Rendering Vector Graphics in OpenGL? [duplicate]

Question

Is there a way to load a vector graphics file and then render it using OpenGL? This is a vague question as I don't know much about file formats for vector graphics. I know of SVG, though.

Turning it to raster isn't really helpful as I want to do real time zooming in on the objects.

Answer 1

I see most of the answers are about Qt somehow, even though the original question doesn't mention it. Here's my answer in terms of OpenGL alone (which also benefits greatly from the passage of time, as it could not have been given in 2010):

Since 2011, the state of the art is Mark Kilgard's baby, NV_path_rendering, which is currently only a vendor (Nvidia) extension as you might have guessed already from its name. There are a lot of materials on that:

• https://developer.nvidia.com/nv-path-rendering Nvidia hub, but some material on the landing page is not the most up-to-date
• http://developer.download.nvidia.com/devzone/devcenter/gamegraphics/files/opengl/gpupathrender.pdf Siggraph 2012 paper
• http://on-demand.gputechconf.com/gtc/2014/presentations/S4810-accelerating-vector-graphics-mobile-web.pdf GTC 2014 presentation
• http://www.opengl.org/registry/specs/NV/path_rendering.txt official extension doc

NV_path_rendering is now used by Google's Skia library behind the scenes, when available. (Nvidia contributed the code in late 2013 and 2014.)

You can of course load SVGs and such https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCrohG6PJQE. They also support the PostScript syntax for paths. You can also mix path rendering with other OpenGL (3D) stuff, as demoed at:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVYl4o1rgIs
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZBXGLlmg2U

An upstart having even less (or downright no) vendor support or academic glitz is NanoVG, which is currently developed and maintained. (https://github.com/memononen/nanovg) Given the number of 2D libraries over OpenGL that have come and gone over time, you're taking a big bet using something not supported by a major vendor, in my humble opinion.