title: C++ GUI Development - Bitmap vs. Vector Graphics CPU Usage
body: <p>I'm currently in the process of designing and developing GUI's for some audio applications made in C++ (using the Juce framework).</p>
  
  <p>So far I've been playing with using bitmap graphics to create custom sliders and dials, by using 'film strip' style images to animate the components (meaning when the user interacts with a slider it triggers a method that changes the offset of a film-strip image to change the components appearance). Depending on the size of the original image and the number of 'frames', the CPU usage level changes quite dramatically.</p>
  
  <p>Firstly, what would be the most efficient bitmap file format to use in terms of CPU consumption? At the moment I'm using PNG images. </p>
  
  <p>Secondly, would it be more efficient to use vector graphics for these kind of graphical components? I understand the main differences between bitmap and vector graphics, but I haven't found any information regarding their CPU usage levels with regard to GUI interaction.</p>
  
  <p>Or would CPU usage be down to the particular methods/functions/libraries/frameworks being used?</p>
  
  <p>Thanks!</p>