plotdevice 1.0.0

Create two-dimensional graphics and animations with code

PlotDevice is a Macintosh application used for computational graphic design. It provides an interactive Python environment where you can create two-dimensional graphics and output them in a variety of vector, bitmap, and animation formats. It is meant both as a sketch environment for exploring generative design and as a general purpose graphics library for use in external Python programs.

PlotDevice scripts can create images from simple geometric primitives, text, and external vector or bitmap images. Drawing commands provide a thin abstraction over macOS's Quartz graphics engine, providing high-quality rendering of 2D imagery and powerful compositing operations.

PlotDevice is a fork of NodeBox 1.9.7rc1 with support for modern versions of Python and Mac OS.

The new version features:

• Runs natively on Intel and Apple Silicon and supports retina displays
• Python 3 only (including a bundled 3.10 installation in the app)
• images can now be exported in HEIC format and videos support H.265 (HEVC)
• SVG files can now be drawn to the canvas using the image() command (thanks to the magical SwiftDraw library)
• image exports have a configurable zoom to create 2x/3x/etc ‘retina’ images
• revamped var() command for creating GUIs to modify values via sliders, buttons, toggles, etc.
• updated text editor with multiple tabs, new themes, and additional key-binding modes emulating Sublime Text and VS Code
• the module's command line interface is now accessible through python3 -m plotdevice
• the command line tool has a new --install option to download PyPI packages for use within the app
• document autosaving is now user-configurable
• Bugfixes and misc. improvements detailed in the changelog

Version 0.9.5 added:

• Python 3 compatible
• Can now be built with system Python or Homebrew versions of the interpreter
• Much faster import times on Yosemite thanks to a bundled copy of PyObjC 3.0.4
• HTTP is now handled by the requests module and caches responses locally
• Totally revamped typography system with support for OpenType features, pagination, multi-column text, character geometry, and more
• Added 130+ unit tests (run them with python setup.py test) plus bugfixes for for measure(), textpath(), Bezier.fit(), read(), and the Preferences dialog

Version 0.9.4 added:

• Enhanced command line interface.
• New text editor with tab completion, syntax color themes, and emacs/vi bindings.
• Video export in H.264 or animated gif formats (with GCD-based i/o).
• Added support for external editors by reloading the source when changed.
• Build system now works with Xcode or py2app for the application and pip for the module.
• Virtualenv support (for both installation of the module and running scripts with dependencies).
• External scripts can use from plotdevice import * to create a drawing environment.
• Simplified bezier & affine transform api using the python ‘with’ statement
• New compositing operations for blend mode, global opacity, and dropshadows
• Simplified typography commands with stylesheet-based character styles
• Now uses the system's Python 2.7 interpreter.

Requirements:

• Mac OS X 11+
• Python 3.6+