Quick Start

Installation

git clone https://github.com/leoriczhao/ink.git
cd ink
cmake -B build -DINK_BUILD_TESTS=ON
cmake --build build -j$(nproc)

Hello ink

The simplest ink program creates a CPU surface, draws a red rectangle, and accesses the resulting pixels:

#include <ink/ink.hpp>

int main() {
    // Create a CPU-backed surface (800×600, BGRA)
    auto surface = ink::Surface::MakeRaster(800, 600);

    // Begin a frame — clears to opaque black by default
    surface->beginFrame();

    // Draw through the Canvas API
    auto* canvas = surface->canvas();
    canvas->fillRect({10, 10, 200, 100}, {255, 0, 0, 255});   // red rect
    canvas->drawLine({0, 0}, {800, 600}, {255, 255, 255, 255}, 2.0f);
    canvas->strokeRect({50, 50, 300, 200}, {0, 255, 0, 255});

    // End recording and execute
    surface->endFrame();
    surface->flush();

    // Access pixels
    auto pd = surface->getPixelData();
    // pd.data, pd.width, pd.height, pd.rowBytes are ready for display
}

Frame Cycle

Every frame follows the same pattern:

beginFrame(clearColor) — prepare the render target (clear to the given color; defaults to opaque black).
Draw via surface->canvas() — all commands are recorded, not executed immediately.
endFrame() — finish recording.
flush() — sort, optimize, and execute the recorded commands on the backend.

Text Rendering

ink supports basic text rendering via GlyphCache:

ink::GlyphCache glyphs;
glyphs.init("/path/to/font.ttf", 16.0f);
surface->setGlyphCache(&glyphs);

surface->beginFrame();
surface->canvas()->drawText({10, 30}, "Hello, ink!", {255, 255, 255, 255});
surface->endFrame();
surface->flush();