoreGState (myContext); // 14

Here’s what the code does:

1. Takes as parameters a graphics context and a rectangle to draw into.
2. Assigns a value to the starting point. The routine calculates values based on a user space that varies from
0 to 1. You’ll scale the space later for the window that Quartz draws into. You can think of this coordinate
location as x at the far left side and y at 50% from the bottom.
3. Assigns a value to the ending point. You can think of this coordinate location as x at the far right side and
y at 50% from the bottom. As you can see, the axis for the gradient is a horizontal line.
4. Creates a color space for device RGB because this routine draws to the display.
5. Creates a CGFunction object by calling the routine shown in Listing 8-7 (page 125) and passing the color
space you just created.
6. Creates a CGShading object for an axial gradient. The last two parameters are false, to signal that Quartz
should not fill the area beyond the starting and ending points.
7. Sets up an affine transform that is scaled to the height and width of the window used for drawing. Note
that the height is not necessarily equal to the width. In this example, because the two aren’t equal, the
end result is elliptical rather than circular.
8. Concatenates the transform you just set up with the graphics context passed to the routine.
9. Saves the graphics state to enable you to restore this state later.
10. Sets up a clipping area. This line and the next two lines clip the context to a rectangle that is filled with
white. The effect is that the gradient is drawn to a window with a white background.
11. Creates a path. This line and the next three lines set up an arc that is half a circle and adds it to the graphics
context as a clipping area. The effect is that the gradient is drawn to an area that is half a circle. However,
the circle will be transformed by the height and width of the window (see step 8), resulting in a final effect
of a gradient drawn to a half ellipse. As the window is resized by the user, the clipping area is resized.
12. Paints the gradient to the graphics context, transforming and clipping the gradient as described previously.

13. Releases objects. This line and the next two lines release all the objects you created.

14. Restores the graphics state to the state that existed before you set up the filled background and clipped
to half a circle. The restored state is still transformed by the width and height of the window.

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Painting a Radial Gradient Using a CGShading Object

This example shows how to use a CGShading object to produce the output shown in Figure 8-12.

Figure 8-12 A radial gradient created using a CGShading object

To paint a radial gradient, follow the steps explained in the following sections:
1. Set Up a CGFunction Object to Compute Color Values (page 130).
2. Create a CGShading Object for a Radial Gradient (page 131)
3. Paint a Radial Gradient Using a CGShading Object (page 132)
4. Release Objects (page 132)

Set Up a CGFunction Object to Compute Color Values

There is no difference between writing functions to compute color values for radial and axial gradients. In fact,
you can follow the instruction outlined for axial gradients in Set Up a CGFunction Object to Compute Color
Values (page 123). Listing 8-12 calculates color so that the color components vary sinusoidally, with a period
based on frequency values declared in the function. The result seen in Figure 8-12 (page 130) is quite different

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Using a CGShading Object

from the colors shown in Figure 8-11 (page 123). Despite the differences in color output, the code in Listing
8-12 is similar to Listing 8-6 (page 124) in that each function follows the same prototype. Each function takes
one input value and calculates N values, one for each color component of the color space plus an alpha value.

Listing 8-12 Computing color component values

static void myCalculateShadingValues (void *info,

const CGFloat *in,

CGFloat *out)

size_t k, components;

double frequency[4] = { 55, 220, 110, 0 };

components = (size_t)info;

for (k = 0; k < components - 1; k++)

*out++ = (1 + sin(*in * frequency[k]))/2;

*out++ = 1; // alpha

Recall that after you write a color computation function, you need to create a CGFunction object, as described
for axial values in Set Up a CGFunction Object to Compute Color Values (page 123).

Create a CGShading Object for a Radial Gradient

To create a CGShading object or a radial gradient, you call the function CGShadingCreateRadial, as shown
in Listing 8-13, passing a color space, starting and ending points, starting and ending radii, a CGFunction object,
and Boolean values to specify whether to fill the area beyond the starting and ending points of the gradient.

Listing 8-13 Creating a CGShading object for a radial gradient

CGPoint startPoint, endPoint;

CGFloat startRadius, endRadius;

startPoint = CGPointMake(0.25,0.3);

startRadius = .1;

endPoint = CGPointMake(.7,0.7);

endRadius = .25;

colorspace = CGColorSpaceCreateDeviceRGB();

myShadingFunction = myGetFunction (colorspace);

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CGShadingCreateRadial (colorspace,

startPoint,

startRadius,

endPoint,

endRadius,

myShadingFunction,

false,

false);

Paint a Radial Gradient Using a CGShading Object

Calling the function CGContextDrawShading fills the current context using the specified color gradient
specified in the CGShading object.

CGContextDrawShading (myContext, shading);

Notice that you use the same function to paint a gradient regardless of whether the gradient is axial or radial.

Release Objects
You call the function CGShadingRelease when you no longer need the CGShading object. You also need to
release the CGColorSpace object and the CGFunction object as shown in Listing 8-14.

Listing 8-14 Code that releases objects

CGShadingRelease (myShading);
CGColorSpaceRelease (colorspace);

CGFunctionRelease (myFunctionObject);

A Complete Routine for Painting a Radial Gradient Using a CGShading Object

The code in Listing 8-15 shows a complete routine that paints a radial gradient using the CGFunction object
set up in Listing 8-7 (page 125) and the callback shown in Listing 8-12 (page 131). A detailed explanation for
each numbered line of code appears following the listing.

Listing 8-15 A routine that paints a radial gradient using a CGShading object

void myPaintRadialShading (CGContextRef myContext, // 1

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CGRect bounds);

CGPoint startPoint,

endPoint;

CGFloat startRadius,

endRadius;

CGAffineTransform myTransform;

CGFloat width = bounds.size.width;

CGFloat height = bounds.size.height;

startPoint = CGPointMake(0.25,0.3); // 2

startRadius = .1; // 3

endPoint = CGPointMake(.7,0.7); // 4

endRadius = .25; // 5

colorspace = CGColorSpaceCreateDeviceRGB(); // 6

myShadingFunction = myGetFunction (colorspace); // 7

shading = CGShadingCreateRadial (colorspace, // 8

startPoint, startRadius,

endPoint, endRadius,

myShadingFunction,

false, false);

myTransform = CGAffineTransformMakeScale (width, height); // 9

CGContextConcatCTM (myContext, myTransform); // 10

CGContextSaveGState (myContext); // 11

CGContextClipToRect (myContext, CGRectMake(0, 0, 1, 1)); // 12

CGContextSetRGBFillColor (myContext, 1, 1, 1, 1);

CGContextFillRect (myContext, CGRectMake(0, 0, 1, 1));

CGContextDrawShading (myContext, shading); // 13

CGColorSpaceRelease (colorspace); // 14

CGShadingRelease (shading);

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CGFunctionRelease (myShadingFunction);

CGContextRestoreGState (myContext); // 15

Here’s what the code does:

1. Takes as parameters a graphics context and a rectangle to draw into.
2. Assigns a value to the center of the starting circle. The routine calculates values based on a user space
that varies from 0 to 1. You’ll scale the space later for the window Quartz draws into. You can think of this
coordinate location as x at 25% from the left and y at 30% from the bottom.
3. Assigns the radius of the starting circle. You can think of this as 10% of the width of user space.
4. Assigns a value to the center of the ending circle. You can think of this coordinate location as x at 70%
from the left and y at 70% from the bottom.
5. Assigns the radius of the ending circle. You can think of this as 25% of the width of user space. The ending
circle will be larger than the starting circle. The conical shape will be oriented from left to right, tipped
upwards.
6. Creates a color space for device RGB because this routine draws to the display.
7. Creates a CGFunctionObject by calling the routine shown in Listing 8-7 (page 125) and passing the color
space you just created. However, recall that you’ll use the color calculation function shown in Listing
8-12 (page 131).
8. Creates a CGShading object for a radial gradient. The last two parameters are false, to signal that Quartz
should not fill the area beyond the starting and ending points of the gradient.
9. Sets up an affine transform that is scaled to the height and width of the window used for drawing. Note
that the height is not necessarily equal to the width. In fact, the transformation will change whenever the
user resizes the window.
10. Concatenates the transform you just set up with the graphics context passed to the routine.

11. Saves the graphics state to enable you to restore this state later.

12. Sets up a clipping area. This line and the next two lines clip the context to a rectangle that is filled with
white. The effect is that the gradient is drawn to a window with a white background.
13. Paints the gradient to the graphics context transforming the gradient as described previously.

14. Releases object. This line and the next two lines release all the objects you created.

15. Restores the graphics state to the state that existed before you set up the filled background. The restored
state is still transformed by the width and height of the window.

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See Also

See Also
● CGGradient Reference describes the functions that create CGGradient objects.
● CGShading Reference describes the functions that create CGShading objects.
● CGFunction Reference describes the functions needed to calculate gradient colors for a CGShading object.
● CGContext Reference describes the functions that draw to a context with CGGradient and CGShading
objects.

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Transparency Layers

A transparency layer consists of two or more objects that are combined to yield a composite graphic. The
resulting composite is treated as a single object. Transparency layers are useful when you want to apply an
effect to a group of objects, such as the shadow applied to the three circles in Figure 9-1.

Figure 9-1 Three circles as a composite in a transparency layer

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Transparency Layers
How Transparency Layers Work

If you apply a shadow to the three circles in Figure 9-1 without first rendering them to a transparency layer,
you get the result shown in Figure 9-2.

Figure 9-2 Three circles painted as separate entities

How Transparency Layers Work

Quartz transparency layers are similar to layers available in many popular graphics applications. Layers are
independent entities. Quartz maintains a transparency layer stack for each context and transparency layers
can be nested. But because layers are always part of a stack, you can’t manipulate them independently.

You signal the start of a transparency layer by calling the function CGContextBeginTransparencyLayer,
which takes as parameters a graphics context and a CFDictionary object. The dictionary lets you provide options
to specify additional information about the layer, but because the dictionary is not yet used by the Quartz 2D
API, you pass NULL. After this call, graphics state parameters remain unchanged except for alpha (which is set
to 1), shadow (which is turned off ), blend mode (which is set to normal), and other parameters that affect the
final composite.

After you begin a transparency layer, you perform whatever drawing you want to appear in that layer. Drawing
operations in the specified context are drawn as a composite into a fully transparent backdrop. This backdrop
is treated as a separate destination buffer from the context.

When you are finished drawing, you call the function CGContextEndTransparencyLayer. Quartz composites
the result into the context using the global alpha value and shadow state of the context and respecting the
clipping area of the context.

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Painting to a Transparency Layer

Painting to a Transparency Layer

Painting to a transparency layer requires three steps:
1. Call the function CGContextBeginTransparencyLayer.
2. Draw the items you want to composite in the transparency layer.
3. Call the function CGContextEndTransparencyLayer.

The three rectangles in Figure 9-3 are painted to a transparency layer. Quartz renders the shadow as if the
rectangles are a single unit.

Figure 9-3 Three rectangles painted to a transparency layer

The function in Listing 9-1 shows how to use a transparency layer to generate the rectangles in Figure 9-3. A
detailed explanation for each numbered line of code follows the listing.

Listing 9-1 Painting to a transparency layer

void MyDrawTransparencyLayer (CGContext myContext, // 1

CGFloat wd,

CGFloat ht)

CGSize myShadowOffset = CGSizeMake (10, -20); // 2

CGContextSetShadow (myContext, myShadowOffset, 10); // 3

CGContextBeginTransparencyLayer (myContext, NULL); // 4

// Your drawing code here // 5

CGContextSetRGBFillColor (myContext, 0, 1, 0, 1);

CGContextFillRect (myContext, CGRectMake (wd/3+ 50,ht/2 ,wd/4,ht/4));

CGContextSetRGBFillColor (myContext, 0, 0, 1, 1);

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Painting to a Transparency Layer

CGContextFillRect (myContext, CGRectMake (wd/3-50,ht/2-100,wd/4,ht/4));

CGContextSetRGBFillColor (myContext, 1, 0, 0, 1);

CGContextFillRect (myContext, CGRectMake (wd/3,ht/2-50,wd/4,ht/4));

CGContextEndTransparencyLayer (myContext); // 6

Here’s what the code does:

1. Takes three parameters—a graphics context and a width and height to use when constructing the
rectangles.
2. Sets up a CGSize data structure that contains the x and y offset values for the shadow. This shadow is
offset by 10 units in the horizontal direction and –20 units in the vertical direction.
3. Sets the shadow, specifying a value of 10 as the blur value. (A value of 0 specifies a hard edge shadow
with no blur.)
4. Signals the start of the transparency layer. From this point on, drawing occurs to this layer.
5. The next six lines of code set fill colors and fill the three rectangles shown in Figure 9-3 (page 138). You
replace these lines with your own drawing code.
6. Signals the end of the transparency layer and signals that Quartz should composite the result into the
context.

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Data Management in Quartz 2D

Managing data is a task every graphics application needs to perform. For Quartz, data management refers to
supplying data to or receiving data from Quartz 2D routines. Some Quartz 2D routines move data into Quartz,
such as those that get image or PDF data from a file or another part of your application. Other routines accept
Quartz data, such as those that write image or PDF data to a file or provide the data to another part of your
application.

Quartz provides a variety of functions for managing data. By reading this chapter, you should be able to
determine which functions are best for your application.

Note: The preferred way to read and write image data is to use the Image I/O framework, which is
available in iOS 4 and Mac OS X 10.4 and later. See Image I/O Programming Guide for more information
on the CGImageSourceRef and CGImageDestinationRef opaque data types. Image sources and
destinations not only offer access to image data, but also provide better support for accessing image
metadata.

Quartz recognizes three broad categories of data sources and destinations:

● URL. Data whose location can be specified as a URL can act as a supplier or receiver of data. You pass a
URL to a Quartz function using the Core Foundation data type CFURLRef.
● CFData. The Core Foundation data types CFDataRef and CFMutableDataRef are data objects that let
simple allocated buffers take on the behavior of Core Foundation objects. CFData is “toll-free bridged”
with its Cocoa Foundation counterpart, the NSData class; if you are using Quartz 2D with the Cocoa
framework, you can pass an NSData object to any Quartz function that takes a CFData object.
● Raw data. You can provide a pointer to data of any type along with a set of callbacks that take care of
basic memory management for the data.

The data itself, whether represented by a URL, a CFData object, or a data buffer, can be image data or PDF
data. Image data can use any type of file format. Quartz understands most of the common image file formats.
Some of the Quartz data management functions work specifically with image data, a few work only with PDF
data, while others are more generic and can be used either for PDF or image data.

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Data Management in Quartz 2D
Moving Data into Quartz 2D

URL, CFData, and raw data sources and destinations refer to data outside the realm of Mac OS X or iOS graphics
technologies, as shown in Figure 10-1. Other graphics technologies in Mac OS X or iOS often provide their own
routines to communicate with Quartz. For example, a Mac OS X application can send Quartz images to Core
Image and use it to alter the image with sophisticated effects.

Figure 10-1 Moving data to and from Quartz 2D in Mac OS X

Graphics technologies

URL URL
CFData Quartz 2D CFData

Raw data Raw data

Core Image

Moving Data into Quartz 2D

The functions for getting data from a data source are listed in Table 10-1 (page 142). All these functions, except
for CGPDFDocumentCreateWithURL, either return an image source (CGImageSourceRef) or a data provider
(CGDataProviderRef). Image sources and data providers abstract the data-access task and eliminate the
need for applications to manage data through a raw memory buffer.

Image sources are the preferred way to move image data into Quartz. An image source represents a wide
variety of image data. An image source can contain more than one image, thumbnail images, and properties
for each image and the image file. After you have a CGImageSourceRef, you can accomplish these tasks:
● Create images (CGImageRef) using the functions CGImageSourceCreateImageAtIndex,
CGImageSourceCreateThumbnailAtIndex, or CGImageSourceCreateIncremental. A CGImageRef
data type represents a single Quartz image.
● Add content to an image source using the functions CGImageSourceUpdateData or
CGImageSourceUpdateDataProvider.
● Obtain information from an image source using the functions CGImageSourceGetCount ,
CGImageSourceCopyProperties, and CGImageSourceCopyTypeIdentifiers.

The function CGPDFDocumentCreateWithURL is a convenience function that creates a PDF document from
the file located at the specified URL.

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Moving Data into Quartz 2D

Data providers are an older mechanism with more limited functionality. They can be used to obtain image or
PDF data.

You can supply a data provider to:

● An image creation function, such as CGImageCreate, CGImageCreateWithPNGDataProvider, or
CGImageCreateWithJPEGDataProvider.
● The PDF document creation function CGPDFDocumentCreateWithProvider.
● The function CGImageSourceUpdateDataProvider to update an existing image source with new data.

For more information on images, see Bitmap Images and Image Masks (page 146).

Table 10-1 Functions that move data into Quartz 2D

Function Use this function

CGImageSourceCreate- To create an image source from a data provider.

WithDataProvider

CGImageSourceCreateWithData To create an image source from a CFData object.

CGImageSourceCreateWithURL To create an image source from a URL that specifies the

location of image data.

CGPDFDocumentCreateWithURL To create a PDF document from data that resides at the

specified URL.

CGDataProviderCreateSequential To read image or PDF data in a stream. You supply callbacks

to handle the data.

CGDataProviderCreate- To read image or PDF data in a block. You supply callbacks

DirectAccess to handle the data.

CGDataProviderCreateWithData To read a buffer of image or PDF data supplied by your

application. You provide a callback to release the memory
you allocated for the data.

CGDataProviderCreateWithURL Whenever you can supply a URL that specifies the target
for data access to image or PDF data.

CGDataProviderCreateWithCFData To read image or PDF data from a CFData object.

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Data Management in Quartz 2D
Moving Data out of Quartz 2D

Moving Data out of Quartz 2D

The functions listed in Table 10-2 (page 144) move data out of Quartz 2D. All these functions, except for
CGPDFContextCreateWithURL, either return an image destination (CGImageDestinationRef) or a data
consumer (CGDataConsumerRef). Image destination and data consumers abstract the data-writing task,
letting Quartz take care of the details for you.

An image destination is the preferred way to move image data out of Quartz. Similar to image sources, an
image destination can represent a variety of image data, from a single image to a destination that contains
multiple images, thumbnail images, and properties for each image or for the image file. After you have a
CGImageDestinationRef, you can accomplish these tasks:
● Add images (CGImageRef) to a destination using the functions CGImageDestinationAddImage or
CGImageDestinationAddImageFromSource. A CGImageRef data type represents a single Quartz
image.
● Set properties using the function CGImageDestinationSetProperties.
● Obtain information from an image destination using the functions
CGImageDestinationCopyTypeIdentifiers or CGImageDestinationGetTypeID.

The function CGPDFContextCreateWithURL is a convenience function that writes PDF data to the location
specified by a URL.

Data consumers are an older mechanism with more limited functionality. They are used to write image or PDF
data. You can supply a data consumer to:
● The PDF context creation function CGPDFContextCreate. This function returns a graphics context that
records your drawing as a sequence of PDF drawing commands that are passed to the data consumer
object.
● The function CGImageDestinationCreateWithDataConsumer to create an image destination from a
data consumer.

Note: For the best performance when working with raw image data, use the vImage framework.
You can import image data to vImage from a CGImageRef reference with the
vImageBuffer_InitWithCGImage function. For details, see Accelerate Release Notes .

For more information on images, see Bitmap Images and Image Masks (page 146).

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Moving Data Between Quartz 2D and Core Image in Mac OS X

Table 10-2 Functions that move data out of Quartz 2D

Function Use this function

CGImageDestinationCreateWithData- To write image data to a data consumer.

Consumer

CGImageDestinationCreateWithData To write image data to a CFData object.

CGImageDestinationCreateWithURL Whenever you can supply a URL that specifies where to

write the image data.

CGPDFContextCreateWithURL Whenever you can supply a URL that specifies where to

write PDF data.

CGDataConsumerCreateWithURL Whenever you can supply a URL that specifies where to

write the image or PDF data.

CGDataConsumerCreateWithCFData To write image or PDF data to a CFData object.

CGDataConsumerCreate To write image or PDF data using callbacks you supply.

Moving Data Between Quartz 2D and Core Image in Mac OS X

The Core Image framework is an Objective-C API provided in Mac OS X that supports image processing. Core
Image lets you access built-in image filters for both video and still images and provides support for custom
filters and near real-time processing. You can apply Core Image filters to Quartz 2D images. For example, you
can use Core Image to correct color, distort the geometry of images, blur or sharpen images, and create a
transition between images. Core Image also allows you to apply an iterative process to an image—one that
feeds back the output of a filter operation to the input. To understand the capabilities of Core Image more
fully, see Core Image Programming Guide .

Core Image methods operate on images that are packaged as Core Image images, or CIImage objects. Core
Image does not operate directly on Quartz images (CGImageRef data types). Quartz images must be converted
to Core Image images before you apply a Core Image filter to the image.

The Quartz 2D API does not provide any functions that package Quartz images as Core Image images, but Core
Image does. The following Core Image methods create a Core Image image from either a Quartz image or a
Quartz layer (CGLayerRef). You can use them to move Quartz 2D data to Core Image.
● imageWithCGImage:
● imageWithCGImage:options:
● imageWithCGLayer:

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● imageWithCGLayer:options:

The following Core Image methods return a Quartz image from a Core Image image. You can use them to
move a processed image back into Quartz 2D:
● createCGImage:fromRect:
● createCGLayerWithSize:info:

For a complete description of Core Image methods, see Core Image Reference Collection .

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Bitmap Images and Image Masks

Bitmap images and image masks are like any drawing primitive in Quartz. Both images and image masks in
Quartz are represented by the CGImageRef data type. As you’ll see later in this chapter, there are a variety of
functions that you can use to create an image. Some of them require a data provider or an image source to
supply bitmap data. Other functions create an image from an existing image either by copying the image or
by applying an operation to the image. No matter how you create a bitmap image in Quartz, you can draw
the image to any flavor of graphics context. Keep in mind that a bitmap image is an array of bits at a specific
resolution. If you draw a bitmap image to a resolution-independent graphics context (such as a PDF graphics
context) the bitmap is limited by the resolution at which you created it.

There is one way to create a Quartz image mask—by calling the function CGImageMaskCreate. You’ll see
how to create one in Creating an Image Mask (page 154). Applying an image mask is not the only way to mask
drawing. The sections Masking an Image with Color (page 158), Masking an Image with an Image Mask (page
155), and Masking an Image by Clipping the Context (page 162) discuss all the masking methods available in
Quartz.

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About Bitmap Images and Image Masks

About Bitmap Images and Image Masks

A bitmap image (or sampled image) is an array of pixels (or samples). Each pixel represents a single point in
the image. JPEG, TIFF, and PNG graphics files are examples of bitmap images. Application icons are bitmap
images. Bitmap images are restricted to rectangular shapes. But with the use of the alpha component, they
can appear to take on a variety of shapes and can be rotated and clipped, as shown in Figure 11-1.

Figure 11-1 Bitmap images

Each sample in a bitmap contains one or more color components in a specified color space, plus one additional
component that specifies the alpha value to indicate transparency. Each component can be from 1 to as many
as 32 bits. In Mac OS X, Quartz also provides support for floating-point components. The supported formats
in Mac OS X and iOS are described in “Pixel formats supported for bitmap graphics contexts” (page
40). ColorSync provides color space support for bitmap images.

Quartz also supports image masks. An image mask is a bitmap that specifies an area to paint, but not the color.
In effect, an image mask acts as a stencil to specify where to place color on the page. Quartz uses the current
fill color to paint an image mask. An image mask can have a depth of 1 to 8 bits.

Bitmap Image Information

Quartz supports a wide variety of image formats and has built-in knowledge of several popular formats. In iOS,
the formats include JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIF, ICO, GMP, XBM, and CUR. Other bitmap image formats or proprietary
formats require that you specify details about the image format to Quartz in order to ensure that images are
interpreted correctly. The image data you supply to the function CGImageCreate must be interleaved on a
per pixel, not a per scan line, basis. Quartz does not support planar data.

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Bitmap Image Information

This section describes the information associated with a bitmap image. When you create and work with Quartz
images (which use the CGImageRef data type), you’ll see that some Quartz image-creation functions require
you to specify all this information, while other functions require a subset of this information. What you provide
depends on the encoding used for the bitmap data, and whether the bitmap represents an image or an image
mask.

Note: For the best performance when working with raw image data, use the vImage framework.
You can import image data to vImage from a CGImageRef reference with the
vImageBuffer_InitWithCGImage function. For details, see Accelerate Release Notes .

Quartz uses the following information when it creates a bitmap image (CGImageRef):
● A bitmap data source, which can be a Quartz data provider or a Quartz image source. Data Management
in Quartz 2D (page 140) describes both and discusses the functions that provide a source of bitmap data.
● An optional decode array (Decode Array (page 148)).
● An interpolation setting, which is a Boolean value that specifies whether Quartz should apply an
interpolation algorithm when resizing the image.
● A rendering intent that specifies how to map colors that are located within the destination color space of
a graphics context. This information is not needed for image masks. See Setting Rendering Intent (page
75) for more information.
● The image dimensions.
● The pixel format, which includes bits per component, bits per pixel, and bytes per row (Pixel Format (page
149)).
● For images, color spaces and bitmap layout (Color Spaces and Bitmap Layout (page 149)) information to
describe the location of alpha and whether the bitmap uses floating-point values. Image masks don’t
require this information.

Decode Array
A decode array maps the image color values to other color values, which is useful for such tasks as desaturating
an image or inverting the colors. The array contains a pair of numbers for each color component. When Quartz
renders the image, it applies a linear transform to map the original component value to a relative number
within the designated range appropriate for the destination color space. For example, the decode array for an
image in the RGB color space contains six entries, one pair for each red, green, and blue color component.

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Bitmap Image Information

Pixel Format
The pixel format consists of the following information:
● Bits per component, which is the number of bits in each individual color component in a pixel. For an
image mask, this value is the number of significant masking bits in a source pixel. For example, if the
source image is an 8-bit mask, specify 8 bits per component.
● Bits per pixel, which is the total number of bits in a source pixel. This value must be at least the number
of bits per component times the number of components per pixel.
● Bytes per row. The number of bytes per horizontal row in the image.

Color Spaces and Bitmap Layout

To ensure that Quartz correctly interprets the bits of each pixel, you must specify:
● Whether a bitmap contains an alpha channel. Quartz supports RGB, CMYK, and gray color spaces. It also
supports alpha, or transparency, although alpha information is not available in all bitmap image formats.
When it is available, the alpha component can be located in either the most significant bits of a pixel or
the least significant bits.
● For bitmaps that have an alpha component, whether the color components are already multiplied by the
alpha value. Premultiplied alpha describes a source color whose components are already multiplied by an
alpha value. Premultiplying speeds up the rendering of an image by eliminating an extra multiplication
operation per color component. For example, in an RGB color space, rendering an image with premultiplied
alpha eliminates three multiplication operations (red times alpha, green times alpha, and blue times alpha)
for each pixel in the image.
● The data format of the samples—integer or floating-point values.

When you create an image using the function CGImageCreate, you supply a bitmapInfo parameter, of type
CGImageBitmapInfo, to specify bitmap layout information. The following constants specify the location of
the alpha component and whether the color components are premultiplied:
● kCGImageAlphaLast—the alpha component is stored in the least significant bits of each pixel, for
example, RGBA.
● kCGImageAlphaFirst—the alpha component is stored in the most significant bits of each pixel, for
example, ARGB.
● kCGImageAlphaPremultipliedLast—the alpha component is stored in the least significant bits of
each pixel, and the color components have already been multiplied by this alpha value.
● kCGImageAlphaPremultipliedFirst—the alpha component is stored in the most significant bits of
each pixel, and the color components have already been multiplied by this alpha value.

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Bitmap Image Information

● kCGImageAlphaNoneSkipLast—there is no alpha component. If the total size of the pixel is greater

than the space required for the number of color components in the color space, the least significant bits
are ignored.
● kCGImageAlphaNoneSkipFirst—there is no alpha component. If the total size of the pixel is greater
than the space required for the number of color components in the color space, the most significant bits
are ignored.
● kCGImageAlphaNone—equivalent to kCGImageAlphaNoneSkipLast.

You use the constant kCGBitmapFloatComponents to indicate a bitmap format that uses floating-point
values. For floating-point formats, you logically OR this constant with the appropriate constant from the previous
list. For example, for a 128 bits per pixel floating-point format that uses premultiplied alpha, with the alpha
located in the least significant bits of each pixel, you supply the following information to Quartz:

kCGImageAlphaPremultipliedLast|kCGBitmapFloatComponents

Figure 11-2 visually depicts how pixels are represented in CMYK and RGB color spaces that use 16- or 32-bit
integer formats. The 32-bit integer pixel formats use 8 bits per component. The 16-bit integer format uses 5
bits per component. Quartz 2D also supports 128-bit floating-point pixel formats that use 32 bits per component.
The 128-bit formats are not shown in the figure.

Figure 11-2 32-bit and 16-bit pixel formats for CMYK and RGB color spaces in Quartz 2D
32 bits per pixel CMYK, kCGImageAlphaNone
C C C C C C C C M M M M M M M M Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y K K K K K K K K

32 bits per pixel RGBA, kCGImageAlphaLast

R R R R R R R R G G G G G G G G B B B B B B B B A A A A A A A A

32 bits per pixel ARGB, kCGImageAlphaFirst

A A A A A A A A R R R R R R R R G G G G G G G G B B B B B B B B

32 bits per pixel RGB, kCGImageAlphaNoneSkipLast

R R R R R R R R G G G G G G G G B B B B B B B B

32 bits per pixel RGB, kCGImageAlphaNoneSkipFirst

R R R R R R R R G G G G G G G G B B B B B B B B

16 bits per pixel RGB, kCGImageAlphaNoneSkipFirst

R R R R R G G G G G B B B B B

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Creating Images

Creating Images
Table 11-1 (page 151) lists the functions that Quartz provides to create CGImage objects. The choice of image
creation function depends on the source of the image data. The most flexible function is CGImageCreate. It
creates an image from any kind of bitmap data. However, it’s the most complex function to use because you
must specify all bitmap information. To use this function, you need to be familiar with the topics discussed in
Bitmap Image Information (page 147).

If you want to create a CGImage object from an image file that uses a standard image format such as PNG or
JPEG, the easiest solution is to call the function CGImageSourceCreateWithURL to create an image source
and then call the function CGImageSourceCreateImageAtIndex to create an image from the image data
at a specific index in the image source. If the original image file contains only one image, then provide 0 as
the index. If the image file format supports files that contain multiple images, you need to supply the index
to the appropriate image, keeping in mind that the index values start at 0.

If you’ve drawn content to a bitmap graphics context and want to capture that drawing to a CGImage object,
call the function CGBitmapContextCreateImage.

Several functions are utilities that operate on existing images, either to make a copy, create a thumbnail, or
create an image from a portion of a larger one. Regardless of how you create a CGImage object, you use the
function CGContextDrawImage to draw the image to a graphics context. Keep in mind that CGImage objects
are immutable. When you no longer need a CGImage object, release it by calling the function CGImageRelease.

Table 11-1 Functions for creating images

Function Description

CGImageCreate A flexible function for creating an image. You must specify all the
bitmap information that is discussed in Bitmap Image
Information (page 147).

CGImageSourceCreate- Creates an image from an image source. Image sources can

ImageAtIndex contain more than one image. See Data Management in Quartz
2D (page 140) for information on creating an image source.

CGImageSourceCreate- Creates a thumbnail image of an image that is associated with

ThumbnailAtIndex an image source. See Data Management in Quartz 2D (page 140)
for information on creating an image source.

CGBitmapContextCreateImage Creates an image by copying the bits from a bitmap graphics

context.

CGImageCreateWith- Creates an image from the data contained within a sub-rectangle

ImageInRect of an image.

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Creating Images

Function Description

CGImageCreateCopy A utility function that creates a copy of an image.

CGImageCreateCopy- A utility function that creates a copy of an image and replaces its
WithColorSpace color space.

The sections that follow discuss how to create:

● A subimage from an existing image
● An image from a bitmap graphics context

You can consult these sources for additional information:

● Data Management in Quartz 2D (page 140) discusses how to read and write image data.
● CGImage Reference , CGImageSource Reference , and CGBitmapContext Reference for further information
on the functions listed in Table 11-1 and their parameters.

Creating an Image From Part of a Larger Image

The function CGImageCreateWithImageInRect lets you create a subimage from an existing Quartz image.
Figure 11-3 illustrates extracting an image that contains the letter “A” from a larger image by supplying a
rectangle that specifies the location of the letter “A”.

Figure 11-3 A subimage created from a larger image

ABC
DEF + = A
GHI
The image returned by the function CGImageCreateWithImageInRect retains a reference to the original
image, which means you can release the original image after calling this function.

Figure 11-4 (page 153) shows another example of extracting a portion of an image to create another image. In
this case, the rooster’s head is extracted from the larger image, and then drawn to a rectangle that’s larger
than the subimage, effectively zooming in on the image.

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Creating Images

Listing 11-1 (page 153) shows code that creates and then draws the subimage. The rectangle that the function
CGContextDrawImage draws the rooster’s head to has dimensions that are twice the dimensions of the
extracted subimage. The listing is a code fragment. You’d need to declare the appropriate variables, create
the rooster image, and dispose of the rooster image and the rooster head subimage. Because the code is a
fragment, it does not show how to create the graphics context that the image is drawn to. You can use any
flavor of graphics context that you’d like. For examples of how to create a graphics context, see Graphics
Contexts (page 27).

Figure 11-4 An image, a subimage taken from it and drawn so it’s enlarged

Listing 11-1 Code that creates a subimage and draws it enlarged

myImageArea = CGRectMake (rooster_head_x_origin, rooster_head_y_origin,

myWidth, myHeight);

mySubimage = CGImageCreateWithImageInRect (myRoosterImage, myImageArea);

myRect = CGRectMake(0, 0, myWidth*2, myHeight*2);

CGContextDrawImage(context, myRect, mySubimage);

Creating an Image from a Bitmap Graphics Context

To create an image from an existing bitmap graphics context, you call the function
CGBitmapContextCreateImage as follows:

CGImageRef myImage;

myImage = CGBitmapContextCreateImage (myBitmapContext);

The CGImage object returned by the function is created by a copy operation. Therefore any subsequent changes
you make to the bitmap graphics context do not affect the contents of the returned CGImage object. In some
cases the copy operation actually follows copy-on-write semantics, so that the actual physical copy of the bits

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Creating an Image Mask

occurs only if the underlying data in the bitmap graphics context is modified. You may want to use the resulting
image and release it before you perform additional drawing into the bitmap graphics context so that you can
avoid the actual physical copy of the data.

For an example that shows how to create a bitmap graphics context, seeCreating a Bitmap Graphics
Context (page 35).

Creating an Image Mask

A Quartz bitmap image mask is used the same way an artist uses a silkscreen. A bitmap image mask determines
how color is transferred, not which colors are used. Each sample value in the image mask specifies the amount
that the current fill color is masked at a specific location. The sample value specifies the opacity of the mask.
Larger values represent greater opacity and specify locations where Quartz paints less color. You can think of
the sample value as an inverse alpha value. A value of 1 is transparent and 0 is opaque.

Image masks are 1, 2, 4, or 8 bits per component. For a 1-bit mask, a sample value of 1 specifies sections of
the mask that block the current fill color. A sample value of 0 specifies sections of the mask that show the
current fill color of the graphics state when the mask is painted. You can think of a 1-bit mask as black and
white; samples either completely block paint or completely allow paint.

Image masks that have 2, 4, or 8 bits per component represent grayscale values. Each component maps to a
range of 0 to 1 using the following formula:

1
(2 bits_per_component ) -1
For example, a 4-bit mask has values that range from 0 to 1 in increments of 1/15 . Component values that
are 0 or 1 represent the extremes—completely block paint and completely allow paint. Values between 0 and
1 allow partial painting using the formula 1 – MaskSampleValue. For example, if the sample value of an
8-bit mask scales to 0.7, color is painted as if it had an alpha value of (1 – 0.7), which is 0.3.

The function CGImageMaskCreate creates a Quartz image mask from bitmap image information that you
supply and that is discussed in Bitmap Image Information (page 147). The information you supply to create an
image mask is the same as what you supply to create an image, except that you do not supply color space
information, a bitmap information constant, or a rendering intent, as you can see by looking at the function
prototype in Listing 11-2.

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Masking Images

Listing 11-2 The prototype for the function CGImageMaskCreate

CGImageRef CGImageMaskCreate (

size_t width,

size_t height,

size_t bitsPerComponent,

size_t bitsPerPixel,

size_t bytesPerRow,

CGDataProviderRef provider,

const CGFloat decode[],

bool shouldInterpolate

);

Masking Images
Masking techniques can produce many interesting effects by controlling which parts of an image are painted.
You can:
● Apply an image mask to an image. You can also use an image as a mask to achieve an effect that’s opposite
from applying an image mask.
● Use color to mask parts of an image, which includes the technique referred to as chroma key masking.
● Clip a graphics context to an image or image mask, which effectively masks an image (or any kind of
drawing) when Quartz draws the content to the clipped context.

Masking an Image with an Image Mask

The function CGImageCreateWithMask returns the image that’s created by applying an image mask to an
image. This function takes two parameters:
● The image you want to apply the mask to. This image can’t be an image mask or have a masking color
(see Masking an Image with Color (page 158)) associated with it.
● An image mask created by calling the function CGImageMaskCreate. It’s possible to provide an image
instead of an image mask, but that gives a much different result. See Masking an Image with an Image (page
157).

Source samples of an image mask act as an inverse alpha value. An image mask sample value (S):
● Equal to 1 blocks painting the corresponding image sample.

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Masking Images

● Equal to 0 allows painting the corresponding image sample at full coverage.

● Greater than 0 and less 1 allows painting the corresponding image sample with an alpha value of (1 –
S).

Figure 11-5 shows an image created with one of the Quartz image-creation functions and Figure 11-6 shows
an image mask created with the function CGImageMaskCreate. Figure 11-7 (page 157) shows the image that
results from calling the function CGImageCreateWithMask to apply the image mask to the image.

Figure 11-5 The original image

Figure 11-6 An image mask

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Masking Images

Note that the areas in the original image that correspond to the black areas of the mask show through in the
resulting image (Figure 11-7). The areas that correspond to the white areas of the mask aren’t painted. The
areas that correspond to the gray areas in the mask are painted using an intermediate alpha value that’s equal
to 1 minus the image mask sample value.

Figure 11-7 The image that results from applying the image mask to the original image

Masking an Image with an Image

You can use the function CGImageCreateWithMask to mask an image with another image, rather than with
an image mask. You would do this to achieve an effect opposite of what you get when you mask an image
with an image mask. Instead of passing an image mask that’s created using the function CGImageMaskCreate,
you supply an image created from one of the Quartz image-creation functions.

Source samples of an image that is used as a mask (but is not a Quartz image mask) operate as alpha values.
An image sample value (S):
● Equal to 1 allows painting the corresponding image sample at full coverage.
● Equal to 0 blocks painting the corresponding image sample.
● Greater than 0 and less 1 allows painting the corresponding image sample with an alpha value of S.

Figure 11-8 (page 158) shows the image that results from calling the function CGImageCreateWithMask to
apply the image shown in Figure 11-6 (page 156) to the image shown in Figure 11-5 (page 156). In this case,
assume that the image shown in Figure 11-6 is created using one of the Quartz image-creation functions, such
as CGImageCreate. Compare Figure 11-8 with Figure 11-7 (page 157) to see how the same sample values,
when used as image samples instead of image mask samples, achieve the opposite effect.

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Masking Images

The areas in the original image that correspond to the black areas of the image aren’t painted in the resulting
image (Figure 11-8). The areas that correspond to the white areas are painted. The areas that correspond to
the gray areas in the mask are painted using an intermediate alpha value that’s equal to the masking image
sample value.

Figure 11-8 The image that results from masking the original image with an image

Masking an Image with Color

The function CGImageCreateWithMaskingColors creates an image by masking one color or a range of
colors in an image supplied to the function. Using this function, you can perform chroma key masking similar
to what’s shown in Figure 11-9 (page 158) or you can mask a range of colors, similar to what’s shown in Figure
11-11 (page 160), Figure 11-12 (page 161), and Figure 11-13 (page 162).

The function CGImageCreateWithMaskingColors takes two parameters:

● An image that is not an image mask and that is not the result of applying an image mask or masking color
to another image.
● An array of color components that specify a color or a range of colors for the function to mask in the image.

Figure 11-9 Chroma key masking

+ =

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Bitmap Images and Image Masks
Masking Images

The number of elements in the color component array must be equal to twice the number of color components
in the color space of the image. For each color component in the color space, supply a minimum value and a
maximum value that specifies the range of colors to mask. To mask only one color, set the minimum value
equal to the maximum value. The values in the color component array are supplied in the following order:

{min[1], max[1], ... min[N], max[N]}, where N is the number of components.

If the image uses integer pixel components, each value in the color component array must be in the range [0
.. 2^bitsPerComponent - 1] . If the image uses floating-point pixel components, each value can be any
floating-point number that is a valid color component.

An image sample is not painted if its color values fall in the range:

{c[1], ... c[N]}

where min[i] <= c[i] <= max[i] for 1 <= i <= N

Anything underneath the unpainted samples, such as the current fill color or other drawing, shows through.

The image of two tigers, shown in Figure 11-10, uses an RGB color space that has 8 bits per component. To
mask a range of colors in this image, you supply minimum and maximum color component values in the range
of 0 to 255.

Figure The original image

11-10

Listing 11-3 shows a code fragment that sets up a color components array and supplies the array to the function
CGImageCreateWithMaskingColors to achieve the result shown in Figure 11-11.

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Bitmap Images and Image Masks
Masking Images

Listing 11-3 Masking light to mid-range brown colors in an image

CGImageRef myColorMaskedImage;

const CGFloat myMaskingColors[6] = {124, 255, 68, 222, 0, 165};

myColorMaskedImage = CGImageCreateWithMaskingColors (image,

myMaskingColors);

CGContextDrawImage (context, myContextRect, myColorMaskedImage);

Figure An image with light to midrange brown colors masked out

11-11

Listing 11-4 shows another code fragment that operates on the image shown in Figure 11-10 (page 159) to get
the results shown in Figure 11-12. This example masks a darker range of colors.

Listing 11-4 Masking shades of brown to black

CGImageRef myMaskedImage;

const CGFloat myMaskingColors[6] = { 0, 124, 0, 68, 0, 0 };

myColorMaskedImage = CGImageCreateWithMaskingColors (image,

myMaskingColors);

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Bitmap Images and Image Masks
Masking Images

CGContextDrawImage (context, myContextRect, myColorMaskedImage);

Figure A image after masking colors from dark brown to black

11-12

You can mask colors in an image as well as set a fill color to achieve the effect shown in Figure 11-13 in which
the masked areas are replaced with the fill color. Listing 11-5 shows the code fragment that generates the
image shown in Figure 11-13.

Listing 11-5 Masking a range of colors and setting a fill color and

CGImageRef myMaskedImage;

const CGFloat myMaskingColors[6] = { 0, 124, 0, 68, 0, 0 };

myColorMaskedImage = CGImageCreateWithMaskingColors (image,

myMaskingColors);

CGContextSetRGBFillColor (myContext, 0.6373,0.6373, 0, 1);

CGContextFillRect(context, rect);

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Bitmap Images and Image Masks
Masking Images

CGContextDrawImage(context, rect, myColorMaskedImage);

Figure An image drawn after masking a range of colors and setting a fill color
11-13

Masking an Image by Clipping the Context

The function CGContextClipToMask maps a mask into a rectangle and intersects it with the current clipping
area of the graphics context. You supply the following parameters:
● The graphics context you want to clip.
● A rectangle to apply the mask to.
● An image mask created by calling the function CGImageMaskCreate. You can supply an image instead
of an image mask to achieve an effect opposite of what you get by supplying an image mask. The image
must be created with a Quartz image creation function, but it cannot be the result of applying a mask or
masking color to another image.

The resulting clipped area depends on whether you provide an image mask or an image to the function
CGContextClipToMask. If you supply an image mask, you get results similar to those described in Masking
an Image with an Image Mask (page 155), except that the graphics context is clipped. If you supply an image,
the graphics context is clipped similar to what’s described in Masking an Image with an Image (page 157).

Take a look at Figure 11-14. Assume it is an image mask created by calling the function CGImageMaskCreate
and then the mask is supplied as a parameter to the function CGContextClipToMask. The resulting context
allows painting to the black areas, does not allow painting to the white areas, and allows painting to the gray

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Bitmap Images and Image Masks
Masking Images

area with an alpha value of 1–S, where S is the sample value of the image masks. If you draw an image to the
clipped context using the function CGContextDrawImage, you’ll get a result similar to that shown in Figure
11-15.

Figure A masking image

11-14

Figure An image drawn to a context after clipping the content with an image mask
11-15

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Bitmap Images and Image Masks
Using Blend Modes with Images

When the masking image is treated as an image, you get the opposite result, as shown in Figure 11-16.

Figure An image drawn to a context after clipping the content with an image
11-16

Using Blend Modes with Images

You can use Quartz 2D blend modes (see Setting Blend Modes (page 56)) to composite two images or to
composite an image over any content that’s already drawn to the graphic context. This section discusses
compositing an image over a background drawing.

The general procedure for compositing an image over a background is as follows:

1. Draw the background.
2. Set the blend mode by calling the function CGContextSetBlendMode with one of the blend mode
constants. (The blend modes are based upon those defined in the PDF Reference, Fourth Edition , Version
1.5, Adobe Systems, Inc.)
3. Draw the image you want to composite over the background by calling the function CGContextDrawImage.

This code fragment composites one image over a background using the “darken” blend mode:

CGContextSetBlendMode (myContext, kCGBlendModeDarken);

CGContextDrawImage (myContext, myRect, myImage2);

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Bitmap Images and Image Masks
Using Blend Modes with Images

The rest of this section uses each of the blend modes available in Quartz to draw the image shown on the right
side of Figure 11-17 over the background that consists of the painted rectangles shown on the left side of the
figure. In all cases, the rectangles are first drawn to the graphics context. Then, a blend mode is set by calling
the function CGContextSetBlendMode, passing the appropriate blend mode constant. Finally, the image of
the jumper is drawn to the graphics context.

Figure Background drawing (left) and foreground image (right)

11-17

Normal Blend Mode

Normal blend mode paints source image samples over background image samples. Normal blend mode is the
default blend mode in Quartz. You only need to explicitly set normal blend mode if you are currently using
another blend mode and want to switch to normal blend mode. You can set normal blend mode by passing
the constant kCGBlendModeNormal to the function CGContextSetBlendMode or by restoring the graphics
state (assuming the previous graphics state used normal blend mode) using the function
CGContextRestoreGState.

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Bitmap Images and Image Masks
Using Blend Modes with Images

Figure 11-18 shows the result of using normal blend mode to paint the image shown in Figure 11-17 (page
165) over the rectangles shown in the same figure. In this example, the image is drawn using an alpha value
of 1.0, so the background is completely obscured by the image.

Figure Drawing an image over a background using normal blend mode

11-18

Multiply Blend Mode

Multiply blend mode multiplies source image samples with background image samples. The colors in the
resulting image are at least as dark as either of the two contributing sample colors.

You specify multiply blend mode by passing the constant kCGBlendModeMultiply to the function
CGContextSetBlendMode. Figure 11-19 shows the result of using multiply blend mode to paint the image
shown in Figure 11-17 (page 165) over the rectangles shown in the same figure.

Figure Drawing an image over a background using multiply blend mode

11-19

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Bitmap Images and Image Masks
Using Blend Modes with Images

Screen Blend Mode

Screen blend mode multiplies the inverse of the source image samples with the inverse of the background
image samples to obtain colors that are at least as light as either of the two contributing sample colors.

You specify screen blend mode by passing the constant kCGBlendModeScreen to the function
CGContextSetBlendMode. Figure 11-20 shows the result of using screen blend mode to paint the image
shown in Figure 11-17 (page 165) over the rectangles shown in the same figure.

Figure Drawing an image over a background using screen blend mode

11-20

Overlay Blend Mode

Overlay blend mode either multiplies or screens the source image samples with the background image samples,
depending on the color of the background samples. The result is to overlay the existing image samples while
preserving the highlights and shadows of the background. The background color mixes with the source image
to reflect the lightness or darkness of the background.

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Bitmap Images and Image Masks
Using Blend Modes with Images

You specify overlay blend mode by passing the constant kCGBlendModeOverlay to the function
CGContextSetBlendMode. Figure 11-21 shows the result of using overlay blend mode to paint the image
shown in Figure 11-17 (page 165) over the rectangles shown in the same figure.

Figure Drawing an image over a background using overlay blend mode

11-21

Darken Blend Mode

Darken blend mode creates composite image samples by choosing the darker samples from the source image
or the background. Source image samples that are darker than the background image samples replace the
corresponding background samples.

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Bitmap Images and Image Masks
Using Blend Modes with Images

You specify darken blend mode by passing the constant kCGBlendModeDarken to the function
CGContextSetBlendMode. Figure 11-22 shows the result of using darken blend mode to paint the image
shown in Figure 11-17 (page 165) over the rectangles shown in the same figure.

Figure Drawing an image over a background using darken blend mode

11-22

Lighten Blend Mode

Lighten blend mode creates composite image samples by choosing the lighter samples from the source image
or the background. Source image samples that are lighter than the background image samples replace the
corresponding background samples.

You specify lighten blend mode by passing the constant kCGBlendModeLighten to the function
CGContextSetBlendMode. Figure 11-23 shows the result of using lighten blend mode to paint the image
shown in Figure 11-17 (page 165) over the rectangles shown in the same figure.

Figure Drawing an image over a background using lighten blend mode

11-23

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Bitmap Images and Image Masks
Using Blend Modes with Images

Color Dodge Blend Mode

Color dodge blend mode brightens background image samples to reflect the source image samples. Source
image sample values that specify black remain unchanged.

You specify color dodge blend mode by passing the constant kCGBlendModeColorDodge to the function
CGContextSetBlendMode. Figure 11-24 shows the result of using color dodge blend mode to paint the image
shown in Figure 11-17 (page 165) over the rectangles shown in the same figure.

Figure Drawing an image over a background using color dodge blend mode
11-24

Color Burn Blend Mode

Color burn blend mode darkens background image samples to reflect the source image samples. Source image
sample values that specify white remain unchanged.

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Bitmap Images and Image Masks
Using Blend Modes with Images

You specify color burn blend mode by passing the constant kCGBlendModeColorBurn to the function
CGContextSetBlendMode. Figure 11-25 shows the result of using color burn blend mode to paint the image
shown in Figure 11-17 (page 165) over the rectangles shown in the same figure.

Figure Drawing an image over a background using color burn blend mode
11-25

Soft Light Blend Mode

Soft light blend mode either darkens or lightens colors, depending on the source image sample color. If the
source image sample color is lighter than 50% gray, the background lightens, similar to dodging. If the source
image sample color is darker than 50% gray, the background darkens, similar to burning. If the source image
sample color is equal to 50% gray, the background does not change.

Image samples that are equal to pure black or pure white produce darker or lighter areas, but do not result in
pure black or white. The overall effect is similar to what you achieve by shining a diffuse spotlight on the source
image.

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Bitmap Images and Image Masks
Using Blend Modes with Images

You specify soft light blend mode by passing the constant kCGBlendModeSoftLight to the function
CGContextSetBlendMode. Figure 11-26 shows the result of using soft light blend mode to paint the image
shown in Figure 11-17 (page 165) over the rectangles shown in the same figure.

Figure Drawing an image over a background using soft light blend mode
11-26

Hard Light Blend Mode

Hard light blend mode either multiplies or screens colors, depending on the source image sample color. If the
source image sample color is lighter than 50% gray, the background is lightened, similar to screening. If the
source image sample color is darker than 50% gray, the background is darkened, similar to multiplying. If the
source image sample color is equal to 50% gray, the source image does not change. Image samples that are
equal to pure black or pure white result in pure black or white. The overall effect is similar to what you achieve
by shining a harsh spotlight on the source image.

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Bitmap Images and Image Masks
Using Blend Modes with Images

You specify hard light blend mode by passing the constant kCGBlendModeHardLight to the function
CGContextSetBlendMode. Figure 11-27 shows the result of using hard light blend mode to paint the image
shown in Figure 11-17 (page 165) over the rectangles shown in the same figure.

Figure Drawing an image over a background using hard light blend mode
11-27

Difference Blend Mode

Difference blend mode subtracts either the source image sample color from the background image sample
color, or the reverse, depending on which sample has the greater brightness value. Source image sample values
that are black produce no change; white inverts the background color values.

You specify difference blend mode by passing the constant kCGBlendModeDifference to the function
CGContextSetBlendMode. Figure 11-28 shows the result of using difference blend mode to paint the image
shown in Figure 11-17 (page 165) over the rectangles shown in the same figure.

Figure Drawing an image over a background using difference blend mode

11-28

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Bitmap Images and Image Masks
Using Blend Modes with Images

Exclusion Blend Mode

Exclusion blend mode produces a lower-contrast version of the difference blend mode. Source image sample
values that are black don’t produce a change; white inverts the background color values.

You specify exclusion blend mode by passing the constant kCGBlendModeExclusion to the function
CGContextSetBlendMode. Figure 11-29 shows the result of using exclusion blend mode to paint the image
shown in Figure 11-17 (page 165) over the rectangles shown in the same figure.

Figure Drawing an image over a background using exclusion blend mode

11-29

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Bitmap Images and Image Masks
Using Blend Modes with Images

Hue Blend Mode

Hue blend mode uses the luminance and saturation values of the background with the hue of the source
image. You specify hue blend mode by passing the constant kCGBlendModeHue to the function
CGContextSetBlendMode. Figure 11-30 shows the result of using hue blend mode to paint the image shown
in Figure 11-17 (page 165) over the rectangles shown in the same figure.

Figure Drawing an image over a background using hue blend mode

11-30

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Bitmap Images and Image Masks
Using Blend Modes with Images

Saturation Blend Mode

Saturation blend mode uses the luminance and hue values of the background with the saturation of the source
image. Pure gray areas don’t produce a change. You specify saturation blend mode by passing the constant
kCGBlendModeSaturation to the function CGContextSetBlendMode. Figure 11-31 shows the result of
using saturation blend mode to paint the image shown in Figure 11-17 (page 165) over the rectangles shown
in the same figure.

Figure Drawing an image over a background using saturation blend mode

11-31

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Bitmap Images and Image Masks
Using Blend Modes with Images

Color Blend Mode

Color blend mode uses the luminance values of the background with the hue and saturation values of the
source image. This mode preserves the gray levels in the image. You specify color blend mode by passing the
constant kCGBlendModeColor to the function CGContextSetBlendMode. Figure 11-32 shows the result of
using color blend mode to paint the image shown in Figure 11-17 (page 165) over the rectangles shown in the
same figure.

Figure Drawing an image over a background using color blend mode

11-32

Luminosity Blend Mode

Luminosity blend mode uses the hue and saturation of the background with the luminance of the source
image to create an effect that is inverse to the effect created by the color blend mode.

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Bitmap Images and Image Masks
Using Blend Modes with Images

You specify luminosity blend mode by passing the constant kCGBlendModeLuminosity to the function
CGContextSetBlendMode. Figure 11-33 shows the result of using luminosity blend mode to paint the image
shown in Figure 11-17 (page 165) over the rectangles shown in the same figure.

Figure Drawing an image over a background using luminosity blend mode

11-33

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Core Graphics Layer Drawing

CGLayer objects (CGLayerRef data type) allow your application to use layers for drawing.

Layers are suited for the following:

● High-quality offscreen rendering of drawing that you plan to reuse. For example, you might be building
a scene and plan to reuse the same background. Draw the background scene to a layer and then draw
the layer whenever you need it. One added benefit is that you don’t need to know color space or
device-dependent information to draw to a layer.
● Repeated drawing. For example, you might want to create a pattern that consists of the same item drawn
over and over. Draw the item to a layer and then repeatedly draw the layer, as shown in Figure 12-1. Any
Quartz object that you draw repeatedly—including CGPath, CGShading, and CGPDFPage objects—benefits
from improved performance if you draw it to a CGLayer. Note that a layer is not just for onscreen drawing;
you can use it for graphics contexts that aren’t screen-oriented, such as a PDF graphics context.
● Buffering. Although you can use layers for this purpose, you shouldn’t need to because the Quartz
Compositor makes buffering on your part unnecessary. If you must draw to a buffer, use a layer instead
of a bitmap graphics context.

Figure 12-1 Repeatedly painting the same butterfly image

CGLayer objects and transparency layers are parallel to CGPath objects and paths created by CGContext
functions. In the case of a CGLayer or CGPath object, you paint to an abstract destination and can then later
draw the complete painting to another destination, such as a display or a PDF. When you paint to a transparency
layer or use the CGContext functions that draw paths, you draw directly to the destination represented by a
graphics context. There is no intermediate abstract destination for assembling the painting.

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Core Graphics Layer Drawing
How Layer Drawing Works

How Layer Drawing Works

A layer, represented by the CGLayerRef data type, is engineered for optimal performance. When possible,
Quartz caches a CGLayer object using a mechanism appropriate to the type of Quartz graphics context it is
associated with. For example, a graphics context associated with a video card might cache the layer on the
video card, which makes drawing the content that’s in a layer much faster than rendering a similar image that’s
constructed from a bitmap graphics context. For this reason a layer is typically a better choice for offscreen
drawing than a bitmap graphics context is.

All Quartz drawing functions draw to a graphics context. The graphics context provides an abstraction of the
destination, freeing you from the details of the destination, such as its resolution. You work in user space, and
Quartz performs the necessary transformations to render the drawing correctly to the destination. When you
use a CGLayer object for drawing, you also draw to a graphics context. Figure 12-1 illustrates the necessary
steps for layer drawing.

Figure 12-2 Layer drawing

LayerCreate
CGLayer Object

LayerGetContext

DrawLayer
Layer context

Graphics context

All layer drawing starts with a graphics context from which you create a CGLayer object using the function
CGLayerCreateWithContext. The graphics context used to create a CGLayer object is typically a window
graphics context. Quartz creates a layer so that it has all the characteristics of the graphics context—its resolution,
color space, and graphics state settings. You can provide a size for the layer if you don’t want to use the size
of the graphics context. In Figure 12-2, the left side shows the graphics context used to create the layer. The
gray portion of the box on the right side, labeled CGLayer object, represents the newly created layer.

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Core Graphics Layer Drawing
Drawing with a Layer

Before you can draw to the layer, you must obtain the graphics context that’s associated with the layer by
calling the function CGLayerGetContext. This graphics context is the same flavor as the graphics context
used to create the layer. As long as the graphics context used to create the layer is a window graphics context,
then the CGLayer graphics context is cached to the GPU if at all possible. The white portion of the box on the
right side of Figure 12-2 represents the newly created layer graphics context.

You draw to the layer’s graphics context just as you would draw to any graphics context, passing the layer’s
graphic context to the drawing function. Figure 12-2 shows a leaf shape drawn to the layer context.

When you are ready to use the contents of the layer, you can call the functions CGContextDrawLayerInRect
or CGContextDrawLayerAtPoint, to draw the layer into a graphics context. Typically you would draw to
the same graphics context that you used to create the layer object, but you are not required to. You can draw
the layer to any graphics context, keeping in mind that layer drawing has the characteristics of the graphics
context used to create the layer object, which could impose certain constraints (performance or resolution,
for example). For example, a layer associated with the screen may be cached in video hardware. If the destination
context is a printing or PDF context, it may need to be fetched from the graphics hardware to memory, resulting
in poor performance.

Figure 12-2 (page 180) shows the contents of the layer—the leaf—drawn repeatedly to the graphics context
used to create the layer object. You can reuse the drawing that’s in a layer as many times as you’d like before
releasing the CGLayer object.

Tip: Use transparency layers when you want to composite parts of a drawing to achieve such effects
as shadowing a group of objects. (See Transparency Layers (page 136).) Use CGLayer objects when
you want to draw offscreen or when you need to repeatedly draw the same thing.

Drawing with a Layer

You need to perform the tasks described in the following section to draw using a CGLayer object:
1. Create a CGLayer Object Initialized with an Existing Graphics Context (page 182)
2. Get a Graphics Context for the Layer (page 182)
3. Draw to the CGLayer Graphics Context (page 182)
4. Draw the Layer to the Destination Graphics Context (page 183)

See Example: Using Multiple CGLayer Objects to Draw a Flag (page 184) for a detailed code example.

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Core Graphics Layer Drawing
Drawing with a Layer

Create a CGLayer Object Initialized with an Existing Graphics Context

The function CGLayerCreateWithContext returns a layer that is initialized with an existing graphics context.
The layer inherits all the characteristics of the graphics context, including the color space, size, resolution, and
pixel format. Later, when you draw the layer to a destination, Quartz automatically color matches the layer to
the destination context.

The function CGLayerCreateWithContext takes three parameters:

● The graphics context to create the layer from. Typically you pass a window graphics context so that you
can later draw the layer onscreen.
● The size of the layer relative to the graphics context. The layer can be the same size as the graphics context
or smaller. If you need to retrieve the layer size later, you can call the function CGLayerGetSize.
● An auxiliary dictionary. This parameter is currently unused, so pass NULL.

Get a Graphics Context for the Layer

Quartz always draws to a graphics context. Now that you have a layer, you must create a graphics context
associated with the layer. Anything you draw into the layer graphics context is part of the layer.

The function CGLayerGetContext takes a layer as a parameter and returns a graphics context associated
with the layer.

Draw to the CGLayer Graphics Context

After you obtain the graphics context associated with a layer, you can perform any drawing you’d like to the
layer graphics context. You can open a PDF file or an image file and draw the file contents to the layer. You
can use any of the Quartz 2D functions to draw rectangles, lines, and other drawing primitives. Figure 12-3
shows an example of drawing rectangles and lines to a layer.

Figure 12-3 A layer that contains two rectangles and a series of lines

For example, to draw a filled rectangle to a CGLayer graphics context, you call the function
CGContextFillRect, supplying the graphics context you obtained from the function CGLayerGetContext.
If the graphics context is named myLayerContext, the function call looks like this:

CGContextFillRect (myLayerContext, myRect)

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Drawing with a Layer

Draw the Layer to the Destination Graphics Context

When you are ready to draw the layer to its destination graphics context you can use either of the following
functions:
● CGContextDrawLayerInRect, which draws a layer to a graphics context in the rectangle specified.
● CGContextDrawLayerAtPoint, which draws the layer to a graphics context at the point specified.

Typically the destination graphics context you supply is a window graphics context and it is the same graphics
context you use to create the layer. Figure 12-4 shows the result of repeatedly drawing the layer drawing
shown in Figure 12-3 (page 182). To achieve the patterned effect, you call either of the layer drawing functions
repeatedly—CGContextDrawLayerAtPoint or CGContextDrawLayerInRect—changing the offset each
time. For example you can call the function CGContextTranslateCTM to change the origin of the coordinate
space each time you draw the layer.

Figure 12-4 Drawing a layer repeatedly

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Core Graphics Layer Drawing
Example: Using Multiple CGLayer Objects to Draw a Flag

Note: You are not required to draw a layer to the same graphics context that you use to initialize
the layer. However, if you draw the layer to another graphics context, any limitations of the original
graphics context are imposed on your drawing.

Example: Using Multiple CGLayer Objects to Draw a Flag

This section shows how to use two CGLayer objects to draw the flag shown in Figure 12-5 onscreen. First you’ll
see how to reduce the flag to simple drawing primitives, then you’ll look at the code needed to accomplish
the drawing.

Figure 12-5 The result of using layers to draw the United States flag

From the perspective of drawing it onscreen, the flag has three parts:
● A pattern of red and white stripes. You can reduce the pattern to a single red stripe because, for onscreen
drawing, you can assume a white background. You create a single red rectangle, then repeatedly draw
the rectangle at various offsets to create the seven red stripes necessary for the U.S. flag. A layer is ideal
for repeated drawing. You draw the red rectangle to a layer, then draw the layer onscreen seven times.
● A blue rectangle. You need the blue rectangle once, so using a layer is of no benefit. When it comes time
to draw the blue rectangle, draw it directly onscreen.
● A pattern of 50 white stars. Like the red stripe, a layer is ideal for drawing the stars. You create a path that
outlines a star shape, and then fill the path with white. Draw one star to a layer, then draw the layer 50
times, adjusting the offset each time to get the appropriate spacing.

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Core Graphics Layer Drawing
Example: Using Multiple CGLayer Objects to Draw a Flag

The code in Figure 12-2 (page 180) produces the output shown in Figure 12-5. A detailed explanation for each
numbered line of code appears following the listing. The listing is rather long, so you might want to print the
explanation so that you can read it as you look at the code. The myDrawFlag routine is called from within a
Cocoa application. The application passes a window graphics context and a rectangle that specifies the size
of the view associated with the window graphics context.

Note: Before you call this or any routine that uses CGLayer objects, you must check to make sure
that the system is running Mac OS X v10.4 or later and has a graphics card that supports using
CGLayer objects.

Listing 12-1 Code that uses layers to draw a flag

void myDrawFlag (CGContextRef context, CGRect* contextRect)

int i, j,

num_six_star_rows = 5,

num_five_star_rows = 4;

CGFloat start_x = 5.0, // 1

start_y = 108.0, // 2

red_stripe_spacing = 34.0, // 3

h_spacing = 26.0, // 4

v_spacing = 22.0; // 5

CGContextRef myLayerContext1,

myLayerContext2;

CGLayerRef stripeLayer,

starLayer;

CGRect myBoundingBox, // 6

stripeRect,

starField;

// ***** Setting up the primitives *****

const CGPoint myStarPoints[] = {{ 5, 5}, {10, 15}, // 7

{10, 15}, {15, 5},

{15, 5}, {2.5, 11},

{2.5, 11}, {16.5, 11},

{16.5, 11},{5, 5}};

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Example: Using Multiple CGLayer Objects to Draw a Flag

stripeRect = CGRectMake (0, 0, 400, 17); // stripe // 8

starField = CGRectMake (0, 102, 160, 119); // star field // 9

myBoundingBox = CGRectMake (0, 0, contextRect->size.width, // 10

contextRect->size.height);

// ***** Creating layers and drawing to them *****

stripeLayer = CGLayerCreateWithContext (context, // 11

stripeRect.size, NULL);

myLayerContext1 = CGLayerGetContext (stripeLayer); // 12

CGContextSetRGBFillColor (myLayerContext1, 1, 0 , 0, 1); // 13

CGContextFillRect (myLayerContext1, stripeRect); // 14

starLayer = CGLayerCreateWithContext (context,

starField.size, NULL); // 15

myLayerContext2 = CGLayerGetContext (starLayer); // 16

CGContextSetRGBFillColor (myLayerContext2, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1); // 17

CGContextAddLines (myLayerContext2, myStarPoints, 10); // 18

CGContextFillPath (myLayerContext2); // 19

// ***** Drawing to the window graphics context *****

CGContextSaveGState(context); // 20

for (i=0; i< 7; i++) // 21

CGContextDrawLayerAtPoint (context, CGPointZero, stripeLayer); // 22

CGContextTranslateCTM (context, 0.0, red_stripe_spacing); // 23

CGContextRestoreGState(context); // 24

CGContextSetRGBFillColor (context, 0, 0, 0.329, 1.0); // 25

CGContextFillRect (context, starField); // 26

CGContextSaveGState (context); // 27

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Example: Using Multiple CGLayer Objects to Draw a Flag

CGContextTranslateCTM (context, start_x, start_y); // 28

for (j=0; j< num_six_star_rows; j++) // 29

for (i=0; i< 6; i++)

CGContextDrawLayerAtPoint (context,CGPointZero,

starLayer); // 30

CGContextTranslateCTM (context, h_spacing, 0); // 31

CGContextTranslateCTM (context, (-i*h_spacing), v_spacing); // 32

}
CGContextRestoreGState(context);

CGContextSaveGState(context);

CGContextTranslateCTM (context, start_x + h_spacing/2, // 33

start_y + v_spacing/2);

for (j=0; j< num_five_star_rows; j++) // 34

for (i=0; i< 5; i++)

CGContextDrawLayerAtPoint (context, CGPointZero,

starLayer); // 35

CGContextTranslateCTM (context, h_spacing, 0); // 36

}
CGContextTranslateCTM (context, (-i*h_spacing), v_spacing); // 37

CGContextRestoreGState(context);

CGLayerRelease(stripeLayer); // 38

CGLayerRelease(starLayer); // 39

Here’s what the code does:

1. Declares a variable for the horizontal location of the first star.
2. Declares a variable for the vertical location of the first star.

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Core Graphics Layer Drawing
Example: Using Multiple CGLayer Objects to Draw a Flag

3. Declares a variable for the spacing between the red stripes on the flag.
4. Declares a variable for the horizontal spacing between the stars on the flag.
5. Declares a variable for the vertical spacing between the stars on the flag.
6. Declares rectangles that specify where to draw the flag to (bounding box), the stripe layer, and the star
field.
7. Declares an array of points that specify the lines that trace out one star.
8. Creates a rectangle that is the shape of a single stripe.
9. Creates a rectangle that is the shape of the star field.
10. Creates a bounding box that is the same size as the window graphics context passed to the myDrawFlag
routine.
11. Creates a layer that is initialized with the window graphics context passed to the myDrawFlag routine.

12. Gets the graphics context associated with that layer. You’ll use this layer for the stripe drawing.

13. Sets the fill color to opaque red for the graphics context associated with the stripe layer.

14. Fills a rectangle that represents one red stripe.

15. Creates another layer that is initialized with the window graphics context passed to the myDrawFlag
routine.
16. Gets the graphics context associated with that layer. You’ll use this layer for the star drawing.

17. Sets the fill color to opaque white for the graphics context associated with the star layer.

18. Adds the 10 lines defined by the myStarPoints array to the context associated with the star layer.

19. Fills the path, which consists of the 10 lines you just added.

20. Saves the graphics state of the windows graphics context. You need to do this because you’ll draw the
same stripe repeatedly, but in different locations.
21. Sets up a loop that iterates 7 times, once for each red stripe on the flag.

22. Draws the stripe layer (which consists of a single red stripe).

23. Translates the current transformation matrix so that the origin is positioned at the location where the next
red stripe must be drawn.
24. Restores the graphics state to what is was prior to drawing the stripes.

25. Sets the fill color to the appropriate shade of blue for the star field. Note that this color has an opacity of
1.0. Although all the colors in this example are opaque, they don’t need to be. You can create nice effects
with layered drawing by using partially transparent colors. Recall that an alpha value of 0.0 specifies a
transparent color.

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Core Graphics Layer Drawing
Example: Using Multiple CGLayer Objects to Draw a Flag

26. Fills the star field rectangle with blue. You draw this rectangle directly to the window graphics context.
Don’t use layers if you are drawing something only once.
27. Saves the graphics state for the window graphics context because you’ll be transforming the CTM to
position the stars properly.
28. Translates the CTM so that the origin lies in the star field, positioned for the first star (left side) in the first
(bottom) row.
29. This and the next for loop sets up the code to repeatedly draw the star layer so the five odd rows on the
flag each contain six stars.
30. Draws the star layer to the window graphics context. Recall that the star layer contains one white star.

31. Positions the CTM so that the origin is moved to the right in preparation for drawing the next star.

32. Positions the CTM so that the origin is moved upward in preparation for drawing the next row of stars.

33. Translates the CTM so that the origin lies in the star field, positioned for the first star (left side) in the second
row from the bottom. Note that the even rows are offset with respect to the odd rows.
34. This and the next for loop sets up the code to repeatedly draw the star layer so the four even rows on the
flag each contain five stars.
35. Draws the star layer to the window graphics context.

36. Positions the CTM so that the origin is moved to the right in preparation for drawing the next star.

37. Positions the CTM so that the origin is down and to the left in preparation for drawing the next row of
stars.
38. Releases the stripe layer.

39. Releases the star layer.

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PDF Document Creation, Viewing, and Transforming

PDF documents store resolution-independent vector graphics, text, and images as a series of commands written
in a compact programming language. A PDF document can contain multiple pages of images and text. PDF
is useful for creating cross-platform, read-only documents and for drawing resolution-independent graphics.

Quartz creates, for all applications, high-fidelity PDF documents that preserve the drawing operations of the
application, as shown in Figure 13-1. The resulting PDF may be optimized for a specific use (such as a particular
printer, or for the web) by other parts of the system, or by third-party products. PDF documents generated by
Quartz view correctly in Preview and Acrobat.

Figure 13-1 Quartz creates high-quality PDF documents

PDF Web optimized

Print optimized

Prepress optimized

Quartz not only uses PDF as its “digital paper” but also includes as part of its API a number of functions that
you can use to display and generate PDF files and to accomplish a number of other PDF-related tasks.

For detailed information about PDF, including the PDF language and syntax, see PDF Reference , Fourth Edition,
Version 1.5.

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PDF Document Creation, Viewing, and Transforming
Opening and Viewing a PDF

Opening and Viewing a PDF

Quartz provides the data type CGPDFDocumentRef to represent a PDF document. You create a CGPDFDocument
object using either the function CGPDFDocumentCreateWithProvider or the function
CGPDFDocumentCreateWithURL. After you create a CGPDFDocument object, you can draw it to a graphics
context. Figure 13-2 shows a PDF document displayed inside a window.

Figure 13-2 A PDF document

Listing 13-1 shows how to create a CGPDFDocument object and obtain the number of pages in the document.
A detailed explanation for each numbered line of code appears following the listing.

Listing 13-1 Creating a CGPDFDocument object from a PDF file

CGPDFDocumentRef MyGetPDFDocumentRef (const char *filename)

CFStringRef path;

CFURLRef url;

CGPDFDocumentRef document;

size_t count;

path = CFStringCreateWithCString (NULL, filename,

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PDF Document Creation, Viewing, and Transforming
Opening and Viewing a PDF

kCFStringEncodingUTF8);

url = CFURLCreateWithFileSystemPath (NULL, path, // 1

kCFURLPOSIXPathStyle, 0);

CFRelease (path);

document = CGPDFDocumentCreateWithURL (url); // 2

CFRelease(url);

count = CGPDFDocumentGetNumberOfPages (document); // 3

if (count == 0) {

printf("`%s' needs at least one page!", filename);

return NULL;
}

return document;

Here’s what the code does:

1. Calls the Core Foundation function to create a CFURL object from a CFString object that represents the
filename of the PDF file to display.
2. Creates a CGPDFDocument object from a CFURL object.
3. Gets the number of pages in the PDF so that the next statement in the code can ensure that the document
has at least one page.

You can see how to draw a PDF page to a graphics context by looking at the code in Listing 13-2. A detailed
explanation for each numbered line of code appears following the listing.

Listing 13-2 Drawing a PDF page

void MyDisplayPDFPage (CGContextRef myContext,

size_t pageNumber,

const char *filename)

CGPDFDocumentRef document;

CGPDFPageRef page;

document = MyGetPDFDocumentRef (filename); // 1

page = CGPDFDocumentGetPage (document, pageNumber); // 2

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PDF Document Creation, Viewing, and Transforming
Creating a Transform for a PDF Page

CGContextDrawPDFPage (myContext, page); // 3

CGPDFDocumentRelease (document); // 4

Here’s what the code does:

1. Calls your function (see Listing 13-1 (page 191)) to create a CGPDFDocument object from a filename you
supply.
2. Gets the page for the specified page number from the PDF document.
3. Draws the specified page from the PDF file by calling the function CGContextDrawPDFPage. You need
to supply a graphics context and the page to draw.
4. Releases the CGPDFDocument object.

Creating a Transform for a PDF Page

Quartz provides a function—CGPDFPageGetDrawingTransform—that creates an affine transform by mapping
a box in a PDF page to a rectangle you specify. The prototype for this function is:

CGAffineTransform CGPDFPageGetDrawingTransform (

CGPPageRef page,

CGPDFBox box,

CGRect rect,

int rotate,

bool preserveAspectRatio

);

The function returns an affine transform using that following algorithm:

● Intersects the rectangle associated with the type of PDF box you specify in the box parameter (media,
crop, bleed, trim, or art) and the /MediaBox entry of the specified PDF page. The intersection results in
an effective rectangle.
● Rotates the effective rectangle by the amount specified by the /Rotate entry for the PDF page.
● Centers the resulting rectangle on rectangle you supply in the rect parameter.

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Creating a Transform for a PDF Page

● If the value of the rotate parameter you supply is nonzero and a multiple of 90, the function rotates the
effective rectangle by the number of degrees you supply. Positive values rotate the rectangle to the right;
negative values rotate the rectangle to the left. Note that you pass degrees, not radians. Keep in mind
that the /Rotate entry for the PDF page contains a rotation as well, and the rotate parameter you
supply is combined with the /Rotate entry.
● Scales the effective rectangle, if necessary, so that it coincides with the edges of the rectangle you supply.
● If you specify to preserve the aspect ratio by passing true in the preserveAspectRatio parameter,
then the final rectangle coincides with the edges of the more restrictive dimension of the rectangle you
supply in the rect parameter.

You can use this function, for example, if you are writing a PDF viewing application similar to that shown in
Figure 13-3 (page 194). If you were to provide a Rotate Left/Rotate Right feature, you could call
CGPDFPageGetDrawingTransform to compute the appropriate transform for the current window size and
rotation setting.

Figure 13-3 A PDF page rotated 90 degrees to the right

Listing 13-3 shows a function that creates an affine transform for a PDF page using the parameters passed to
the function, applies the transform, and then draws the PDF page. A detailed explanation for each numbered
line of code appears following the listing.

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Creating a Transform for a PDF Page

Listing 13-3 Creating an affine transform for a PDF page

void MyDrawPDFPageInRect (CGContextRef context,

CGPDFPageRef page,

CGPDFBox box,

CGRect rect,

int rotation,

bool preserveAspectRatio)

CGAffineTransform m;

m = CGPDFPageGetDrawingTransform (page, box, rect, rotation, // 1

preserveAspectRato);

CGContextSaveGState (context); // 2

CGContextConcatCTM (context, m); // 3

CGContextClipToRect (context,CGPDFPageGetBoxRect (page, box)); // 4

CGContextDrawPDFPage (context, page); // 5

CGContextRestoreGState (context); // 6

Here’s what the code does:

1. Creates an affine transform from the parameters supplied to the function.
2. Saves the graphics state.
3. Concatenates the CTM with the affine transform.
4. Clips the graphics context to the rectangle specified by the box parameter. The function
CGPDFPageGetBoxRect obtains the page bounding box (media, crop, bleed, trim, and art boxes) associated
with the constant you supply—kCGPDFMediaBox, kCGPDFCropBox, kCGPDFBleedBox, kCGPDFTrimBox,
or kCGPDFArtBox.
5. Draws the PDF page to the transformed and clipped context.
6. Restores the graphics state.

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PDF Document Creation, Viewing, and Transforming
Creating a PDF File

Creating a PDF File

It’s as easy to create a PDF file using Quartz 2D as it is to draw to any graphics context. You specify a location
for a PDF file, set up a PDF graphics context, and use the same drawing routine you’d use for any graphics
context. The function MyCreatePDFFile, shown in Listing 13-4, shows all the tasks your code performs to
create a PDF file. A detailed explanation for each numbered line of code appears following the listing.

Note that the code delineates PDF pages by calling the functions CGPDFContextBeginPage and
CGPDFContextEndPage. You can pass a CFDictionary object to specify page properties including the media,
crop, bleed, trim, and art boxes. For a list of dictionary key constants and a more detailed description of each,
see CGPDFContext Reference .

Listing 13-4 Creating a PDF file

void MyCreatePDFFile (CGRect pageRect, const char *filename) // 1

CGContextRef pdfContext;

CFStringRef path;

CFURLRef url;

CFDataRef boxData = NULL;

CFMutableDictionaryRef myDictionary = NULL;

CFMutableDictionaryRef pageDictionary = NULL;

path = CFStringCreateWithCString (NULL, filename, // 2

kCFStringEncodingUTF8);

url = CFURLCreateWithFileSystemPath (NULL, path, // 3

kCFURLPOSIXPathStyle, 0);

CFRelease (path);

myDictionary = CFDictionaryCreateMutable(NULL, 0,

&kCFTypeDictionaryKeyCallBacks,

&kCFTypeDictionaryValueCallBacks); // 4

CFDictionarySetValue(myDictionary, kCGPDFContextTitle, CFSTR("My PDF File"));

CFDictionarySetValue(myDictionary, kCGPDFContextCreator, CFSTR("My Name"));

pdfContext = CGPDFContextCreateWithURL (url, &pageRect, myDictionary); // 5

CFRelease(myDictionary);

CFRelease(url);

pageDictionary = CFDictionaryCreateMutable(NULL, 0,

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Creating a PDF File

&kCFTypeDictionaryKeyCallBacks,

&kCFTypeDictionaryValueCallBacks); // 6

boxData = CFDataCreate(NULL,(const UInt8 *)&pageRect, sizeof (CGRect));

CFDictionarySetValue(pageDictionary, kCGPDFContextMediaBox, boxData);

CGPDFContextBeginPage (pdfContext, pageDictionary); // 7

myDrawContent (pdfContext); // 8

CGPDFContextEndPage (pdfContext); // 9

CGContextRelease (pdfContext); // 10

CFRelease(pageDictionary); // 11

CFRelease(boxData);

Here’s what the code does:

1. Takes as parameters a rectangle that specifies the size of the PDF page and a string that specifies the
filename.
2. Creates a CFString object from a filename passed to the function MyCreatePDFFile.
3. Creates a CFURL object from the CFString object.
4. Creates an empty CFDictionary object to hold metadata. The next two lines add a title and creator. You
can add as many key-value pairs as you’d like using the function CFDictionarySetValue. For more
information on creating dictionaries, see CFDictionary Reference .
5. Creates a PDF graphics context, passing three parameters:
● A CFURL object that specifies a location for the PDF data.
● A pointer to a rectangle that defines the default size and location of the PDF page. The origin of the
rectangle is typically (0, 0). Quartz uses this rectangle as the default bounds of the page media box.
If you pass NULL, Quartz uses a default page size of 8.5 by 11 inches (612 by 792 points).
● A CFDictionary object that contains PDF metadata. Pass NULL if you don’t have metadata to add.
You can use the CFDictionary object to specify output intent options—intent subtype, condition,
condition identifier, registry name, destination output profile, and a human-readable text string that
contains additional information or comments about the intended target device or production condition.
For more information about output intent options, see CGPDFContext Reference .
6. Creates a CFDictionary object to hold the page boxes for the PDF page. This example sets the media box.

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Adding Links

7. Signals the start of a page. When you use a graphics context that supports multiple pages (such as PDF),
you call the function CGPDFContextBeginPage together with CGPDFContextEndPage to delineate the
page boundaries in the output. Each page must be bracketed by calls to CGPDFContextBeginPage and
CGPDFContextEndPage. Quartz ignores all drawing operations performed outside a page boundary in
a page-based context.
8. Calls an application-defined function to draw content to the PDF context. You supply your drawing routine
here.
9. Signals the end of a page in a page-based graphics context.
10. Releases the PDF context.

11. Releases the page dictionary.

Adding Links
You can add links and anchors to PDF context you create. Quartz provides three functions, each of which takes
a PDF graphics context as a parameter, along with information about the links:
● CGPDFContextSetURLForRect lets you specify a URL to open when the user clicks a rectangle in the
current PDF page.
● CGPDFContextSetDestinationForRect lets you set a destination to jump to when the user clicks a
rectangle in the current PDF page. You must supply a destination name.
● CGPDFContextAddDestinationAtPoint lets you set a destination to jump to when the user clicks a
point in the current PDF page. You must supply a destination name.

Protecting PDF Content

To protect PDF content, there are a number of security options you can specify in the auxiliary dictionary you
pass to the function CGPDFContextCreate. You can set the owner password, user password, and whether
the PDF can be printed or copied by including the following keys in the auxiliary dictionary:
● kCGPDFContextOwnerPassword, to define the owner password of the PDF document. If this key is
specified, the document is encrypted using the value as the owner password; otherwise, the document is
not encrypted. The value of this key must be a CFString object that can be represented in ASCII encoding.
Only the first 32 bytes are used for the password. There is no default value for this key. If the value of this
key cannot be represented in ASCII, the document is not created and the creation function returns NULL.
Quartz uses 40-bit encryption.

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Protecting PDF Content

● kCGPDFContextUserPassword, to define the user password of the PDF document. If the document is
encrypted, then the value of this key is the user password for the document. If not specified, the user
password is the empty string. The value of this key must be a CFString object that can be represented in
ASCII encoding; only the first 32 bytes are used for the password. If the value of this key cannot be
represented in ASCII, the document is not created and the creation function returns NULL.
● kCGPDFContextAllowsPrinting specifies whether the document can be printed when it is unlocked
with the user password. The value of this key must be a CFBoolean object. The default value of this key is
kCFBooleanTrue.
● kCGPDFContextAllowsCopying specifies whether the document can be copied when it is unlocked
with the user password. The value of this key must be a CFBoolean object. The default value of this key is
kCFBooleanTrue.

Listing 14-4 (page 205) (in the next chapter) shows code that checks PDF document to see if it’s locked and if
it is, attempts to open the document with a password.

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PDF Document Parsing

Quartz provides functions that let you inspect the PDF document structure and the content stream. Inspecting
the document structure lets you read the entries in the document catalog and the contents associated with
each entry. By recursively traversing the catalog, you can inspect the entire document.

A PDF content stream is just what its name suggests—a sequential stream of data such as 'BT 12 /F71 Tf
(draw this text) Tj . . . ' where PDF operators and their descriptors are mixed with the actual PDF
content. Inspecting the content stream requires that you access it sequentially.

This chapter shows how to examine the structure of a PDF document and parse the contents of a PDF document.

Inspecting PDF Document Structure

PDF files may contain multiple pages of images and text. You can use Quartz to access the metadata at the
document and page levels as well as objects on a PDF page. This section provides a very brief introduction to
the metadata you can access.

A PDF document object (CGPDFDocument) contains all the information that relates to a PDF document,
including its catalog and contents. The entries in the catalog recursively describe the contents of the PDF
document. You can access the contents of a PDF document catalog by calling the function
CGPDFDocumentGetCatalog.

A PDF page object (CGPDFPage) represents a page in a PDF document and contains information that relates
to a specific page, including the page dictionary and page contents. You can obtain a page dictionary by calling
the function CGPDFPageGetDictionary.

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Inspecting PDF Document Structure

Figure 14-1 shows some of the metadata describing the two images—the text and the image of the rooster—that
make up the PDF file displayed in Figure 13-2 (page 191).

Figure 14-1 Metadata for two images in a PDF file

You can obtain much more useful information by accessing PDF metadata. The items in Figure 14-1 are just a
sample. For example, you can check to see if a PDF has thumbnail images (shown in Figure 14-2 (page 202))
using the code shown in Listing 14-1.

Listing 14-1 Getting a thumbnail view of a PDF

CGPDFDictionaryRef d;

CGPDFStreamRef stream; // represents a sequence of bytes

d = CGPDFPageGetDictionary(page);

// check for thumbnail data

if (CGPDFDictionaryGetStream (d, “Thumb”, &stream)){

// get the data if it exists

data = CGPDFStreamCopyData (stream, &format);

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PDF Document Parsing
Parsing PDF Content

Quartz performs all the decryption and decoding of the data stream for you.

Figure 14-2 Thumbnail images

Quartz provides a number of functions that you can use to obtain individual values for items in the PDF
metadata. You use the function CGPDFObjectGetValue, passing a CGPDFObjectRef, a PDF object type
(kCGPDFObjectTypeBoolean, kCGPDFObjectTypeInteger, and so forth), and storage for the value. On
return, the storage is filled with the value.

There are numerous other functions you can use to traverse the hierarchy of a PDF file to access the various
nodes and their children. For example, the CGPDFArray functions (CGPDFArrayGetBoolean,
CGPDFArrayGetDictionary, CGPDFArrayGetInteger, and so forth) let you access arrays of values to
retrieve values of specific types. You can find out more about how to use these functions by reading the PDF
specification.

Parsing PDF Content

The PDF content stream contains operators that signify parts of a PDF content stream that may be of interest
to your application. An operator either marks a single point or a sequence. An operator is specified as a tag
that has a property list or an object associated with it. A tag specifies what the point or content sequence
represents. A property list is a dictionary that contains key-value pairs specified by the PDF content creator.
When you parse a PDF content stream, your application looks for any markers of interest, inspects the tag,
property list, or object associated with the marker, and then performs any further processing that’s appropriate.
Consult the PDF Reference for a complete list of PDF operators.

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Parsing PDF Content

You use a CGPDFScanner object (CGPDFScannerRef data type) to parse a PDF content stream. The
CGPDFScanner object invokes callbacks for any operator in the stream for which you have registered a callback.

You perform the tasks described in the following sections to parse a content stream:
1. Write Callbacks for Operators (page 203). You need to write callbacks only for the operators you want to
handle.
2. Create and Set Up the Operator Table (page 204).
3. Open the PDF Document (page 205).
4. Scan the Content Stream for Each Page (page 206).

When it’s appropriate to do so, you need to make sure the you release the scanner, content stream, and operator
table.

The following sections show how to parse a content stream to find marked-content operators (see Table 14-1).
Marked content operators represent only some of the PDF operators used in PDF content. When you write
your own code, you’d look for the PDF operators appropriate for your application.

Table 14-1 Marked content operators represent some of the PDF operators that you can parse

Operator Description

MP A marked point that has a tag associated with it.

DP A marked point that has a tag and a property list or object associated with it.

BMC Signals the start of a marked-content sequence (begin marked content) and is paired with
the EMC marker that signals the end of the sequence. Has a tag associated with it.

BDC Signals the start of a marked-content sequence and is paired with the EMC marker that
signals the end of the sequence. Has a tag and a property list or object associated with it.

EMC Signals the end of a marked-content sequence (end marked content) that begins with a
BMC or a BDC marker. This operator does not have a tag associated with it.

Write Callbacks for Operators

When Quartz invokes your callback for a PDF operators, it passes a CGPDFScanner object and a pointer to any
information needed by your callback. Typically, your callback retrieves any items associated with the operator.
For example, the callback for the MP operator that’s shown in Listing 14-2 calls the function
CGPDFScannerPopName to retrieve the character string associated with the operator from the stack. If the
code in the listing successfully retrieves the name from the scanner stack, it prints the name.

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Parsing PDF Content

Quartz has an assortment of CGPDFScannerPop functions for retrieving objects, Boolean values, names,
numbers, strings, arrays, dictionaries, and streams. Each function returns a Boolean value to indicate whether
the item was retrieved successfully.

Listing 14-2 A callback for the MP operator

static void

op_MP (CGPDFScannerRef s, void *info)

const char *name;

if (!CGPDFScannerPopName(s, &name))

return;

printf("MP /%s\n", name);

Create and Set Up the Operator Table

A CGPDFOperatorTable object stores PDF operator callback functions that you write. The function
CGPDFOperatorTableCreate creates an operator table, as shown in Listing 14-3. After you create an operator
table, you call the function CGPDFOperatorTableSetCallback for each callback you want to add to the
table. You pass the table, the string that specifies the PDF operator, and a pointer to a callback function you
write to handle that operator. You can name the callbacks whatever you’d like. Just make sure that the callback
name you pass to the function CGPDFOperatorTableSetCallback isn’t misspelled.

The code in Listing 14-3 sets a callback for each of the marked-content operators listed in Table 14-1 (page
203). Your application would set callbacks only for those operators of interest. PDF operator strings are defined
in the PDF Reference from Adobe.

Listing 14-3 Setting callbacks for an operator table

CGPDFOperatorTableRef myTable;

myTable = CGPDFOperatorTableCreate();

CGPDFOperatorTableSetCallback (myTable, "MP", &op_MP);

CGPDFOperatorTableSetCallback (myTable, "DP", &op_DP);

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PDF Document Parsing
Parsing PDF Content

CGPDFOperatorTableSetCallback (myTable, "BMC", &op_BMC);

CGPDFOperatorTableSetCallback (myTable, "BDC", &op_BDC);

CGPDFOperatorTableSetCallback (myTable, "EMC", &op_EMC);

Open the PDF Document

Before you can scan the content of a PDF document, you need to open it. Listing 14-4 shows a code fragment
that creates a CGPDFDocument object from a URL supplied to the code. Note that the listing is a code fragment,
so that not all variables are declared. A detailed explanation for each numbered line of code appears following
the listing.

Listing 14-4 Opening a PDF document from a URL

CGPDFDocumentRef myDocument;

myDocument = CGPDFDocumentCreateWithURL(url); // 1

if (myDocument == NULL) { // 2

error ("can't open `%s'.", filename);

CFRelease (url);

return EXIT_FAILURE;

CFRelease (url);

if (CGPDFDocumentIsEncrypted (myDocument)) { // 3

if (!CGPDFDocumentUnlockWithPassword (myDocument, "")) {

printf ("Enter password: ");

fflush (stdout);

password = fgets(buffer, sizeof(buffer), stdin);

if (password != NULL) {
buffer[strlen(buffer) - 1] = '\0';

if (!CGPDFDocumentUnlockWithPassword (myDocument, password))

error("invalid password.");

if (!CGPDFDocumentIsUnlocked (myDocument)) { // 4

error("can't unlock `%s'.", filename);

CGPDFDocumentRelease(myDocument);

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PDF Document Parsing
Parsing PDF Content

return EXIT_FAILURE;

if (CGPDFDocumentGetNumberOfPages(myDocument) == 0) { // 5

CGPDFDocumentRelease(myDocument);

return EXIT_FAILURE;

Here’s what the code does:

1. Creates a CGPDFDocument object from a URL supplied to the code.
2. Checks to make sure that a CGPDFDocument object is created. If not, the code exits because it makes no
sense to continue without a document.
3. Checks whether the document is encrypted. If the document is encrypted, the code attempts to open is
using a blank password. If that fails, the code asks the user for a password and attempts to unlock the
document with the password.
4. Checks whether the document is unlocked. If it’s not, the code exits.
5. Checks to make sure the document has at least one page. Otherwise, the code exits.

Scan the Content Stream for Each Page

The code fragment in Listing 14-5 scans each page in a document. When the scanner encounters one of the
PDF operators for which you registered a callback, Quartz invokes your callback. A detailed explanation for
each numbered line of code follows the listing.

Listing 14-5 Scanning each page of a document

int k;

CGPDFPageRef myPage;

CGPDFScannerRef myScanner;

CGPDFContentStreamRef myContentStream;

numOfPages = CGPDFDocumentGetNumberOfPages (myDocument); // 1

for (k = 0; k < numOfPages; k++) {

myPage = CGPDFDocumentGetPage (myDocument, k + 1 ); // 2

myContentStream = CGPDFContentStreamCreateWithPage (myPage); // 3

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PDF Document Parsing
Parsing PDF Content

myScanner = CGPDFScannerCreate (myContentStream, myTable, NULL); // 4

CGPDFScannerScan (myScanner); // 5

CGPDFPageRelease (myPage); // 6

CGPDFScannerRelease (myScanner); // 7

CGPDFContentStreamRelease (myContentStream); // 8

CGPDFOperatorTableRelease(myTable); // 9

Here’s what the code does:

1. Gets the number of pages in the document that you previously opened. See Open the PDF Document (page
205).
2. Retrieves a page to scan. The page numbers start at 1.
3. Creates a content stream for the page.
4. Creates a scanner for the content stream. You must pass the content stream and the operator table that
you previously created and set with callbacks. See Create and Set Up the Operator Table (page 204). You
can also pass any data that your callbacks need.
5. Parses the content stream associated with the scanner. Quartz invokes your callback each time it encounters
one of the operators for which you provided a callback.
6. Releases the page.
7. Releases the scanner.
8. Releases the content stream.
9. Releases the operator table after scanning all the pages in the PDF.

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PostScript Conversion

The Preview application automatically converts PostScript files to PDF. The Quartz 2D API provides functions
you can use to perform PostScript conversion in your application. The Quartz 2D PostScript conversions functions
are not available in iOS.

Follow these steps to convert a PostScript document to a PDF document:

1. Write callbacks. Quartz communicates the status of per page processes through callbacks.
2. Fill a callbacks structure.
3. Create a PostScript converter object.
4. Create a data provider object for the PostScript file you want to convert.
5. Create a data consumer object for the PDF that results from the conversion.
6. Perform the conversion.

Each of these steps is discussed in the sections that follow.

Writing Callbacks
Callbacks provide a way for Quartz to inform your application of the status of the conversion. If your application
has a user interface, you can use the status information to provide feedback to the user, as shown in Figure
15-1.

Figure 15-1 A status message for a PostScript conversion application

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PostScript Conversion
Filling In a Callbacks Structure

You can provide callbacks to inform your application that Quartz 2D is:
● Starting the conversion (CGPSConverterBeginDocumentCallback). Quartz 2D passes your callback a
generic pointer to data you supply.
● Ending the conversion (CGPSConverterEndDocumentCallback). Quartz 2D passes your callback a
generic pointer to data you supply and a Boolean value that indicates success (true) or failure (false).
● Starting a page (CGPSConverterBeginPageCallback). Quartz 2D passes your callback a generic pointer
to data you supply, the page number, and a CFDictionary object, which is currently not used.
● Ending a page (CGPSConverterEndPageCallback). Quartz 2D passes your callback a generic pointer
to data you supply and a Boolean value that indicates success (true) or failure (false)
● Progressing with the conversion (CGPSConverterProgressCallback). This callback is invoked periodically
throughout the conversion. Quartz 2D passes your callback a generic pointer to data you supply.
● Sending a message about the process (CGPSConverterMessageCallback). There are several kinds of
messages that can be sent during a conversion process. The most likely are font substitution messages,
and any messages that the PostScript code itself generates. Any PostScript messages written to stdout
are routed through this callback—typically these are debugging or status messages. In addition, there
can be error messages if the document is malformed.
Quartz 2D passes your callback a generic pointer to data you supply and a CFString object that contains
a message about the conversion.
● Deallocating the PostScript converter object (CGPSConverterReleaseInfoCallback). You can use this
callback to deallocate the generic pointer if you’ve provided data and to perform any additional
postprocessing tasks. Quartz 2D passes your callback a generic pointer to data you supply.

See the CGPSConverter Reference for the prototype each callback follows.

Filling In a Callbacks Structure

You need to assign a version number and the callbacks you created to the appropriate fields of the
CGPSConverterCallbacks data structure (shown in Listing 15-1). The version is 0. Assign NULL to those
fields for which you do not supply a callback.

Listing 15-1 The PostScript converter callbacks data structure

struct CGPSConverterCallbacks {

unsigned int version;

CGPSConverterBeginDocumentCallback beginDocument;

CGPSConverterEndDocumentCallback endDocument;

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PostScript Conversion
Creating a PostScript Converter Object

CGPSConverterBeginPageCallback beginPage;

CGPSConverterEndPageCallback endPage;

CGPSConverterProgressCallback noteProgress;

CGPSConverterMessageCallback noteMessage;

CGPSConverterReleaseInfoCallback releaseInfo;

};

Creating a PostScript Converter Object

You call the function CGPSConverterCreate to create a PostScript converter object. This function takes three
parameters:
● A pointer to generic data that you want passed to your callbacks. You can supply NULL if you don’t need
to provide any data.
● A pointer to a filled-out CGPSConverterCallbacks data structure.
● NULL. This field is reserved for future use.

Important: Although the CGPSConverterConvert function is thread safe (it uses locks to prevent more
than one conversion at a time in the same process), it is not thread safe with respect to the Resource
Manager. If your application uses the Resource Manager on a separate thread, you should either use locks
to prevent CGPSConverterConvert from executing during your usage of the Resource Manager or you
should perform your conversions using the PostScript converter in a separate process.

Creating Data Provider and Data Consumer Objects

You create a data provider object by calling the function CGDataProviderCreateWithURL, supplying a
CFURL object that specifies the address of the PostScript file you want to convert.

Similarly, you create a data consumer object by calling the function CGDataConsumerCreateWithURL,
supplying a CFURL object that specifies the address of the PDF document that results from the conversion.

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PostScript Conversion
Performing the Conversion

Performing the Conversion

You call the function CGPSConverterConvert to perform the actual conversion from PostScript to PDF. This
function takes as parameters:
● A PostScript converter object.
● A data provider object that supplies PostScript data.
● A data consumer object for the converted data.
● NULL. This parameter is reserved for future use.

The function returns true if the conversion is successful.

You can call the function CGPSConverterIsConverting to check whether the conversion is still progressing.

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Text

This chapter previously described the basic text support provided by Quartz. However, the low-level support
provided by Quartz has been deprecated and superceded by Core Text, an advanced low-level technology for
laying out text and handing fonts. Core Text is designed for high performance and ease of use and allows you
to draw Unicode text directly to a graphics context. If you are writing an application that needs precise control
over how text is displayed, see Core Text Programming Guide .

If you are developing a text application for iOS, look first at Text Programming Guide for iOS , which describes
text support in iOS. In particular, UIKit provides classes that implement common tasks, making it easy to add
text to your application:

If you are developing a text application for Mac OS X, look first at Cocoa Text Architecture Guide , which describes
the Cocoa text system. Cocoa provides full Unicode support, text input and editing, precise text layout and
typesetting, font management, and many other advanced text-handling capabilities.

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Glossary

alpha value The graphics state parameter that current transformation matrix An affine transform
Quartz uses to determine how to composite newly that Quartz uses to map points from one coordinate
painted objects to the existing page. At full intensity space to another.
(alpha = 1.0), newly painted objects are opaque. At
device color space A color space that is tied to the
zero intensity, newly painted objects are invisible
system of color representation for a particular device.
(alpha = 0.0).
This type of color space is not suitable for
axial gradient A fill that varies along an axis interchanges of color data between different devices.
between two defined end points. All points that lie
device-independent color space A color
on a line perpendicular to the axis have the same
representation that is portable between devices and
color value. Also called a linear gradient .
that is used for the interchanges of color data from
bitmap A rectangular array (or raster) of pixels, each the native color space of one device to the native
pixel representing a point in an image. Bitmap color space of another device. Colors in a
images are also called sampled images . device-independent color space appear the same
when displayed on different devices, to the extent
blend mode Specifies how Quartz combines the
that the capabilities of the device allow.
foreground painting with the background painting.
even-odd rule A fill rule that determines when to
clipping area A path used to constrain the drawing
paint a pixel. The outcome does not depend on the
of other objects within its bounds.
direction that path segments are drawn. Compare
color space A one-, two-, three-, or with nonzero winding number rule.
four-dimensional environment whose components
fill An operation that paints the area within a path.
(or channels) represent intensity values. For example,
RGB space is a three-dimensional color space whose generic color space A device-independent color
stimuli are the red, green, and blue intensities that space chosen automatically by Mac OS X to produce
make up a given color; and red, green, and blue are the best color for the drawing destination.
color channels.
gradient A fill that varies from one color to another.
concatenation An operation that combines two See also axial gradient and radial gradient.
matrices by multiplying them together.
graphics context An opaque data type
current graphics state The parameters values that (CGContextRef) that encapsulates the information
determine how Quartz renders results as it paints. Quartz uses to draw images to an output device,
such as a PDF file, a bitmap, or a window on a
current point The last location Quartz used when
display. The information inside a graphics context
painting a path.

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Glossary

includes graphics drawing parameters and a path One or more shapes (known as subpaths) that
device-specific representation of the paint on the Quartz paints as a unit. A subpath can consist of
page. straight lines, curves, or both. It can be open or
closed.
identity transform An affine transform that, when
applied to input coordinates, always returns the pattern A sequence of drawing operations that
input coordinates. Quartz can repeatedly paint to a graphics context.

image mask A bitmap that specifies an area to pattern space An abstract space that maps to the
paint, but not the color. An image mask acts like a default user space by the transformation matrix (the
stencil to specify where to place color on the page. pattern matrix) you specify when you create the
pattern. Pattern space is separate from user space.
inversion An operation that produces original
The untransformed pattern space maps to the base
coordinates from transformed ones.
(untransformed) user space, regardless of the state
layer context An offscreen drawing destination of the current transformation matrix.
(CGLayerRef) designed for optimal performance.
premultiplied alpha A source color whose
A a layer context is a much better choice for
components are already multiplied by an alpha
offscreen drawing than a bitmap graphics context.
value. Premultiplying speeds up the rendering of an
line cap The style that Quartz uses to draw the image by eliminating an extra multiplication
endpoint of a line—butt, round, or projecting square. operation per color component. See also alpha value.

line dash pattern The repeating series of line radial gradient A fill that varies radially along an
segments and spaces used to paint a dashed line. axis between two defined ends, which typically are
both circles. Points share the same color value if they
line join The style that Quartz uses to draw the
lie on the circumference of a circle whose center
junction between connected line segments—miter,
point falls on the axis. The radius of the circular
round, or bevel.
sections of the gradient are defined by the radii of
line width The total width of a line, expressed in the end circles; the radius of each intermediate circle
user space units. varies linearly from one end to the other.

linear gradient See axial gradient. rendering intent Specifies how Quartz maps colors
from the source color space to those that are within
nonzero winding number rule A fill rule that
the gamut of the destination color space of a
determines when to paint a pixel. The outcome
graphics context.
depends on the direction that path segments are
drawn. Compare with even-odd rule. rotation An operation that moves the coordinate
space the specified angle.
page The virtual canvas that Quartz paints to.
scaling An operation that changes the scale of the
painter’s model A drawing model in which each
coordinate space by the specified x and y factors,
successive drawing operation applies a layer of paint
effectively stretching or shrinking coordinates. The
to a page.
magnitude of the x and y factors governs whether

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Glossary

the new coordinates are larger or smaller than the

original. A negative factor flips the corresponding
axis.

shadow An image painted underneath, and offset

from, a graphics object such that the shadow mimics
the effect of a light source cast on the graphics
object.

stroke An operation that paints a line that straddles

a path.

tiling The process of rendering pattern cells to a

portion of a page. Quartz has three tiling
options—no distortion, constant spacing with
minimal distortion, and constant spacing.

translation An operation that moves the origin of

the coordinate space by the number of units
specified for the x and y axes.

transparency layer A composite of two or more

objects that Quartz treats as a single object when
applying effects, such as shadows.

user space The device-independent coordinate

system that you use when drawing using Quartz 2D.

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Document Revision History

This table describes the changes to Quartz 2D Programming Guide .

Date Notes

2014-09-17 Added info about using vImage to work with raw pixel data.

2013-12-16 Removed text chapter; use Core Text instead.

2012-09-19 Corrected typos and minor technical issues.

2010-11-19 Updated for OS X v10.6 and iOS 4.2.

2010-06-25 Minor clarifications and editing.

2009-05-18 Updated the font names in text examples to reflect fonts available on
both iOS and OS X.

2008-06-04 Updated for iOS SDK.

Added information about image formats to Bitmap Image

Information (page 147).

Corrected typos.

2007-12-11 Revised text chapter and added a glossary.

Added code that creates a dictionary and adds metadata to it. See Listing
13-4 (page 196).

2007-07-02 Updated for OS X v10.5.

Renamed the Shadings chapter to Gradients and revised it to include

information on the use of the CGGradientRef opaque data type.

In Data Management in Quartz 2D (page 140) and a link and information

about Image I/O Programming Guide .

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Document Revision History

Date Notes

Updated the introduction with recent, relevant related documentation

and added a description of the revised Gradients (page 112) chapter.

Revised Quartz 2D Opaque Data Types (page 20) to include

CGGradientRef and provided links to information on
CGImageSourceRef and CGImageDestinationRef opaque data types
which are part of the Image I/O framework.

Updated Table 2-1 (page 40) with additional pixel formats.

2007-01-08 Fixed a number of minor technical issues.

Improved the wording in the first paragraph of Gradients (page 112).

Made a correction to the floating-point gray information in Table 2-1 (page

40).

Corrected the declarations in Listing 14-5 (page 206)

2006-10-03 Made minor technical improvements.

Added cross references to the reference documentation for the constants

listed in Table 2-1 (page 40).

Removed information on using a CGGLContextRef object because the

use of a graphics context for OpenGL rendering is not reliable and is not
recommended.

Added thread safety information to Creating a PostScript Converter

Object (page 210).

2006-07-24 Made minor technical improvements.

Changed Listing 2-6 (page 38) so that is correctly frees the bitmap data.

Added cross references to Creating an Image From Part of a Larger

Image (page 152) and Creating an Image from a Bitmap Graphics
Context (page 153) that link to examples of creating graphics contexts.

2006-06-28 Made minor changes to clarify a few concepts.

Revised Figure 12-2 (page 180) and the text that describes it.

Revised Figure 1-2 (page 19) and the text that describes it.

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Document Revision History

Date Notes

Revised information in “Python Bindings for Quartz 2D”.

Provided hyperlinks to the functions and methods discussed in Data

Management in Quartz 2D (page 140).

Corrected a typographical error in Listing 2-2 (page 31).

2006-02-07 Corrected typographical error.

2006-01-10 Made minor typographical and technical corrections.

2005-11-09 Corrected several technical, typographical, and formatting errors.

Made changes to code in Listing 12-1 (page 185).

Revised introductory paragraphs in Transforms (page 76).

Revised several sentences in How Quartz 2D Draws Text (page ?).

2005-07-07 Corrected typos and added clarification about Quartz OpenGL graphics
context.

2005-06-04 Fixed typos and added a Python script name.

2005-04-29 Updated for OS X v10.4.

Changed the title from Drawing With Quartz 2D to make it more consistent
with the titles of similar documentation.

Revised the Introduction to reflect the new content.

Simplified the code in Figure 3-1 (page 42).

Revised the introductions for Color and Color Spaces (page 68),
Transforms (page 76), Bitmap Images and Image Masks (page 146), and
PDF Document Parsing (page 200).

Made changes to code in Code that uses layers to draw a flag (page 185)
so that more appropriately-sized layers are used; substituted the function
CGContextDrawLayerAtPoint for CGContextDrawLayerInRect.

Revised the section Setting Blend Modes (page 56); added figures that
show actual output produced using blend modes.

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Document Revision History

Date Notes

Revised the section Using Blend Modes with Images (page 164) and
replaced the figures with better examples of drawing an image using
different blend modes.

Added information about Core Image and Core Video in the opening
paragraphs of Overview of Quartz 2D (page 17).

Introduced the notion of CGLayer objects in the section Drawing

Destinations: The Graphics Context (page 18).

Added the new Tiger opaque objects to Quartz 2D Opaque Data

Types (page 20).

Added blend mode to Graphics States (page 22). Added information

about using blend modes to Paths (page 42) and Bitmap Images and
Image Masks (page 146).

Revised Graphics Contexts (page 27) to show how to use HIView. Also
added new figures to many sections and provided information on HIView
coordinates as compared to Quartz coordinates.

Added Table 2-1 (page 40) to show the supported color spaces and pixel
formats.

Replaced Figure 2-4 (page 41) to show an enlargement of aliased and

antialiasing drawing and text.

Added Ellipses (page 49) and revised discussions on Painting a Path (page
51) and Clipping to a Path (page 66) to reflect new Tiger content.

Changed “clipping region” to “clipping area” throughout the entire book.

Revised information on Creating Color Spaces (page 71) to reflect Tiger

content.

Added Evaluating Affine Transforms (page 85) and Getting the User to
Device Space Transform (page 85).

Revised the chapter formerly titled Data Providers and Data Consumers
to contain information on image sources and image destinations, and
how to move data between Quartz 2D and Core Image. Retitled the
chapter Data Management in Quartz 2D (page 140) to reflect the revised
content.

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Document Revision History

Date Notes

Renamed the Bitmap Image chapter to Bitmap Images and Image

Masks (page 146) and substantially revised the content to reflect
information about image sources, the new image creation functions,
image masking function, and using blend modes to composite images.

Added the chapter Core Graphics Layer Drawing (page 179).

Added the chapter PDF Document Parsing (page 200), which contains
some material from the old PDF Document chapter along with new
material on scanners and content streams.

Added Copying Font Variations (page ?) and PostScript Fonts (page ?)

to the Text chapter.

2004-06-28 Revised for Mac OS X v10.3.

2001-07-01 First version.

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Apple Inc.
Copyright © 2001, 2014 Apple Inc.
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following exceptions: Any person is hereby
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No licenses, express or implied, are granted with
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Apple, the Apple logo, Cocoa, ColorSync, eMac,

Mac, Mac OS, Objective-C, OS X, Pages, Quartz,
QuickTime, Spaces, Tiger, and Xcode are
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Adobe, Acrobat, and PostScript are trademarks
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