thorvg-cython 0.0.4

Cython bindings for the ThorVG vector graphics library

thorvg-cython

Cython bindings for the ThorVG vector graphics library.

Overview

This package provides direct C-level bindings to ThorVG via Cython — no ctypes overhead. It mirrors the thorvg-python API surface while delivering native-extension performance.

Platform Support

Platform	Linking Strategy
iOS (sys.platform == "ios")	Links against thorvg.xcframework static slice
macOS (sys.platform == "darwin")	Links against libthorvg.a or libthorvg-1.dylib
Linux	Links against libthorvg.so
Windows	Links against thorvg.lib / thorvg-1.dll
Android	Links against libthorvg.so

Building

Prerequisites

• Python ≥ 3.9
• Cython ≥ 3.0
• ThorVG built with C API bindings (-Dbindings=capi)

Quick Build (macOS)

# 1. Build ThorVG
cd /path/to/thorvg
export SDKROOT=$(xcrun --show-sdk-path)
meson setup builddir --buildtype=release --default-library=shared -Dbindings=capi -Dloaders=svg,lottie,ttf
ninja -C builddir

# 2. Build the wheel
cd thorvg-cython
THORVG_ROOT=.. THORVG_LIB_DIR=../builddir/src pip install -e .

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
THORVG_ROOT	Path to thorvg source root	Parent of this package
THORVG_INCLUDE	Path to thorvg.h	$THORVG_ROOT/inc
THORVG_LIB_DIR	Path to built libraries	$THORVG_ROOT/output
THORVG_XCFRAMEWORK	Path to .xcframework	$THORVG_ROOT/output/thorvg.xcframework
THORVG_CAPI_INCLUDE	Path to thorvg_capi.h	$THORVG_ROOT/src/bindings/capi

cibuildwheel

pip install cibuildwheel
cibuildwheel --platform macos

Usage

import thorvg_cython as tvg

with tvg.Engine(threads=2) as engine:
    canvas = tvg.SwCanvas(800, 600)
    shape = tvg.Shape()
    shape.append_rect(0, 0, 100, 100, rx=10, ry=10)
    shape.set_fill_color(255, 0, 0)
    canvas.add(shape)
    canvas.draw()
    canvas.sync()

Zero-Copy Buffer Protocol (PEP 3118)

SwCanvas implements the Python buffer protocol directly — no intermediate copies needed when passing pixel data to other frameworks.

Snapshot as bytes:

import thorvg_cython as tvg

with tvg.Engine(threads=2):
    canvas = tvg.SwCanvas(800, 600)

    # Draw a red rounded rectangle
    shape = tvg.Shape()
    shape.append_rect(50, 50, 200, 150, rx=20, ry=20)
    shape.set_fill_color(255, 0, 0)
    canvas.add(shape)

    # Load and render an SVG
    pic = tvg.Picture()
    pic.load("icon.svg")
    pic.set_size(100, 100)
    canvas.add(pic)

    canvas.draw()
    canvas.sync()

    raw = bytes(canvas)  # flat RGBA, 800×600×4 = 1_920_000 bytes

Kivy texture (zero-copy blit):

from kivy.graphics.texture import Texture
import thorvg_cython as tvg

with tvg.Engine():
    texture = Texture.create(size=(800, 600), colorfmt='rgba')
    canvas = tvg.SwCanvas(800, 600)

    # Load a Lottie animation
    pic = tvg.Picture()
    pic.load("animation.json")
    pic.set_size(800, 600)
    canvas.add(pic)

    # Initial render
    canvas.draw()
    canvas.sync()
    texture.blit_buffer(canvas, colorfmt='rgba', bufferfmt='ubyte')

    # Move the animation and re-render — same canvas, same texture
    pic.translate(100, 50)
    pic.set_opacity(180)
    canvas.update()
    canvas.draw()
    canvas.sync()
    texture.blit_buffer(canvas, colorfmt='rgba', bufferfmt='ubyte')

NumPy array (zero-copy view):

import numpy as np
import thorvg_cython as tvg

with tvg.Engine():
    canvas = tvg.SwCanvas(400, 300)

    shape = tvg.Shape()
    shape.append_circle(200, 150, 100, 100)
    shape.set_fill_color(0, 120, 255)
    canvas.add(shape)
    canvas.draw()
    canvas.sync()

    # Live view into the canvas pixel buffer — no copy
    arr = np.frombuffer(canvas, dtype=np.uint8).reshape(300, 400, 4)
    arr[:, :, 3] = 128  # set alpha to 50% — modifies canvas directly

memoryview (stdlib, zero-copy):

import thorvg_cython as tvg

with tvg.Engine():
    canvas = tvg.SwCanvas(256, 256)

    shape = tvg.Shape()
    shape.append_rect(0, 0, 256, 256)
    shape.set_fill_color(0, 0, 0)
    canvas.add(shape)
    canvas.draw()
    canvas.sync()

    mv = memoryview(canvas)
    print(len(mv))  # 262_144
    mv[0:4]          # first pixel RGBA bytes

License

MIT — same as ThorVG.