On Dec 23, 2010, at 8:52 AM, Matthias Arndt wrote: > Hi folks, > > first a kind of disclaimer: Addressing different graphic technologies (Quartz > 2D, OpenGL ES, Cocoa classes) I was quite uncertain in list I should write > this posting: feel free to forward me to anyone you'll find appropriate ... I > posted the same question to the Developer Forums, but they seem to be quite > deserted. > > I decided to re-think some basic drawing concepts of my app during this > holiday season, and I'd appreciated your input to cover all bases. Therefore > I'm not asking for specific code snippets or such, but for some advice, maybe > pointing me to the right direction: > > In my app I draw several thousand lines on a canvas. These lines should look > like three-dimensional objects, although the context lacks any z-coordinate: > all lines are just draw above each other. Currently I fake the effect by > drawing three NSBezierPaths for each line: A large black one to create the > outline, a smaller one with the actual color, and a white one providing a > highlight. Here's a link to a screenshot in the Developer Forum's thread, > just to give you the idea: > > <https://devforums.apple.com/thread/81174> > > With over 10,000 lines, each one resulting in three paths (and color > changes), you can image the performance. When I posted a similar question a > year ago, I optimized the app to redraw visible lines only and checked the > performance using Quartz 2D classes (not significantly faster), and although > I hadn't received any user complaints about the performance, I'd like to > improve it. > > Basically I came up this three alternatives: > > (1.) Use an NSGradient to achieve the 3D effect: as lines are drawn at > different angles I'm not sure how to rotate the gradient, maybe perform a > rotation transformation of the whole coordinate space? > (2.) Use images to "stamp" the lines: each image needs to be repeated > depending on the line's length, and rotated according to the line's direction > (see above) > (3.) Go for OpenGL ES: I never programmed OpenGL before, and I'm kind of > afraid what it'll require to make the rest of the app work (hit testing, > printing, drag'n'drop, ...) > > I think the only way to decide for the best way is a test app, performing > several thousand drawings in each method, but did I miss any important > approach? Do you know one of the mentioned methods not being worth the > effort? Any suppestions, ideas, additions? > > Really appreciate your feedback! > > Merry Xmas to all of you, > Matthias_______________________________________________ > > Cocoa-dev mailing list (Cocoa-dev@lists.apple.com) Hi Matthias,
You might consider looking at cocos2d or looking at DrawKit. Both are open source with very good licensing conditions... :) They may save you a lot of work and leave you more future flexibility. There may also be some Omni frameworks that might benefit you as well._______________________________________________ Cocoa-dev mailing list (Cocoa-dev@lists.apple.com) Please do not post admin requests or moderator comments to the list. Contact the moderators at cocoa-dev-admins(at)lists.apple.com Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/cocoa-dev/archive%40mail-archive.com This email sent to arch...@mail-archive.com
