Version 1.68.1

Memory reliability and .NET Core 3.0 support · Released November 22, 2019 · NuGet · GitHub Release

Highlights

This release focuses on memory reliability, fixing several issues with managed-native interop and static instance lifetimes. It also brings performance improvements via Clang on Win32, new Span<T> overloads across SkiaSharp and HarfBuzzSharp, and a significant expansion of the HarfBuzz binding surface.

Breaking Changes

None in this release.

New Features

Memory & Interop

• Managed-native delegate interop overhaul — Removed intermediate dictionary for delegate interop, improving performance and reliability.
• Clang on Win32 — Switched native builds to Clang for improved performance on Windows.

New APIs

• SKDrawable bindings — Full bindings for the Skia drawable type. ❤️ @charlenni (#940)
• SKColorSpace APIs — Added colorspace creation and management APIs.
• SKRunBuffer / SKHorizontalRunBuffer / SKPositionedRunBuffer — New run buffer types for SKTextBlob and SKTextBlobBuilder.
• SKShader from SKPicture — Create shaders directly from recorded pictures. ❤️ @alexandrvslv
• Additional SKRegion members — Expanded region operations. ❤️ @vexx32x
• Additional SKPaint and SKMatrix members — More paint and matrix helpers. ❤️ @MarchingCube
• Span<T> overloads — Added Span<T> alternatives alongside existing byte[] and IntPtr overloads.

Packages & Platform Support

• SkiaSharp.NativeAssets.Linux.NoDependencies — New NuGet package for Linux environments without libfontconfig.
• View packages split — SkiaSharp.Views split into dedicated packages: SkiaSharp.Views.WPF, SkiaSharp.Views.WindowsForms, SkiaSharp.Views.Gtk3, SkiaSharp.Views.Gtk2, and SkiaSharp.Views.Desktop.Common.
• GTK# 3 support — New SKDrawingArea widget for GTK# 3 applications.

Xamarin.Forms

• WPF support — Initial WPF backend via SkiaSharp.Views.Forms.WPF.
• Updated to Xamarin.Forms v4.x — Compatibility with the latest Forms release.
• Mouse wheel support — SKCanvasView and SKGLView now handle mouse wheel events. ❤️ @charlenni

HarfBuzz

• Updated to HarfBuzz 2.6.1 — Major version bump with new APIs. ❤️ @Gillibald
• Expanded HarfBuzz bindings — Many new APIs for a more complete binding surface. ❤️ @Gillibald
• Span<T> overloads for HarfBuzzSharp — Consistent with SkiaSharp's new span support. ❤️ @Gillibald

Bug Fixes

• Fixed several issues with static instances of native objects being accidentally destroyed.
• Fixed several invalid memory operations in managed-native interop.
• Fixed SKDocument underlying stream being destroyed prematurely.
• Fixed typeface managed stream not being released correctly.
• Fixed incorrect native library version in Full Framework Xamarin.Mac.
• Fixed Android emulator rendering incorrect colors. ❤️ @inforithmics
• Fixed System.Drawing.Bitmap to SKPixmap conversion. ❤️ @Odirb
• Improved SKSwapChainPanel stability on UWP.

Maintenance

• P/Invoke layer is now generated along with structs and enums.
• Documentation moved to the SkiaSharp-API-docs repository.
• Build improvements. ❤️ @danien
• Documentation improvements. ❤️ @HankiDesign

Community Contributors ❤️

Contributor	What They Did
@charlenni	SKDrawable bindings, mouse wheel support in Forms
@Gillibald	HarfBuzz 2.6.1 upgrade, expanded APIs, Span<T> overloads
@vexx32x	Additional SKRegion members
@MarchingCube	Additional SKPaint and SKMatrix members
@alexandrvslv	SKShader from SKPicture
@inforithmics	Android emulator color fix
@Odirb	System.Drawing.Bitmap conversion fix
@danien	Build improvements
@HankiDesign	Documentation improvements

Preview Builds

Six preview builds (147, 153, 165, 169, 170, 172) were published between September and November 2019 leading up to this stable release.

Links

• Full Changelog
• NuGet Package
• Milestone