SVGKit is a Cocoa framework for rendering SVG files as Core Animation layers. All shapes are represented by instances of the CAShapeLayer class, and are, by design, animatable. SVGKit is compatible with the latest Mac OS X and iOS SDK's. To use SVGKit in your iOS application, simply drag the Core and iOS folders into your Xcode project. See SVGPad for a working sample. To use SVGKit in your Mac OS X application, build the SVGKit Xcode project and link your application against the built framework. Since CAShapeLayer does not support gradient fills, support for gradients has been temporarily removed.

First, initialize an instance of SVGDocument, the model object which encompasses the entire SVG element tree. This can be accomplished using the initWithContentsOfFile: initializer. To load a SVG file which resides in your application bundle, use the documentNamed: class method and pass in a file name (without the extension). The SVGDocument class encapsulates certain document metadata, including width, height, version, title, and description.

SVGDocument *document = [SVGDocument documentNamed:@"Monkey"]; // located in the application bundle

To render the document in a view, we need to access the document's Core Animation layer tree. On Mac OS X, make sure your instance of NSView is layer-backed. The layer tree can be accessed using the layerTree method on SVGDocument, for example:

NSView *ourView = ... ;
[ourView setWantsLayer:YES];
[ourView.layer addSublayer:[document layerTree]];

Your SVG file should now be rendered on-screen. You can query for specific layers by using the layerWithIdentifier: method, also defined on SVGDocument. The identifier corresponds to the id attribute defined on elements. Once a reference to a subclass of CALayer is returned, its properties can be animated using implicit or explicit Core Animation animations.

Feel free to report any issues or suggest improvements in the issue tracker.