Re: [matplotlib-devel] Qt backend

[John H. <jdh...@ac...>]

>>>>> "Jody" == Jody Winston <jos...@ma...> writes:

    Jody> Any pointers on either finding a Qt backend or writing one?
    Jody> Thanks,

Hi Jody,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you - I've been out of town for
a week.

There have been several people who have expressed interest in A QT
backend - most recently Ted Drain at the JPL.  Perhaps you two could
coordinate your efforts?

The first place to start is in the file
matplotlib/backends/backend_template.py, which serves as a template
for backend writers and gives some instructions.  I would follow the
model of one of the *Agg backends, eg TkAgg, GTKAgg, FLTKAgg and
WXAgg, which use Agg to render the image and place it in the GUI
canvas.  This is a lot less work and you automiatically get the latest
matplotlib feature set for free.  The basic idea is to use a GUI
independent image library that can then be reused across GUIs.  

The backends have to implement concrete versions of several interface
classes: RendererBase, GraphicsContextBase, FigureCanvasBase,
FigureManagerBase, NavigationToolbar2.  If you opt to use Agg (or
Cairo) to do the drawing for you, you can leave out RendererBase and
GraphicsContextBase, which are the two that require the most work.

JDH