Core Animation is an animation graphics compositing
framework used by
macOS
macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...
(
Mac OS X Leopard
Mac OS X Leopard (version 10.5) is the sixth software versioning, major release of macOS, Apple Inc., Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Leopard was released on October 26, 2007, as the successor of Mac OS X Ti ...
and later),
iOS
Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
,
watchOS
watchOS is the operating system of the Apple Watch, developed by Apple Inc., Apple. It is based on iOS, the operating system used by the iPhone, and has many similar features. It was released on April 24, 2015, along with the Apple Watch, the o ...
, and
tvOS
tvOS (formerly Apple TV Software) is an operating system developed by Apple for the Apple TV, a digital media player. In the first-generation Apple TV, Apple TV Software was based on Mac OS X. The software for the second-generation and later ...
to produce animated user interfaces.
Overview
Core Animation provides a way for developers to produce animated user interfaces via an ''
implicit animation'' model as well as an "explicit" model. The developer specifies the original and final states of an object, and Core Animation handles
interpolation
In the mathematics, mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points.
In engineering and science, one ...
. This allows animated interfaces to be created with relative ease, as no specific code for the animation is required by the developer.
Core Animation can animate any visual element, and it provides a unified way of accessing
Core Image
Core Image is a pixel-accurate, near-realtime, non-destructive image processing technology in Mac OS X. Implemented as part of the QuartzCore framework of Mac OS X 10.4 and later, Core Image provides a plugin-based architecture for applying filt ...
,
Core Video, and the other
Quartz technologies. Core Animation rendering can be accelerated by a graphics processor (GPU).
Animated sequences execute in a thread independent from the main run loop, allowing application processing to occur while the animation is in progress. In this way, application performance is not affected, and animations can be stopped, reversed, or ''retargeted'' while in progress.
History
Core Animation first appeared in
Mac OS X Leopard
Mac OS X Leopard (version 10.5) is the sixth software versioning, major release of macOS, Apple Inc., Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Leopard was released on October 26, 2007, as the successor of Mac OS X Ti ...
, but actually first emerged from the
iPhone
The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...
software team. It was shown publicly for the first time on August 7, 2006
[ Apple Worldwide Developers Conference#2000s] during
WWDC 2006. At the
Macworld Expo
Macworld/iWorld (originally Macworld) was an information technology trade show with conference tracks dedicated to Apple's Mac platform. It was held annually in the United States during January. Originally ''Macworld Expo'' and then ''Macworld Con ...
2007, Apple announced that the iPhone runs a specially adapted version of
OS X
macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...
and uses Core Animation.
See also
*
List of widget toolkits
This article provides a list of widget toolkits (also known as GUI frameworks), used to construct the graphical user interface (GUI) of programs, organized by their relationships with various operating systems.
Low-level widget toolkits
Integrat ...
*
QtQuick
* Clutter
*
Windows Presentation Foundation
Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is a free and open-source user interface framework for Windows-based desktop applications. WPF applications are based in .NET, and are primarily developed using C# and XAML.
Originally developed by Microso ...
References
External links
Core Animationon Apple's developer site (Accessed 2010-02-13)
(Accessed 2017-08-01)
{{iOS
2007 software
MacOS APIs