SMRTR ProgrammingFeb 9, 2026lobste.rs

Learnings from creating a GUI library

SMRTR summary

Building a GUI library with specific requirements like C interface, WASM compilation, RTL support, and immediate mode API revealed key challenges. Keyboard navigation proved extremely complex with countless edge cases. The architecture evolved from monolithic design to separate layers for boxes, spots, and shapes. Tiled SDF rendering with complexity-based shader dispatch achieved sub-millisecond performance at 4K.

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