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https://github.com/zserge/fenster

The most minimal cross-platform GUI library
https://github.com/zserge/fenster

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The most minimal cross-platform GUI library

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README 

        
# Fenster



Fenster /ˈfɛnstɐ/ -- a German word for "window".



This library provides the most minimal and highly opinionated way to display a cross-platform 2D canvas. If you remember Borland BGI or drawing things in QBASIC or `INT 10h`- you know what I mean. As a nice bonus you also get cross-platform keyboard/mouse input and audio playback in only a few lines of code.



## What it does for you



* Single application window of given size with a title.

* Application lifecycle and system events are all handled automatically.

* Minimal 24-bit RGB framebuffer.

* Cross-platform keyboard events (keycodes).

* Cross-platform mouse events (X/Y + mouse click).

* Cross-platform timers to have a stable FPS rate.

* Cross-platform audio playback (WinMM, CoreAudio, ALSA).

* Simple polling API without a need for callbacks or multithreading (like Arduino/Processing).

* One C99 header of ~300LOC, easy to understand and extend.

* Go bindings (`import "github.com/zserge/fenster"`, see [godoc](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/zserge/fenster))

* Zig bindings (see [examples/minimal-zig](/examples/minimal-zig))

* Lua bindings (see https://github.com/jonasgeiler/lua-fenster)

* And, yes, [it can run Doom](/examples/doom-c)!



## Example



Here's how to draw white noise:



```c

// main.c

#include "fenster.h"

#define W 320

#define H 240

int main() {

  uint32_t buf[W * H];

  struct fenster f = { .title = "hello", .width = W, .height = H, .buf = buf };

  fenster_open(&f);

  while (fenster_loop(&f) == 0) {

    for (int i = 0; i < W; i++) {

      for (int j = 0; j < H; j++) {

        fenster_pixel(&f, i, j) = rand();

      }

    }

  }

  fenster_close(&f);

  return 0;

}

```



Compile it and run:



```

# Linux

cc main.c -lX11 -lasound -o main && ./main

# macOS

cc main.c -framework Cocoa -framework AudioToolbox -o main && ./main

# windows

cc main.c -lgdi32 -lwinmm -o main.exe && main.exe

```



That's it.



## API



API is designed to be a polling loop, where on every iteration the framebuffer get updated and the user input (mouse/keyboard) can be polled.



```c

struct fenster {

  const char *title; /* window title */

  const int width; /* window width */

  const int height; /* window height */

  uint32_t *buf; /* window pixels, 24-bit RGB, row by row, pixel by pixel */

  int keys[256]; /* keys are mostly ASCII, but arrows are 17..20 */

  int mod;       /* mod is 4 bits mask, ctrl=1, shift=2, alt=4, meta=8 */

  int x;         /* mouse X coordinate */

  int y;         /* mouse Y coordinate */

  int mouse;     /* 0 = no buttons pressed, 1 = left button pressed */

};

```



* `int fenster_open(struct fenster *f)` - opens a new app window.

* `int fenster_loop(struct fenster *f)` - handles system events and refreshes the canvas. Returns negative values when app window is closed.

* `void fenster_close(struct fenster *f)` - closes the window and exists the graphical app.

* `void fenster_sleep(int ms)` - pauses for `ms` milliseconds.

* `int64_t fenster_time()` - returns current time in milliseconds.

* `fenster_pixel(f, x, y) = 0xRRGGBB` - set pixel color.

* `uint32_t px = fenster_pixel(f, x, y);` - get pixel color.



See [examples/drawing-c](/examples/drawing-c) for more old-school drawing primitives, but also feel free to experiment with your own graphical algorithms!



## License



Code is distributed under MIT license, feel free to use it in your proprietary projects as well.