Using HTML5 Canvas to develop complex application

Question

We are developing a web application for CAD designers, existing similar projects are:

• http://mydeco.com/3d-planner/
• http://sunglass.io/

These projects are implemented using either SVG or Canvas. My question is:

1. Considering SVG and Canvas, which one is better for similar projects?
2. Since Canvas only provides a bundle of low-level APIs, is there any existing libraries that handle object rendering, layer management, conflict detection, etc.? For instance, with wxWidgets, Qt or MFC, developers do not have to care about window overlay and rendering in a window system. Thanks a lot :-)

---

UPDATE 2

OK, I've read the posts and I'll try to avoid such kind of questions. Now I've found out this library: KineticJS , which also implements some of the functionalities of SVG. I'm trying to use it and will come up with a conclusion later.

---

UPDATE

Thank you Richard. Moreover, since we are deploying this application to iPad, we are trying to find out an efficient and easy-to-use technology to build it. In 2D environment, does Canvas perform faster than SVG? Is there any pitfalls of SVG on iOS devices? Thanks a lot.

Answer 1

Just to answer from personal experience, I have had more success with SVG in 2D projects and better results with canvas for 3D.

If you want a good library for creating 3D on the client side I would look at threeJs from the amazing Mr Doob.

http://mrdoob.github.com/three.js/

It can use canvas or WebGl for faster rendering.

Hope this helps.