Gks

GKS, or Graphical Kernel System, is a historical, portable, device‑independent standard for rendering two‑dimensional vector graphics. It was designed to provide a common API that would allow graphics applications to run on different hardware and software environments with consistent behavior.

The GKS API offers a small, device‑independent set of graphics primitives and facilities. Core drawing operations include polylines, polymarkers, and fill areas, along with text rendering. It also supports cell arrays for color or grayscale images and attributes such as line style, marker type, and color. Programs create a GKS context, open a workstation corresponding to a target device (display, printer, or metafile), issue drawing commands, and manage metafiles that record and replay drawing sequences. The interface is stateful and emphasizes device independence, enabling the same program to render content on diverse devices without modification.

Historically, GKS emerged in the 1970s as part of an effort to standardize graphics across platforms. It was formalized as an international standard in the 1980s and became influential as a foundational graphics API. GKS is considered the precursor to more advanced standards such as PHIGS (Programmer’s Hierarchical Interactive Graphics System), which extended and augmented the ideas of GKS for 3D and interactive graphics.

Legacy and influence: GKS helped shape subsequent graphics interfaces and contributed to concepts that persisted in later APIs, even as it was gradually superseded by newer, more capable systems. Some legacy software and educational resources still reference GKS as an important step in the history of computer graphics.

Note: GKS can also refer to other entities in different fields; this article focuses on Graphical Kernel System.