PyCairo backends

last modified July 17, 2023

PyCairo supports various backends. Backends are places where the graphics produced by PyCairo can be displayed. We use PyCairo to create a PNG image, a PDF file, a SVG file, and we draw on a GTK window.

PNG image

In the first example we create a PNG image.

#!/usr/bin/python

'''
ZetCode PyCairo tutorial 

This program uses PyCairo to 
produce a PNG image.

Author: Jan Bodnar
Website: zetcode.com
'''

import cairo
       
    
def main():
    
    ims = cairo.ImageSurface(cairo.FORMAT_ARGB32, 390, 60)
    cr = cairo.Context(ims)
    
    cr.set_source_rgb(0, 0, 0)
    cr.select_font_face("Sans", cairo.FONT_SLANT_NORMAL,
        cairo.FONT_WEIGHT_NORMAL)
    cr.set_font_size(40)
    
    cr.move_to(10, 50)
    cr.show_text("Disziplin ist Macht.")

    ims.write_to_png("image.png")
        
        
if __name__ == "__main__":    
    main()

This example is a small console application that creates a PNG image.

import cairo

We import the PyCairo module.

ims = cairo.ImageSurface(cairo.FORMAT_ARGB32, 390, 60)
cr = cairo.Context(ims)

We create a surface and a Cairo context from the surface. The surface is a 390x60 px image.

cr.set_source_rgb(0, 0, 0)

We draw our text in black ink. The ink is specified with the set_source_rgb method.

cr.select_font_face("Sans", cairo.FONT_SLANT_NORMAL,
    cairo.FONT_WEIGHT_NORMAL)
cr.set_font_size(40)

We choose a font type with the select_font_face method and set its size with the set_font_size method.

cr.move_to(10, 50)
cr.show_text("Disziplin ist Macht.")

We move to a position at x=10.0, y=50.0 within the image and draw the text.

ims.write_to_png("image.png")

The write_to_png method writes the contents of the surface to the PNG image.

PDF file

In the second example, we create a simple PDF file.

#!/usr/bin/python

'''
ZetCode PyCairo tutorial 

This program uses PyCairo to 
produce a PDF image.

Author: Jan Bodnar
Website: zetcode.com
'''

import cairo
       
    
def main():
    
    ps = cairo.PDFSurface("pdffile.pdf", 504, 648)
    cr = cairo.Context(ps)
    
    cr.set_source_rgb(0, 0, 0)
    cr.select_font_face("Sans", cairo.FONT_SLANT_NORMAL,
        cairo.FONT_WEIGHT_NORMAL)
    cr.set_font_size(40)
    
    cr.move_to(10, 50)
    cr.show_text("Disziplin ist Macht.")
    cr.show_page()
        
        
if __name__ == "__main__":    
    main()

We must open the PDF file in a PDF viewer. Linux users can use KPDF or Evince viewers.

ps = cairo.PDFSurface("pdffile.pdf", 504, 648)

To render a PDF file, we must create a PDF surface using the cairo.PDFSurface object. The size of the PDF file is specified in points, which is a standard in typesetting.

cr.show_page()

The show_page finishes rendering of the PDF file.

SVG file

The next example creates a simple SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) file. A SVG file is a XML based file format.

#!/usr/bin/python

'''
ZetCode PyCairo tutorial 

This program uses PyCairo to 
produce a SVG file.

Author: Jan Bodnar
Website: zetcode.com
'''

import cairo
       
    
def main():
    
    ps = cairo.SVGSurface("svgfile.svg", 390, 60)
    cr = cairo.Context(ps)
    
    cr.set_source_rgb(0, 0, 0)
    cr.select_font_face("Sans", cairo.FONT_SLANT_NORMAL,
        cairo.FONT_WEIGHT_NORMAL)
    cr.set_font_size(40)
    
    cr.move_to(10, 50)
    cr.show_text("Disziplin ist Macht.")
    cr.show_page()
        
        
if __name__ == "__main__":    
    main()

We can use a web browser like Google Chrome or a vector drawing program like Inkscape to open a SVG file.

ps = cairo.SVGSurface("svgfile.svg", 390, 60)

To create a SVG file in PyCairo, we must create a SVG surface using the cairo.SVGSurface object.

cr.show_page()

The show_page method call finisheds rendering of the SVG file.

GTK Window

In the last example, we draw on a GTK window. This backend will be used throughout the rest of the tutorial.

#!/usr/bin/python

'''
ZetCode PyCairo tutorial 

This program uses PyCairo to 
draw on a window in GTK.

Author: Jan Bodnar
Website: zetcode.com
'''


from gi.repository import Gtk
import cairo


class Example(Gtk.Window):

    def __init__(self):
        super(Example, self).__init__()
        
        self.init_ui()
        
        
    def init_ui(self):    

        darea = Gtk.DrawingArea()
        darea.connect("draw", self.on_draw)
        self.add(darea)

        self.set_title("GTK window")
        self.resize(420, 120)
        self.set_position(Gtk.WindowPosition.CENTER)
        self.connect("delete-event", Gtk.main_quit)
        self.show_all()
        
    
    def on_draw(self, wid, cr):

        cr.set_source_rgb(0, 0, 0)
        cr.select_font_face("Sans", cairo.FONT_SLANT_NORMAL,
            cairo.FONT_WEIGHT_NORMAL)
        cr.set_font_size(40)
        
        cr.move_to(10, 50)
        cr.show_text("Disziplin ist Macht.")
        
    
def main():
    
    app = Example()
    Gtk.main()
        
        
if __name__ == "__main__":    
    main()

The example pops up a centered GTK window on which we draw the "Disziplin ist Macht" text.

from gi.repository import Gtk
import cairo

We import the necessary PyCairo and GTK modules.

darea = Gtk.DrawingArea()

We draw on a Gtk.DrawingArea widget.

darea.connect("draw", self.on_draw)

When the window is redrawn, a draw signal is emitted. We connect that signal to the on_draw callback.

def on_draw(self, wid, cr):
...

The drawing is done inside the on_draw method. The third parameter is the cairo context. It is automatically available to us; the Cairo library is built into the GTK system.

In this chapter we have covered supported PyCairo backends.