Pycairo

Pycairo is a remarkable set of Python bindings that enable developers to access the cairo graphics library. For those who are unfamiliar, Cairo is a software library that offers a device-independent API based on vector graphics. This API is specifically designed to provide 2-dimensional drawing functionalities across multiple backends. Furthermore, Cairo has the benefit of using hardware acceleration when it is available.

Currently, the cairo graphics library is written in C, but it supports bindings for using it from various programming languages, such as Haskell, Java, Perl, Scheme, Smalltalk, and others. What makes Cairo even more impressive is that it is licensed dual under the GNU Lesser General Public License and the Mozilla Public License, making it a freely accessible software.

In this example we see how simple it is to draw a blue triangle into a png file using Pycairo. Firstly, we import Pycairo and set up the drawing specifications. We define the dimensions of the canvas, create a Cairo surface and a context for where the drawing will occur. We set the thickness of our brush before we proceed to draw the triangle using absolute coordinates.

Lastly, we apply the ink to the drawing, and we output it as a PNG file. Pycairo offers an intuitive and easy-to-use way of implementing graphics and is undoubtedly a reliable choice for developers seeking a competent graphics library.