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Leopard Reference Library: Graphics & Imaging
Cocoa provides classes for custom drawing based on Quartz graphics, and utility functions for common graphics tasks such as copying and drawing bitmap data. To go beyond what Cocoa provides, developers can use the graphics and imaging frameworks in Mac OS X. Cocoa applications have access to a wide variety of graphics technologies including Quartz 2D, Quartz Services, OpenGL, QuickTime, and the Mac OS X printing system.

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Image Unit Tutorial (HTML) (PDF)
Describes how to write image processing kernels and package them for distribution.
Guides 2009-05-06
Driving OpenGL Rendering Loops (HTML)
QA1385: Using Core Video display links (CVDisplayLink) or Cocoa timers (NSTimer) to drive an OpenGL rendering loop
Technical Q&As 2009-05-01
CAMediaTiming Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for the time behavior of an animation.
Reference 2009-03-04
Color Programming Topics for Cocoa (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how applications specify colors and how users choose colors in Cocoa.
Guides 2009-03-04
IKSlideshowDataSource Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the methods that a slideshow object uses to access the contents of its data source object.
Reference 2009-03-04
NSWindow Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a window.
Reference 2009-03-04
CALayer Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a node of animated visual content.
Reference 2009-02-04
NSShadow Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a drop shadow for a drawing operation.
Reference 2009-02-04
NSView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for drawing, event handling, and printing in views.
Reference 2009-02-04
Cocoa Drawing Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to use Cocoa to draw your application's user interface.
Guides 2009-01-06
NSBitmapImageRep Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an object that draws an image from bitmap data.
Reference 2009-01-06
NSColor Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a representation of color and opacity.
Reference 2009-01-06
NSImage Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a graphical image that includes facilities for drawing and compositing.
Reference 2009-01-06
NSImageRep Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for managing and drawing image data.
Reference 2009-01-06
NSPanel Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a window for performing auxiliary functions in an application.
Reference 2009-01-06
NSScreen Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a representation of a screen (computer monitor).
Reference 2009-01-06
Core Animation properties and Reference Counting (HTML)
QA1565: Describes a discrepancy between the property declarations in Core Animation and the actual behavior.
Technical Q&As 2008-11-24
Application Kit Framework Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for all things related to an application's user interface.
Reference 2008-11-19
Core Animation Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Introduces the main components and services of Core Animation.
Guides 2008-11-13
Animating the frame of a CALayer. (HTML)
QA1620: Explains how the frame property of a layer interacts with animations.
Technical Q&As 2008-10-24
Animation Overview (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the animation facilities provided by Mac OS X.
Guides 2008-10-15
NSBox Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a view that can display its border and a title.
Reference 2008-10-15
NSOpenGLPixelFormat Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a pixel format for OpenGL rendering.
Reference 2008-10-15
Quartz Composer Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Describes how to used the framework to load, play, and control compositions.
Guides 2008-10-15
CALayerEssentials (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates the basics of setting up various Core Animation layers
Sample Code 2008-09-30
Squiggles (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates many Cocoa fundamentals in a Document-based Application featuring custom drawing and event-handling.
Sample Code 2008-08-29
Getting the pixel data from a CGImage object (HTML)
QA1509: Describes how to access the pixel data of a CGImage object
Technical Q&As 2008-08-27
Requirements for Quartz GL (HTML)
QA1536: Describes the requirements for enabling Quartz GL.
Technical Q&As 2008-08-08
Image Kit with Core Data (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Using Image Kit's browser view with Core Data content.
Sample Code 2008-07-25
CAMediaTimingFunction Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the pacing of an animation as a timing curve.
Reference 2008-07-11
Core Animation Reference Collection (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for Core Animation.
Reference 2008-06-26
Core Image Kernel Language Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the symbols for writing image-processing kernels.
Reference 2008-06-09
Core Image Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Provides an overview and explains how to use and create image filters and image units.
Guides 2008-06-09
Image Kit Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to support browsing, viewing, editing, and processing images.
Guides 2008-06-09
NSOpenGLContext Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a target for OpenGL commands.
Reference 2008-06-09
CARenderer Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an object that draws a layer to a Core Graphics context.
Reference 2008-04-30
CIColorTracking (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
An Objective-C applicaton that implements a GPU-based technique to find the location of a uniquely colored object in a scene
Sample Code 2008-04-24
IKImageView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to display images efficiently at the same time it supports image editing.
Reference 2008-04-08
QCCompositionRenderer Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the methods for passing and retrieving data from the ports of a composition.
Reference 2008-04-08
QCPlugIn Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to write custom patches for Quartz Composer.
Reference 2008-04-08
CAAnimationGroup Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a grouping of multiple animations into a single animation.
Reference 2008-03-11
CAOpenGLLayer Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a layer that acts as a target for OpenGL commands.
Reference 2008-03-11
Core Animation Cookbook (HTML) (PDF)
Demonstrates common Core Animation tasks.
Guides 2008-03-11
QTKit Capture - Specifying Media Compression Settings (HTML)
QA1586: Describes how to configure a file output object to save compressed captured media.
Technical Q&As 2008-03-11
OpenGL Filter Basics Cocoa (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
How to use Objective-C and MVC design patterns in installing and utilizing filters in an OpenGL rendering pipeline
Sample Code 2008-02-06
ImageApp (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates basic image handling using the ImageIO APIs in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger
Sample Code 2008-01-24
GeekGameBoard (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to use Core Animation for the user interface of a board or card game.
Sample Code 2007-12-19
How do I get the hexadecimal value of an NSColor object? (HTML)
QA1576: Describes how to convert an NSColor object to its Hexadecimal value.
Technical Q&As 2007-12-19
CAConstraintLayoutManager Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a layout manager that applies a set of constraints to a layer tree.
Reference 2007-12-11
CATextLayer Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a layer that draws text.
Reference 2007-12-11
CIFilter Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that processes image data and produces a Core Image image as output.
Reference 2007-12-11
PDF Kit Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Introduces basic PDF concepts and describes how to use PDF Kit to display PDF documents in your application.
Guides 2007-12-11
PDF Kit Reference Collection (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Objective-C API for viewing, navigating, and editing PDF content.
Reference 2007-12-11
PDFAction Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for representing an action in a PDF document.
Reference 2007-12-11
PDFActionGoTo Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for manipulating the destination of a go-to action in a PDF document.
Reference 2007-12-11
PDFActionNamed Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for working with actions that have defined names, such as "Go back."
Reference 2007-12-11
PDFActionRemoteGoTo Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for manipulating the destination of a go-to action that targets another PDF document.
Reference 2007-12-11
PDFActionResetForm Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for getting and clearing fields in a PDF form.
Reference 2007-12-11
PDFActionURL Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for managing the URL associated with a URL action.
Reference 2007-12-11
PDFAnnotation Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describe the class for creating and managing annotations in PDF documents.
Reference 2007-12-11
PDFAnnotationButtonWidget Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for manipulating button annotations in PDF documents.
Reference 2007-12-11
PDFAnnotationChoiceWidget Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for manipulating pop-up menu and list annotations in a PDF document.
Reference 2007-12-11
PDFAnnotationFreeText Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for manipulating free text annotations in PDF documents.
Reference 2007-12-11
PDFAnnotationLine Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for manipulating line annotations in PDF documents.
Reference 2007-12-11
PDFAnnotationPopup Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for manipulating pop-up menu annotations in a PDF document.
Reference 2007-12-11
PDFAnnotationStamp Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for displaying content to look as if it is "stamped" onto a PDF page.
Reference 2007-12-11
PDFAnnotationText Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for manipulating text annotations in PDF documents.
Reference 2007-12-11
PDFAnnotationTextWidget Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for manipulating editable text fields in PDF documents.
Reference 2007-12-11
PDFDestination Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for describing specific destinations in PDF documents.
Reference 2007-12-11
PDFDocument Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for creating and manipulating PDF files.
Reference 2007-12-11
PDFOutline Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for creating and manipulating structure outlines in PDF documents.
Reference 2007-12-11
PDFPage Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for handling specific pages in PDF documents.
Reference 2007-12-11
PDFSelection Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for handling user selections in PDF documents.
Reference 2007-12-11
PDFThumbnailView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for managing the thumbnail view in a PDF document.
Reference 2007-12-11
PDFView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that encapsulates all the capabilities of PDF Kit in a standard Cocoa view.
Reference 2007-12-11
Quartz Composer Custom Patch Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Describes how to create custom patches for distribution.
Guides 2007-12-11
BoingX (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows off using Quartz Extreme to provide borderless OpenGL content on the desktop.
Sample Code 2007-11-06
CocoaSlides (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
An image browser written using AppKit's Core Animation-based compositing and animation functionality
Sample Code 2007-11-02
Son of Grab (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to use the new CGWindow to get window images from the Window Server.
Sample Code 2007-11-01
CAAnimation Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for managing the actions and timing of an animation.
Reference 2007-10-31
CATransition Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that provides transition animations to layers.
Reference 2007-10-31
CIImage Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that represents an immutable Core Image image.
Reference 2007-10-31
IKFilterBrowserPanel Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that provides the panel contained in a filter browser.
Reference 2007-10-31
IKPictureTaker Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Descibes the class that provides a panel for choosing images.
Reference 2007-10-31
IKSlideshow Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that encapsulates a data source and options for a slideshow.
Reference 2007-10-31
NSAnimation Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the behavior of an animation.
Reference 2007-10-31
MassiveImage (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to use a CGDataProvider to save a very large image with Image IO
Sample Code 2007-09-27
Core Animation QuickTime Layer (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows the use of controls in a Layer over a Core Animation QTMovieLayer
Sample Code 2007-09-26
Quartz 2D Shadings (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to use CGShading and CGGradient objects to draw simple gradients.
Sample Code 2007-08-31
How to measure CG text (HTML)
QA1051: Explains how to measure Core Graphics text.
Technical Q&As 2007-08-02
CAAction Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for receiving actions initiated by a layer.
Reference 2007-07-24
CABasicAnimation Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the basic interpolation of a layer property.
Reference 2007-07-24
CAConstraint Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a single geometric constraint between two layers.
Reference 2007-07-24
CAKeyframeAnimation Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an animation that provides keyframe interpolation of a layer property.
Reference 2007-07-24
CALayoutManager Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for receiving requests to arrange a layout tree.
Reference 2007-07-24
CAPropertyAnimation Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for manipulating values of layer properties.
Reference 2007-07-24
CAScrollLayer Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a layer that displays a scrollable portion of another layer.
Reference 2007-07-24
CATiledLayer Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a layer that draws tiles of content as needed.
Reference 2007-07-24
CATransaction Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a batch of Core Animation updates that are applied to a render tree atomically.
Reference 2007-07-24
CIFilter Core Animation Additions (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the category that extends Core Image filters for use with Layer Kit.
Reference 2007-07-24