HTML Canvas Graphics
The HTML <canvas> element is used to draw graphics on a web page.
The graphic to the left is created with <canvas>. It shows four
elements: a red rectangle, a gradient rectangle, a multicolor rectangle,
and a multicolor text.
What is HTML Canvas?
The HTML <canvas> element is used to draw graphics, on the fly, via
JavaScript.
The <canvas> element is only a container for graphics. You must use
JavaScript to actually draw the graphics.
Canvas has several methods for drawing paths, boxes, circles, text, and
adding images.
Canvas is supported by all major browsers.
Canvas Examples
A canvas is a rectangular area on an HTML page. By default, a canvas has no
border and no content.
The markup looks like this:
<canvas id="myCanvas" width="200" height="100"></canvas>
Note: Always specify an id attribute (to be referred to in a script), and
a width and height attribute to define the size of the canvas. To add a border,
use the style attribute.
Here is an example of a basic, empty canvas:
Example
<canvas id="myCanvas" width="200" height="100" style="border:1px
solid #000000;">
</canvas>
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Add a JavaScript
After creating the rectangular canvas area, you must add a JavaScript to do
the drawing.
Here are some examples:
Draw a Line
Example
<script>
var c = [Link]("myCanvas");
var ctx = [Link]("2d");
[Link](0, 0);
[Link](200, 100);
[Link]();
</script>
Draw a Circle
Example
<script>
var c = [Link]("myCanvas");
var ctx = [Link]("2d");
[Link]();
[Link](95, 50, 40, 0, 2 * [Link]);
[Link]();
</script>
Draw a Text
Example
<script>
var c = [Link]("myCanvas");
var ctx = [Link]("2d");
[Link] = "30px Arial";
[Link]("Hello World", 10, 50);
</script>
Stroke Text
Example
<script>
var c = [Link]("myCanvas");
var ctx = [Link]("2d");
[Link] = "30px Arial";
[Link]("Hello World", 10, 50);
</script>
Draw Linear Gradient
Example
<script>
var c = [Link]("myCanvas");
var ctx = [Link]("2d");
// Create gradient
var grd = [Link](0, 0, 200, 0);
[Link](0, "red");
[Link](1, "white");
// Fill with gradient
[Link] = grd;
[Link](10, 10, 150, 80);
</script>
Draw Circular Gradient
Example
<script>
var c = [Link]("myCanvas");
var ctx = [Link]("2d");
// Create gradient
var grd = [Link](75, 50, 5, 90, 60, 100);
[Link](0, "red");
[Link](1, "white");
// Fill with gradient
[Link] = grd;
[Link](10, 10, 150, 80);
</script>
Draw Image
Example
<script>
var c = [Link]("myCanvas");
var ctx = [Link]("2d");
var img = [Link]("scream");
[Link](img, 10, 10);
</script>
HTML Canvas Tutorial
To learn more about <canvas>, please read our HTML Canvas Tutorial.
HTML SVG Graphics
SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)
SVG defines vector-based graphics in XML, which can be directly embedded
in HTML pages.
SVG graphics are scalable, and do not lose any quality if they are zoomed or
resized:
SVG
SVG is supported by all major browsers.
What is SVG?
SVG stands for Scalable Vector Graphics
SVG is used to define vector-based graphics for the Web
SVG defines graphics in XML format
Each element and attribute in SVG files can be animated
SVG is a W3C recommendation
SVG integrates with other standards, such as CSS, DOM, XSL and JavaScript
The <svg> Element
The HTML <svg> element is a container for SVG graphics.
SVG has several methods for drawing paths, rectangles, circles, polygons,
text, and much more.
SVG Circle
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<svg width="100" height="100">
<circle cx="50" cy="50" r="40" stroke="green" stroke-width="4" fi
ll="yellow" />
</svg>
</body>
</html>
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SVG Rectangle
Example
<svg width="400" height="120">
<rect x="10" y="10" width="200" height="100" stroke="red" stroke-
width="6" fill="blue" />
</svg>
SVG Rectangle with Opacity and
Rounded Corners
Example
<svg width="400" height="180">
<rect x="50" y="20" rx="20" ry="20" width="150" height="150"
style="fill:red;stroke:black;stroke-width:5;opacity:0.5" />
</svg>
SVG Star
Example
<svg width="300" height="200">
<polygon points="100,10 40,198 190,78 10,78 160,198"
style="fill:lime;stroke:purple;stroke-width:5;fill-
rule:evenodd;" />
</svg>
SVG Gradient Ellipse and Text
SVG
Example
<svg height="130" width="500">
<defs>
<linearGradient id="grad1">
<stop offset="0%" stop-color="yellow" />
<stop offset="100%" stop-color="red" />
</linearGradient>
</defs>
<ellipse cx="100" cy="70" rx="85" ry="55" fill="url(#grad1)" />
<text fill="#ffffff" font-size="45" font-family="Verdana" x="50"
y="86">SVG</text>
Sorry, your browser does not support inline SVG.
</svg>
Differences Between SVG and Canvas
SVG is a language for describing 2D graphics in XML, while Canvas draws 2D
graphics, on the fly (with JavaScript).
SVG is XML based, which means that every element is available within the
SVG DOM. You can attach JavaScript event handlers to SVG graphics.
In SVG, each drawn shape is remembered as an object. If attributes of an
SVG object are changed, the browser can automatically re-render the shape.
Canvas is rendered pixel by pixel. In canvas, once the graphic is drawn, it is
forgotten by the browser. If its position should be changed, the entire scene
needs to be redrawn, including any objects that might have been covered by
the graphic.
Comparison of SVG and Canvas
The table below shows some important differences between Canvas and
SVG:
SVG Canvas
Resolution independent Resolution depend
Support for event handlers No support for eve
Good text rendering capabilities
Slow rendering if complex handlers
Not suited for game applications
Poor text rendering
capabilities
You can save the
resulting image as
png or .jpg
Well suited for
graphic-intensive
games
SVG Tutorial
To learn more about SVG, please read our SVG Tutorial.