101 lines
3.8 KiB
Markdown
101 lines
3.8 KiB
Markdown
# Cairo G2D — a 2D vector graphics engine in pure MQL5
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Source code for the mql5.com article series **Creating a Cairo-Inspired Graphics Library for MetaTrader 5**.
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Part 1: https://www.mql5.com/en/articles/23818
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Part 2: https://www.mql5.com/en/articles/23993
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A scanline rasteriser, path model and compositing pipeline written from scratch
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in MQL5, with no external libraries and no `CCanvas`. Everything it draws goes
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into one `OBJ_BITMAP_LABEL`, so a panel of a thousand shapes still costs the
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terminal exactly one chart object.
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---
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## Which version do I want?
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**Use the release that matches the article you are reading.** Each part of the
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series has its own release, frozen at the state the article explains — so if you
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are reading Part 1, the Part 1 release contains two header files and one demo,
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and nothing you have not read about yet.
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| Release | Article | What it adds |
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|---|---|---|
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| [`part-01`](https://forge.mql5.io/SandroBegashvil/CairoG2D/releases/tag/part-01) | [Part 1 — Why the Terminal Needs Its Own 2D Renderer](https://www.mql5.com/en/articles/23818) | `Color.mqh`, `Surface.mqh` — the ARGB type and the buffer-to-chart bridge |
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| [`part-02`](https://forge.mql5.io/SandroBegashvil/CairoG2D/releases/tag/part-02) | [Part 2 — Points, Contours and the Path](https://www.mql5.com/en/articles/23993) | `Path.mqh` — points, contours, the path |
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Later parts are added to this table as they are published. The `main` branch is
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always the newest state, which will be ahead of every published article.
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---
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## Installing
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Download the release archive and extract it over your terminal's data folder
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(**File → Open Data Folder** in MetaTrader 5). The archive already has the right
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shape, so the files land where they belong:
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```text
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MQL5/
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├── Include/
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│ └── CairoG2D/
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│ ├── Color.mqh the ARGB color type
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│ ├── Surface.mqh pixel buffer bound to one chart object
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│ ├── Path.mqh points, contours, the path
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│ └── DemoTheme.mqh the demos' shared palette - NOT library code
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└── Experts/
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└── CairoG2D/
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├── Article 01/
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│ └── Demo01_FirstPixels.mq5
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└── Article 02/
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└── Demo02_PathViewer.mq5
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```
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Then open the demo in MetaEditor, compile with **F7**, and drag it onto any
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chart. It needs no inputs, no indicators and no market data.
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The library headers are included the usual way:
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```mql5
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#include <CairoG2D/Color.mqh>
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#include <CairoG2D/Surface.mqh>
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```
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`DemoTheme.mqh` is deliberately shipped alongside them but is **not** part of
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the engine. It holds the light palette and the chart setup that make every
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screenshot in the series look the same, and nothing in the renderer depends on
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it.
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---
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## Scope
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This is a software rasteriser aimed at **interface redraw** — panels that are
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repainted when something happens, not scenes animated at a high frame rate. It
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uses **straight (non-premultiplied) alpha from input to output**, which is what
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`COLOR_FORMAT_ARGB_NORMALIZE` expects.
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---
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## Removing it
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Each demo draws into a single chart object and deletes that object on
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`OnDeinit`, so removing the Expert Advisor leaves the chart exactly as it was
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found. Nothing is written outside the terminal's data folder.
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---
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## Copyright and use
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Copyright 2026, **Sandro Begashvili**
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- mql5.com profile: https://www.mql5.com/en/users/sandrobegashvil
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- Telegram: https://t.me/MrMQL5Developer
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You are free to **use this code in your own projects and to extend it**,
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commercially or otherwise. The only thing asked in return is attribution: keep a
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mention of the author's mql5.com profile in the source you derive from it.
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If you build something with it, I would genuinely like to see it — the Telegram
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link above is the fastest way to reach me.
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