[cairo] cairo with loading PDF and related questions

[Pavel Dudrenov]

Heh, I'm wrong it does have a PDF backend.

On Fri, Jan 23, 2009 at 1:16 AM, Pavel Dudrenov <dudrenov at gmail.com> wrote:
> Not sure that I understood everything from your post, but here goes nothing.
>
> I don't know any pdf backend for cairo, but I'm new to cairo and don't
> know much. That said I think that you are probably better of finding
> some pdf parser/generator (such as gostscript, pdflib, or some such).
> Use that to convert pdf to some intermediate structure, then use that
> structure to communicate with cairo and vise versa.
>
> Also gostscript guys have something called `mupdf' and`fitz'. Fitz
> claims to be "a modern graphics library" and mupdf, apparently,
> generates fitz trees.
>
> As I mentioned earlier I'm a novice at this, so unless you can prove
> the above to be true you should consider everything I say as nothing
> but lies!
>
> Pavel
>
>
> On Fri, Jan 23, 2009 at 12:07 AM, Fan Zhang <fz at chinasoft.dk> wrote:
>> Hello all,
>>
>> I'm new to cairo, and was introduced to cairo because we thought it
>> might be the solution for vector graphic library in our php project.
>> So here's a little detail of the setup:
>>
>> 1. using cairo 1.6.4 fc9. (we are running fedora core 9)
>> 2. lampp installed with pear, that's how to get to install cairo_wrapper.
>> 3. running php 5 and the project is developed in php 5.
>>
>> And here's the scope and objective of the project
>> 1. Able to generate text images (single or multiple lines), giving the
>> text string, font size, font color, etc. (completed)
>> 2. Able to display text images in PNG format in the browser. (completed
>> with cairo_surface_show_png in cairo_wrapper)
>> 3. Able to generate PDF file contain the vector graphics of the text
>> image. (completed with cairo_text_path)
>> 4. Able to load PDF file generated by Adobe Illustrator (assuming one
>> vector graphic only), change the fill color of the content to solid or
>> gradient color. (no solution yet)
>> 5. Generate both PNG and PDF file after the modification of the PDF file
>> in 4, display the PNG file similar to "show png". (no solution yet)
>> 6. Able to generate a layered PDF file from different source (png, pdf,
>> eps etc). (no solution yet)
>> 7. Future support for loading AI file and construct a canvas editor
>> similar to AI, with path editor and abstract drawings.
>>
>> Our project is developed half way to the point where we don't know if
>> the functions could be supported by cairo, or we have to find another
>> solution.
>>
>>
>> For goal no.4, the original idea is to have vector shapes saved as pdf
>> file and loaded into cairo, right now cairo wrapper does not support
>> reading form pdf (cairo_pdf_surface_create_from_pdf, or something like
>> that). We are going to develop in the way to allow user drawing the
>> shape instead of loading it. But the question is: can cairo support
>> loading from pdf? Since it could generate a vector format (with path)
>> pdf, is loading it back in and change the color too difficult?
>>
>> For goal no.5, how to generate PNG from PDF surface? Maybe "how to load
>> PDF as PNG"? Because I think to convert between PNG and PDF is not the
>> case of cairo.
>>
>> For goal no.6, The final PDF generated will be from texts and shapes
>> previously output from cairo, I understand cairo is not a PDF generator,
>> but is it possible to have layered context in cairo?
>>
>> All this comes to text->path->png->pdf->more text->transform text->load
>> shape->change color->transform shape->generate PNG for proof->generate
>> PDF for printing and editing.
>>
>> We've tried GD, Imagicks, and now cairo. We don't know whether any one
>> of these libraries can help or several of them, even to write our own
>> libraries?
>>
>> Please help, we don't want to end up switch it to a .net project as this
>> will cost too much. We can only stay with php.
>>
>> Fan
>>
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>>
>