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Leopard Reference Library
Graphics and imaging on Mac OS X consists of three main developer technologies: Quartz, an advanced drawing engine and windowing environment; OpenGL, an Apple implementation of this 3D graphics industry-standard API; and QuickTime, the cross-platform multimedia technology for handling video, sound, and text.

A guided introduction for developers new to Mac OS X graphics and imaging.   Essential information for developers working with graphics and imaging.   C and Objective-C API references organized by framework.
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Image Color Management (HTML)
TN2115: Learn how to properly support color management in your application.
Quartz Technical Notes 2006-11-01
Image Difference (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates a way to use Quartz's compositing capability to find the difference between two images.
Quartz Sample Code 2003-01-30
Image I/O Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to read and write image data using the Image I/O framework.
Quartz Guides 2007-07-02
Image I/O Reference Collection (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for reading and writing image data.
Quartz Reference 2007-04-09
Image Kit Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to support browsing, viewing, editing, and processing images.
Quartz Guides 2008-06-09
Image Kit Reference Collection (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Objective-C API for providing a user interface for images, image editing, and image processing.
Quartz Reference 2006-12-06
Image Kit with Core Data (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Using Image Kit's browser view with Core Data content.
Quartz Sample Code 2008-07-25
Image Unit Tutorial (HTML) (PDF)
Describes how to write image processing kernels and package them for distribution.
Quartz Guides 2009-05-06
ImageApp (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates basic image handling using the ImageIO APIs in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger
Quartz Sample Code 2008-01-24
JustDraw (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Sample code being used in the WWDC 2005 Hands-On session 215 "Moving from QD to Quartz"
Quartz Sample Code 2005-06-01
Making the most of Cocoa bindings in Quartz Composer (HTML)
TN2146: Describes how to best use Cocoa bindings with Quartz Composer.
Quartz Technical Notes 2006-03-03
MassiveImage (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to use a CGDataProvider to save a very large image with Image IO
Quartz Sample Code 2007-09-27
Mode (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to enumerate displays and list the available modes for each display.
Quartz Sample Code 2003-01-14
ModeWhacker (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to enumerate, select, capture, manipulate, and release displays using the CGDirectDisplay API.
Quartz Sample Code 2003-01-14
MouseTracking (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Sample code used in the WWDC 2005 Hands-On session 215 "Moving from QD to Quartz"
Quartz Sample Code 2005-06-01
Multithreaded usage of the QCRenderer (HTML)
QA1538: Describes an issue that may arise when using the QCRenderer in a multi-threaded application.
Quartz Technical Q&As 2008-09-08
NSValue Core Animation Additions (HTML) (PDF)
Describes extensions to Foundation's NSValue class that support the Core Animation LKTransform structure.
Quartz Reference 2007-07-24
PDF Kit Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Introduces basic PDF concepts and describes how to use PDF Kit to display PDF documents in your application.
Quartz Guides 2007-12-11
PDF Kit Reference Collection (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Objective-C API for viewing, navigating, and editing PDF content.
Quartz Reference 2007-12-11
PDFAction Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for representing an action in a PDF document.
Quartz 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.
Quartz Reference 2007-12-11
PDFActionNamed Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for working with actions that have defined names, such as "Go back."
Quartz 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.
Quartz Reference 2007-12-11
PDFActionResetForm Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for getting and clearing fields in a PDF form.
Quartz Reference 2007-12-11
PDFActionURL Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for managing the URL associated with a URL action.
Quartz Reference 2007-12-11
PDFAnnotation Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describe the class for creating and managing annotations in PDF documents.
Quartz Reference 2007-12-11
PDFAnnotationButtonWidget Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for manipulating button annotations in PDF documents.
Quartz Reference 2007-12-11
PDFAnnotationChoiceWidget Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for manipulating pop-up menu and list annotations in a PDF document.
Quartz Reference 2007-12-11
PDFAnnotationCircle Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for manipulating circle annotations in PDF documents.
Quartz Reference 2006-05-23
PDFAnnotationFreeText Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for manipulating free text annotations in PDF documents.
Quartz Reference 2007-12-11
PDFAnnotationInk Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for manipulating ink annotations in PDF documents.
Quartz Reference 2006-05-23
PDFAnnotationLine Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for manipulating line annotations in PDF documents.
Quartz Reference 2007-12-11
PDFAnnotationLink Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for manipulating link annotations in PDF documents.
Quartz Reference 2006-05-23
PDFAnnotationMarkup Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for manipulating markup annotations (highlighting, underlining, and so on) in PDF documents.
Quartz Reference 2006-05-23
PDFAnnotationPopup Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for manipulating pop-up menu annotations in a PDF document.
Quartz Reference 2007-12-11
PDFAnnotationSquare Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for manipulating square annotations in PDF documents.
Quartz Reference 2006-05-23
PDFAnnotationStamp Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for displaying content to look as if it is "stamped" onto a PDF page.
Quartz Reference 2007-12-11
PDFAnnotationText Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for manipulating text annotations in PDF documents.
Quartz Reference 2007-12-11
PDFAnnotationTextWidget Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for manipulating editable text fields in PDF documents.
Quartz Reference 2007-12-11
PDFBorder Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for creating and manipulating borders around annotations in PDF documents.
Quartz Reference 2006-05-23
PDFDestination Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for describing specific destinations in PDF documents.
Quartz Reference 2007-12-11
PDFDocument Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for creating and manipulating PDF files.
Quartz Reference 2007-12-11
PDFOutline Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for creating and manipulating structure outlines in PDF documents.
Quartz Reference 2007-12-11
PDFPage Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for handling specific pages in PDF documents.
Quartz Reference 2007-12-11
PDFSelection Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for handling user selections in PDF documents.
Quartz Reference 2007-12-11
PDFThumbnailView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for managing the thumbnail view in a PDF document.
Quartz 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.
Quartz Reference 2007-12-11
PinBallHighScores (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates use of Quartz Composer for displaying data within an application
Quartz Sample Code 2007-06-11
QCComposition Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that represents a Quartz Composer composition.
Quartz Reference 2007-06-26
QCCompositionLayer Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to display a Quartz Composer composition in a Layer Kit layer.
Quartz Reference 2007-12-11
QCCompositionParameterView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to edit the input parameters of a composition in a view.
Quartz Reference 2007-05-09
QCCompositionParameterViewDelegate Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol for responding to changes in a QCCompositionParameterView object.
Quartz Reference 2007-05-09
QCCompositionPickerPanel Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to display a utility window for browsing and selecting a composition.
Quartz Reference 2007-05-09
QCCompositionPickerView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to display a view for browsing and selecting a composition.
Quartz Reference 2007-05-09
QCCompositionPickerViewDelegate Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol for responding to changes in a QCCompositionPickerView object.
Quartz Reference 2007-05-09
QCCompositionRenderer Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the methods for passing and retrieving data from the ports of a composition.
Quartz Reference 2008-04-08
QCCompositionRepository Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that represents a system-wide, central repository of Quartz Composer compositions.
Quartz Reference 2007-05-09
QCFundamentals (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates Coordinate, Interpolation, and Iterative systems in Quartz Composer with an amusing animation
Quartz Sample Code 2006-08-07
QCGalaxy (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates use of Particle Systems and Core Image Filters in Quartz Composer
Quartz Sample Code 2006-08-07
QCPlugIn Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to write custom patches for Quartz Composer.
Quartz Reference 2008-04-08
QCPlugInContext Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol used by execution contexts.
Quartz Reference 2007-05-09
QCPlugInInputImageSource Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the methods for managing image data that's input to a QCPlugIn object.
Quartz Reference 2007-07-12
QCPlugInOutputImageProvider Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the methods for managing image data that's produced as output from a QCPlugIn object.
Quartz Reference 2007-05-09
QCPlugInViewController Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that provides a controller object for a user interface to edit the settings for a QCPlugIn object.
Quartz Reference 2007-05-09
QCRenderer Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to load, play, and control a Quartz Composer composition to an arbitrary OpenGL context.
Quartz Reference 2007-05-09
QCView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to load, play, and control a Quartz Composer composition to a custom NSView object.
Quartz Reference 2007-05-09
QTCoreImage101 (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates how to render a QuickTime Movie using Core Image filters and the new video pipeline.
Quartz Sample Code 2005-07-19
QTPixelBufferVCToCGImage (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates using QTPixelBufferContextCreate with NewMovieFromProperties to output pixel buffers from a movie and draw them.
Quartz Sample Code 2006-07-07
QTtoCG (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to create a CGImageRef with the proper ColorSync profile from a QuickTime image on disk.
Quartz Sample Code 2003-01-14
Quartz 2D Interpolation (HTML) (日本語 HTML)
QA1186: Explains how to control Quartz 2D's image interpolation.
Quartz Technical Q&As 2002-10-29
Quartz 2D Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to use Quartz 2D. Includes illustrations and sample code.
Quartz Guides 2007-12-11
Quartz 2D Reference Collection (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the C API for the native two-dimensional drawing engine in Mac OS X.
Quartz Reference 2006-12-18
Quartz 2D Shadings (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to use CGShading and CGGradient objects to draw simple gradients.
Quartz Sample Code 2007-08-31
Quartz 2D Thread Safety (HTML) (日本語 HTML)
QA1238: Explains the thread-safety issues for the Quartz 2D API.
Quartz Technical Q&As 2003-02-25
Quartz 2D Transformer (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to use Quartz 2D to manipulate an image
Quartz Sample Code 2007-06-21
Quartz Composer Custom Patch Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Describes how to create custom patches for distribution.
Quartz Guides 2007-12-11
Quartz Composer Live DV (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to export a Quartz Composer composition as a real-time DV stream on the FireWire port.
Quartz Sample Code 2005-06-01
Quartz Composer Matrix (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to use Quartz Composer to display a QuickTime movie as a series of frames in a 3D world.
Quartz Sample Code 2005-06-01
Quartz Composer Offline Rendering (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to render a Quartz Composer composition as a series of images using an OpenGL pBuffer.
Quartz Sample Code 2005-06-01
Quartz Composer Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Describes how to used the framework to load, play, and control compositions.
Quartz Guides 2008-10-15
Quartz Composer QCTV (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to build a fake TV system using Quartz Composer as the foundation motion graphics.
Quartz Sample Code 2005-07-06
Quartz Composer Reference Collection (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Objective-C API that supports loading, playing, and controlling compositions.
Quartz Reference 2007-01-25
Quartz Composer Release Note for Mac OS X v10.5 (HTML)
Summarizes the features and changes in Quartz Composer for Mac OS X v10.5.
Quartz Release Notes 2007-10-31
Quartz Composer Texture (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to use a Quartz Composer composition as an OpenGL texture.
Quartz Sample Code 2005-06-01
Quartz Composer User Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to use the Quartz Composer development tool to create motion graphics compositions.
Quartz Guides 2007-07-17
Quartz Composer WebKit Plug-in JavaScript Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for manipulating Quartz Composer compositions in webpages and Dashboard widgets via the Quartz Composer WebKit Plug-in.
Quartz Guides 2009-01-06
Quartz Composer WWDC 2005 Composition (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to build a parameterized motion graphics composition with Quartz Composer.
Quartz Sample Code 2005-06-01
Quartz Composer WWDC 2005 TextEdit (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrate how to modify TextEdit's about dialog to display a Quartz Composer composition.
Quartz Sample Code 2005-06-01
Quartz Core Framework Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interfaces for Core Image and Core Video.
Quartz Reference 2008-03-12
Quartz Core Reference Update (HTML) (PDF)
Summarizes the symbols added to the Quartz Core framework.
Quartz Release Notes 2007-07-18
Quartz Display Services Programming Topics (HTML) (PDF)
Shows how to configure and control display hardware using Quartz Display Services.
Quartz Guides 2006-06-28
Quartz Display Services Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for configuring and controlling display hardware.
Quartz Reference 2008-11-19
Quartz EB (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
WWDC 2001 Early Bird Quartz 2D tutorial of vector drawing and PDF import/export.
Quartz Sample Code 2003-01-14
Quartz Event Services Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the C API for event taps, filters used to observe and alter the stream of low-level user input events.
Quartz Reference 2007-10-31
Quartz Framework Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for Quartz Composer, Image Kit, and PDF Kit.
Quartz Reference 2007-12-11
Quartz Programming Guide for QuickDraw Developers (HTML) (PDF)
Provides strategies to help Carbon programmers replace QuickDraw code with Quartz.
Quartz Guides 2006-09-05
Quartz Reference Update (HTML) (PDF)
Summarizes the symbols added to the Quartz framework.
Quartz Release Notes 2007-07-18
Quartz2DBasics (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Carbon and Cocoa sample code demonstrating some basic usage of the Quartz 2D API
Quartz Sample Code 2006-09-11
QuartzCache (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates several caching techniques using CGBitmapContext, CGImageRef re-use, CGLayerRefs, CGImageSource.
Quartz Sample Code 2005-06-01
QuartzComposerSamplePatches (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
A short list of new patches in Quartz Composer Mac OS X 10.5
Quartz Sample Code 2007-06-11