Quartz Composer

Infobox Software
name = Quartz Composer



caption = The Quartz Composer 3.x interface and a composition
author =
developer = Apple Computer
released =
latest release version = 3.1 (63.2)
latest release date = 2008-07-11
latest preview version =
latest preview date =
operating system = Mac OS X v10.4 (Version 2.0)

Mac OS X v10.5 (Version 3.0)
Mac OS X v10.5 + iPhone SDK (Version 3.1)
platform =
language = English
status = Active
genre = Visual programming language/Software development tool
license = Proprietary
website = [http://developer.apple.com/graphicsimaging/quartz/quartzcomposer.html Apple - Quartz Composer]

Quartz Composer is a node-based visual programming language provided as part of the Xcode development environment in Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger" and Mac OS X v10.5 "Leopard" for processing and rendering graphical data.

Quartz Composer uses OpenGL (including GLSL), Core Image, Core Video, JavaScript, and other technologies to build an API and a developer tool around a simple visual programming paradigm. Apple has embedded Quartz technologies deeply into the operating system. Compositions created in Quartz Composer can be played standalone in any QuickTime-aware application [ [http://developer.apple.com/documentation/GraphicsImaging/Conceptual/QuartzComposerUserGuide/qc_tutorial/chapter_5_section_4.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40005381-CH213-SW2 Quartz Composer User Guide] ] (although only on Mac OS X 10.4 and later), as a system Screen Saver [ [http://developer.apple.com/documentation/GraphicsImaging/Conceptual/QuartzComposerUserGuide/qc_tutorial/chapter_5_section_3.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40005381-CH213-SW8 Quartz Composer Users Guide - Making a Screen Saver] ] , from inside the Quartz Composer application, or can be embedded into a Cocoa or Carbon application via supplied user interface widgets. Because Quartz Composer makes extensive use of hardware acceleration and pixel shaders, it is recommended to have a recent graphics card with at least 32MB of VRAM [http://developer.apple.com/jp/documentation/GraphicsImaging/Conceptual/QuartzComposer/qc_creating_qcp/chapter_3_section_1.html Quartz Composer Programming Guide (Japanese)] .

Patches

Quartz programming through Quartz Composer works by implementing and connecting "patches" [ [http://developer.apple.com/documentation/GraphicsImaging/Conceptual/QuartzComposerUserGuide/qc_concepts/chapter_2_section_3.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40005381-CH212-DontLinkElementID_2 Quartz Composer User Guide - Patches] ] . Similar to routines in traditional programming languages, patches are base processing units. They execute and produce a result. For better performance, patch execution follows a Lazy evaluation approach, meaning that patches are only executed when their output is needed. There are three color-coded types of patches, the pink renderers, green data processors, and blue external input patches that can receive and output mouse clicks, scrolls, and movements; MIDI and audio; keyboard; or other movements. A collection of patches can be melded into one, called a macro. Macros can be nested and their subroutines also edited.

Some patches can have subpatches, which allows for global parameter changes to just the included subpatches. This is useful for lighting, 3D Transformation, and GLSL shaders, among other things. Subpatch support is indicated by square corners on a patch, rather than the typical rounded corners.

With Version 3.0, it became possible to turn compositions into Virtual Patches. These allow the user to reuse functionality without having to store duplicate copies in each composition.

Plugins

Also new in Version 3.0 was the possibility to write custom patch plugins, using an Xcode template, and the notion of a "safe-mode", where plugins and other unsafe patches fail to load. This prevents malicious compositions from performing dangerous or insecure operations. Custom patches using Apple's Xcode template are always considered unsafe.

It was possible to develop custom patch plugins for Version 2.0, but the API was undocumented and private, and was never supported by Apple. Eventually templates were released to simplify this procedure [ [http://fdiv.net/2007/05/08/xcode-template-for-custom-quartz-composer-patches/ fdiv.net: Xcode Template for Custom Quartz Composer Patches] ] .

Compositions

Quartz Composer documents are called "Compositions". Compositions are Binary Property Lists with a filename extension ".qtz", and a "com.apple.quartz-​composer-composition" UTI [ [http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Carbon/Conceptual/understanding_utis/utilist/chapter_4_section_1.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40001319-CH205-CHDIJFGJ Uniform Type Identifiers Overview] ] . Patches, their connections, and their input port states are saved in the composition file. Images can be stored inside a composition as well, making for self-contained compositions with embedded graphics. Movies, however, cannot be stored inside a composition.

Compositions also store metadata such as composition author, copyright, and description. The user can also add arbitrary metadata items, if desired.

A wide variety of image formats are supported, including JPEG, JPEG2000, GIF, PNG, TIFF, TGA, OpenEXR, BMP, ICO, PDF, PICT, ICNS, and some raw digital camera types [ [http://developer.apple.com/graphicsimaging/workingwithimageio.html Using the ImageIO Framework] ] .

Version 3.0 added the ability to add annotations to areas of the composition, called "notes". These notes parallel comments in other programming languages. Notes can be Yellow, Red, Green, Blue, or Grey, and can overlap other notes.

Composition Protocols

In Version 3.0, the concept of Composition Protocols was introduced. Protocols provide a template of required and optional inputs and outputs to qualify conforming compositions for various purposes. The following protocols are available by default:
* Graphic Animation - These don't have required inputs or outputs, but are required to render to the screen. Graphic Animations are useful for animated backgrounds in applications such as Keynote.
* Image Filter - Modifies an image using filters. No renderers are allowed in Image Filters.
* Graphic Transition - Generates a transition from a source image to a destination image over a fixed time interval.
* RSS Visualizer - Parses and Displays an RSS Feed.
* Screen Saver - Integrates with Finder for animated screen savers.
* Music Visualizer - Integrates with iTunes for audio visualization.

There is no officially supported way to add additional protocols to Quartz Composer. However, there are some undocumented methods that may make this possible in the future [ [http://kineme.net/Discussion/ProgrammingQuartzComposerPatches/CreatingYourOwnProtocols Creating Your Own Protocols] ] .

Composition Runtimes

In addition to protocols, compositions can also conform to different runtimes where Quartz Composer is available. In Leopard, there are runtimes for Tiger (32-bit), as well as 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the Leopard Quartz Composer runtime. The editor can also indicate used patches that are unsafe, or unavailable in Tiger to aid in making compatible compositions.

Composition Repository

A System-wide Composition Repository is available as of Version 3.0 [ [http://developer.apple.com/documentation/GraphicsImaging/Conceptual/QuartzComposerUserGuide/qc_concepts/chapter_2_section_6.html Quartz Composer User Guide: Composition Repository] ] . This allows applications to share and make use of common compositions for effects and processing. It is also possible for applications to query the repository for compositions that match certain criteria, such as protocol conformance.

The Repository is spread across 3 file system locations:
* /System/Library/Compositions - core system compositions (the user typically doesn't modify these)
* /Library/Compositions - compositions available for all users
* ~/Library/Compositions - compositions available for only this user

Adding compositions to the repository is as simple as adding the composition file to one of these locations.

Comparing Compositions

It became possible to compare compositions in Quartz Composer 3.0. This feature allows the user to compare inputs, rendered output, and graph appearance of any two compositions.

Quartz Composer Visualizer

A developer tool called Quartz Composer Visualizer was released with Quartz Composer 3.0 that allows compositions to be rendered across multiple screens on a single machine, or even spanned across several machines and displays.

Automator Support

Support for some automator actions were added with the release of Leopard.
* Apply Quartz Composition Filter to Image Files
* Convert Quartz Compositions to QuickTime Movies
* Render Quartz Compositions to Image Files

Native Datatypes

Data inside QC can be one of the following types:
* Boolean- a boolean value, 0 or 1
* Index - a positive integer between 0 and 4294967295
* Number - a double precision floating point number
* String - a unicode string
* Color - an RGBA or CMYK quartet, or a Grayscale value
* Image - a 2D image of arbitrary dimensions
* Structure - a named or ordered collection of objects, including nested structures

Related Software

Quartz Composer has many similarities to Max/MSP or Vvvv although its primary usage is for graphical rather than audio processing. The ability to construct interactive video compositions that react to audio or MIDI signals but which can be played from any QuickTime-aware application has caused a great deal of interest in Quartz Composer from VJs.

Pierre-Olivier Latour originally developed the predecessor to Quartz Composer under the name PixelShox Studio [http://www.pol-online.net/web-archives/pixelshox_technology/ PixelShox Technology] .

External links

Tutorials and Documentation

* [http://developer.apple.com/documentation/GraphicsImaging/Conceptual/QuartzComposer/index.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40001357 Quartz Composer Programming Guide] from Apple
* [http://www.dvcreators.net/rayz-o-lite/ Quartz Composer tutorial]
* [http://www.quartzcompositions.com/phpBB2/mediawiki/index.php/Main_Page Quartz Composer wiki]
* [http://www.qtzlcodex.com/ Qtzlcodex Quartz Composer Tutorials]

Mailing List

* [http://lists.apple.com/mailman/listinfo/quartzcomposer-dev Mailing List]
* [http://lists.apple.com/archives/quartzcomposer-dev/ Mailing List Archives]

Compositions

* [http://www.quartzcompositions.com/phpBB2/ QuartzCompositions.com Forum and Composition Repository]
* [http://www.zugakousaku.com/index.php?ref=study-quartz-jp ZUGAKOUSAKU]
* [http://www.quartzcandy.com Quartzcandy.com]
* [http://www.qtzlcodex.com/ Qtzlcodex: MachineCodex Composition repository]

Custom Patches / Plugins

* [http://kineme.net/ Kineme Quartz Composer Patches and Development Community]
* [http://code.google.com/p/google-mac-qtz-patches/ Google Quartz Composer Patches]
* [http://www.qtzlcodex.com/ Qtzlcodex Quartz Composer Custom Patches]

Images and Videos

* [http://www.flickr.com/groups/quartzcomposer/ Quartz Composer on Flickr]
* [http://vimeo.com/tag:quartzcomposer Quartz Composer on Vimeo]

References