CairoSharp
| CairoSharp | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | GNOME Project, Xamarin, and community contributors |
| Initial release |
2002 |
| Latest version | — |
| Programming language | C# |
| Operating system | Cross-platform |
| Platform | .NET, Mono |
| Type | Graphics library bindings |
| License | GNU Lesser General Public License |
| Website | GitHub repository |
CairoSharp is a set of C# bindings for the Cairo 2D graphics library.
It is part of the GtkSharp project and provides managed access to Cairo’s advanced vector-based rendering features within the .NET and Mono environments.
Overview of Cairo
Cairo is a cross-platform, open-source 2D graphics library designed to produce consistent output across multiple backends, including X11, Win32, Quartz, image buffers, and PDF/SVG surfaces. It supports anti-aliased rendering, vector graphics, and transformations while maintaining device-independent output.
Core features of Cairo include:
- Vector-based 2D drawing with sub-pixel precision
- Support for multiple backends (image, PDF, SVG, OpenGL, etc.)
- Path-based drawing model similar to PostScript
- Advanced text rendering through Pango integration
- Transparency, compositing, and clipping
CairoSharp
CairoSharp provides a managed C# interface to the Cairo library, allowing developers to create and manipulate graphics surfaces, contexts, and paths from within .NET code.
Using CairoSharp, developers can:
- Draw shapes, lines, and curves with high-quality anti-aliasing
- Render text and images with compositing and alpha blending
- Generate scalable vector graphics and PDF/SVG output
- Integrate custom drawing into GdkSharp or GtkSharp applications
CairoSharp follows the same object model and function naming as the native Cairo API, while exposing a more idiomatic C# interface for ease of use.
Relationship to other GtkSharp components
CairoSharp is often used together with:
- GdkSharp – Provides drawing surfaces (Gdk.Window, Gdk.Pixbuf) that CairoSharp can render onto.
- PangoSharp – Handles text layout and rendering using Cairo as the drawing backend.
- GtkSharp – Integrates Cairo rendering for custom widgets and canvas-like controls.
- GLibSharp – Supplies the base data types and signal handling mechanisms for the bindings.
Version compatibility
CairoSharp bindings are compatible with Cairo versions used by GTK:
- **CairoSharp 2.x** – Used with GTK 2 bindings
- **CairoSharp 3.x** – Updated for GTK 3 and modern .NET
- **CairoSharp 4.x** – In development for GTK 4 and .NET 6+