I've read in the documentation that the NSString category method drawInRect is good for small amounts of text, but is too much overhead for large amounts. The alternative in my case would be to use Core Text CTFrameDraw.
My question is, what is the "cut-off" point between using drawInRect vs Core Text? Is Core Text always faster than drawInRect? If the extra programming is not the issue, should I always just use Core Text instead of drawInRect, even for small strings?
Mostly I'll be drawing paragraphs, but sometimes they can be short lines too.
For me it comes to use core text when I have some specific requirements from the graphic designer. For instance label that need to mix colors, type, font size etc. drawRect is method that draws something in a view layer, is just a wrapper around CG functions, core text is full framework to deal on how to draw text: change fonts, spaces, interlines. I mean is not fair as a comparison, a better question could be when it comes to use core text instead of common UI text porpoise obejects and the answer is based on your app design-UI related requirements. Hope this helps.