+#ifndef __DALI_TOOLKIT_TEXT_BACKEND_H__
+#define __DALI_TOOLKIT_TEXT_BACKEND_H__
+
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2015 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ *
+ */
+
+// EXTERNAL INCLUDES
+#include <dali/public-api/object/base-handle.h>
+
+// INTERNAL INCLUDES
+#include <dali-toolkit/public-api/text/rendering/text-renderer.h>
+
+namespace Dali
+{
+
+namespace Toolkit
+{
+
+namespace Text
+{
+
+namespace Internal DALI_INTERNAL
+{
+class Backend;
+}
+
+// The type of text renderer required
+enum RenderingType
+{
+ RENDERING_BASIC, ///< A bitmap-based reference implementation
+ RENDERING_SHARED_ATLAS ///< A bitmap-based solution where renderers can share a texture atlas
+};
+
+/**
+ * @brief Provides access to different text rendering backends.
+ */
+class DALI_IMPORT_API Backend : public BaseHandle
+{
+public:
+
+ /**
+ * @brief Retrieve a handle to the Backend instance.
+ *
+ * @return A handle to the Backend
+ */
+ static Backend Get();
+
+ /**
+ * @brief Create a renderer from a particluar rendering type.
+ *
+ * @param[in] renderingType The type of rendering required.
+ * @return A handle to the newly created renderer.
+ */
+ RendererPtr NewRenderer( unsigned int renderingType );
+
+ /**
+ * @brief Create an uninitialized TextAbstraction handle.
+ */
+ Backend();
+
+ /**
+ * @brief Destructor
+ *
+ * This is non-virtual since derived Handle types must not contain data or virtual methods.
+ */
+ ~Backend();
+
+ /**
+ * @brief This copy constructor is required for (smart) pointer semantics.
+ *
+ * @param[in] handle A reference to the copied handle.
+ */
+ Backend( const Backend& handle );
+
+ /**
+ * @brief This assignment operator is required for (smart) pointer semantics.
+ *
+ * @param [in] handle A reference to the copied handle.
+ * @return A reference to this.
+ */
+ Backend& operator=( const Backend& handle );
+
+public: // Not intended for application developers
+
+ /**
+ * @brief This constructor is used by Backend::Get().
+ *
+ * @param[in] backend A pointer to the internal backend object.
+ */
+ explicit DALI_INTERNAL Backend( Internal::Backend* backend );
+};
+
+} // namespace Text
+
+} // namespace Toolkit
+
+} // namespace Dali
+
+#endif // __DALI_TOOLKIT_TEXT_BACKEND_H__