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"meant to be cross-platform on Windows, macOS, and Linux, what 2D graphics library would you use? " It really depends what you want to do, but in general I wou

"meant to be cross-platform on Windows, macOS, and Linux, what 2D graphics library would you use? " It really depends what you want to do, but in general I would say: the HTML Canvas and the web in general. WebGL for 3D, or rather a framework like threejs or babylonjs. Doing it not on the web, but still cross-platform makes only sense, if you need the maximum performance, or if you already have a working toolchain you are familiar with. But since you don't want to write OpenGL or Vulkan code and you are not familiar with it - I think you are up for great adventures by diving into Skia and co. There is a reason the web became sort of standard for cross platform despite its numerous flaws - the alternative is likely more pain. But maybe not, depending on your skill set. But since you did not mention Qt, I would assume you are new in the area in general? Then I really recommend the web.

bmitc 4y ago
I should have stated that I am looking for desktop only. The reasons are performance, window management (I want to be able to manage multiple windows in a single application, easily), and OS integration. I'm not necessarily new to the area, but I have already yak shaved down to the level of writing my own windowing framework, based on GLFW, and then graphics/GUI framework using Skia. Summary: GLFW (windowing) + Skia (2D graphics). I was curious if there is some other choice. Qt, GTK, Wx, etc. are all too complicated, tightly coupled to OOP, and are generally not fully portable between OS. I dislike their application frameworks, and I don't want to use their widgets. I've already taken on all this because of that, but you are correct that it is indeed pain. Bugs in Skia or GLFW or drivers or what-have-you are frustrating and blocking. Let's say I have a desktop windowing framework (which I essentially do with GLFW, although I've threatened to throw my bindings for it out and write my own bindings against Win32, X11, Wayland, and Cocoa), and I'd like to draw to the window. Is there a better option than Skia? Is there a WebAssembly (wasm) or WebGPU (wgpu) or some HTML Canvas abstraction available? Flutter is basically the only solution like this, but desktop is not its primary support target, it currently lacks multiple window support, and it requires Dart. Skia is actually pretty nice and not hard to use, but I was curious if there is something more simple and lightweight but still featureful.
- yw3410 4y ago
  Honestly, if it's a desktop application and you're not using heavy 3D graphics, why not use wgpu with Cairo? With some smart region tracking it should be plenty performant.
- jffhn 4y ago
  >I am looking for desktop only. >I have already yak shaved down to the level of writing my own windowing framework. >Qt, GTK, Wx, etc. are all too complicated (...) I dislike their application frameworks, and I don't want to use their widgets. >Bugs in Skia or GLFW or drivers or what-have-you are frustrating and blocking. I'm subject to similar simplicity and dependencies-averse tendencies, and made that: https://github.com/jeffhain/jolikit/blob/master/README-BWD.md https://github.com/jeffhain/jolikit/blob/master/README-BWD.m... PS: I've been building a toolkit on top of that, which I use for a file explorer/editor, but it's not stable yet, still many little design points to think more thoroughly.

bmitc 4y ago

I should have stated that I am looking for desktop only. The reasons are performance, window management (I want to be able to manage multiple windows in a single application, easily), and OS integration. I'm not necessarily new to the area, but I have already yak shaved down to the level of writing my own windowing framework, based on GLFW, and then graphics/GUI framework using Skia. Summary: GLFW (windowing) + Skia (2D graphics). I was curious if there is some other choice. Qt, GTK, Wx, etc. are all too complicated, tightly coupled to OOP, and are generally not fully portable between OS. I dislike their application frameworks, and I don't want to use their widgets. I've already taken on all this because of that, but you are correct that it is indeed pain. Bugs in Skia or GLFW or drivers or what-have-you are frustrating and blocking. Let's say I have a desktop windowing framework (which I essentially do with GLFW, although I've threatened to throw my bindings for it out and write my own bindings against Win32, X11, Wayland, and Cocoa), and I'd like to draw to the window. Is there a better option than Skia? Is there a WebAssembly (wasm) or WebGPU (wgpu) or some HTML Canvas abstraction available? Flutter is basically the only solution like this, but desktop is not its primary support target, it currently lacks multiple window support, and it requires Dart. Skia is actually pretty nice and not hard to use, but I was curious if there is something more simple and lightweight but still featureful.

yw3410 4y ago
Honestly, if it's a desktop application and you're not using heavy 3D graphics, why not use wgpu with Cairo? With some smart region tracking it should be plenty performant.
jffhn 4y ago
>I am looking for desktop only. >I have already yak shaved down to the level of writing my own windowing framework. >Qt, GTK, Wx, etc. are all too complicated (...) I dislike their application frameworks, and I don't want to use their widgets. >Bugs in Skia or GLFW or drivers or what-have-you are frustrating and blocking. I'm subject to similar simplicity and dependencies-averse tendencies, and made that: https://github.com/jeffhain/jolikit/blob/master/README-BWD.md https://github.com/jeffhain/jolikit/blob/master/README-BWD.m... PS: I've been building a toolkit on top of that, which I use for a file explorer/editor, but it's not stable yet, still many little design points to think more thoroughly.