Provided by: libafterimage-dev_2.2.12-2_amd64 
NAME
afterimage - overview of libAfterImage image library libAfterImage/libAfterImage
NAMElibAfterImage
- generic imaging library originally designed for AfterStep X Window Manager.
PURPOSE
libAfterImage is the imaging library implemented for AfterStep X Window Manager. It has
been generalized to be suitable for any application in need of robust graphics engine.
It provides facilities for loading images from files of different formats, compressed in
memory storage of images, scaling, tinting/shading, flipping and superimposition of
arbitrary number of images over each other. In addition it allows for linear gradients
drawing, and antialiased/smoothed text drawing using both FreeType library and X Window
fonts.
Primary goals of this library are to achieve exceptional quality of images and text,
making code fast and small at the same time. Additional steps are taken to compensate for
screen colordepth limitation, and different error diffusion algorithms are used to provide
for smooth images even in low colordepth modes.
HISTORY
libAfterImage has been implemented as an attempt to address several issues. First one, and
most important is that X Window System completely lacks any tools for image manipulation,
except for very rudimentary operations. With Introduction of Render extentions in XFree86
4.0 that situation is changing, but still is far from perfect. There need is therefore to
implement client side image manipulation. That inturn creates a problem of image data
transfer between Server and client.
To avoid that full-time image storage on the client side is needed. Which is memory
extensive. So there appears to be a need for some in-memory compression.
On the other side there is an image quality issue. Its easy to write a scaling function by
simply dropping out or duplicating pixels, but quality is awfull. What is needed is very
fast averaging/interpolation code. That brings us to the issue of 8 bits per channel. Add
two pixels together and you get overflow. So all the math has to be performed in different
colorspace and then converted back. On the other side, such a conversion may discard
valuable bits, so some compensation method has to be implemented.
On the text drawing side of things, there are numerous problems just as well. Native X
fonts look ugly as soon as you try to show any decently sized text. That is supposed to be
solved with said Render extensions to XFree86, but as experiense has shown, things aren't
as easy as it looks, besides one wants his app to run well under any X Server. FreeType
library provides a solution, but not always available. Another problem is that if you keep
all your images on the client side, you want to draw text on client side as well.
The solution is to provide transparent interface that could use both X fonts and FreeType,
cache glyphs on the client side and possibly perform smoothing of ugly X fonts.
There is no library solving all this problems in one fell swoop, except for monstrous
ones, like ImLib.
Hence libAfterImage has come to life.
DESCRIPTION
libAfterStep provides sevarl facilities.
1. X Visual abstruction layer via ASVisual. This layer handles color management, transfer
of data to and from X Server, and other screen related stuff.
2. Scanline handling facility via ASScanline. ASScanline is the most widely used structure
since image handling is implemented on per-scanline basis.
3. Image storage, trasformation and rendering via ASImage. ASImage provides for generic
container used for any image or text manipulation. It incorporates such a robust
facilities as in-memory RLE compression, separate channel storage of 4 channels ( Alpha,
Red, Green, and Blue ) with 8 bit per channel.
4. Simplified font handling facility via ASFont and ASFointManager. All the font handling
is done using ASFont structure, no matter what type of font is used. Any font supported by
X11 and FreeType can be used.
5. Transparent image file reading for many different formats. Included built-in XPM
reading code and XCF ( GIMP's native format ). Overall supported: via external libraries
: XPM, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, GIF via built in code : XPM, XCF, PNM, PPM, BMP, ICO, CUR Note
that XPM can be supported both via built-in code or via libXpm, depending on compilation
configuration. Actuall image file format is autodetected from the file contents - file
name extension is not used and can be anything at all.
6. Image export into many popular file formats. Currently implemented : XPM, JPEG, PNG,
GIF. Work is underway to implement support for TIFF, XCF, BMP, ICO.
7. Image quantization to arbitrary size colormap.
8. libAfterImage could be used without X window system, which is coninient for such thing
as web development. XML Image manipulation tool, that could be used in such activity is
included (see ascompose.c)
9. Image reference counting
USES
libAfterBase - AfterStep basic functionality library. That Includes Hash tables, file
search methods, message output, generic types. However effort has been made to allow for
standalone configuration as well. If libAfterBase is not found at compilation time -
libAfterImage will use extract from libAfterBase included with libAfterImage.
SEE ALSO
Examples API Reference
TODO
Implement support for Targa and PCX image format and maybe some other formats as well.
Implement complete support for I18N internationalization.
Implement color<->pixel conversion for all colordepths.
AUTHOR
Sasha Vasko <sasha at aftercode dot net>
libAfterImage/Examples
EXAMPLE
ASView - image loading from the file and displaying in window. ASScale - image loading
from file and scaling to arbitrary size. ASTile - image loading from file, tiling and
tinting to arbitrary
size and color. ASMerge - imgae loading and merging with another image. ASGrad
- mutlipoint gradient drawing. ASFlip - image loading from file and rotation. ASText -
trexturized semitransparent antialised text drawing.
SEE ALSO
API Reference
libAfterImage/API Reference
CHILDREN
Headers :
ascmap.h asfont.h asimage.h asvisual.h blender.h export.h
import.h transform.h ximage.h Structures :
ColorPair
ASScanline
ASVisual
ASImage
ASImageManager
ASImageBevel
ASImageDecoder
ASImageOutput
ASImageLayer
ASGradient
ASFontManager
ASFont
ASGlyph
ASGlyphRange
ASColormap
ASImageExportParams
ASVectorPalette
Functions :
ASScanline handling:
prepare_scanline(), free_scanline()
ASVisual initialization :
query_screen_visual(), setup_truecolor_visual(),
setup_pseudo_visual(), setup_as_colormap(),
create_asvisual(), create_asvisual_for_id(),
destroy_asvisual()
ASVisual encoding/decoding :
visual2visual_prop(), visual_prop2visual()
ASVisual convenience functions :
create_visual_window(), create_visual_pixmap(),
create_visual_ximage(), create_visual_gc()
Colorspace conversion :
rgb2value(), rgb2saturation(), rgb2hue(), rgb2luminance(),
rgb2hsv(), rgb2hls(), hsv2rgb(), hls2rgb(),
degrees2hue16(), hue162degrees(), normalize_degrees_val()
Image quantization :
colormap_asimage(), destroy_colormap()
merge_scanline methods :
alphablend_scanlines(), allanon_scanlines(),
tint_scanlines(), add_scanlines(), sub_scanlines(),
diff_scanlines(), darken_scanlines(), lighten_scanlines(),
screen_scanlines(), overlay_scanlines(), hue_scanlines(),
saturate_scanlines(), value_scanlines(),
colorize_scanlines(), dissipate_scanlines().
ASImage handling :
asimage_init(), asimage_start(), create_asimage(),
clone_asimage(), destroy_asimage()
ASImage channel data manipulations :
get_asimage_chanmask(), move_asimage_channel(),
copy_asimage_channel(), copy_asimage_lines()
ImageManager Reference counting and managing :
create_image_manager(), destroy_image_manager(),
store_asimage(), fetch_asimage(), dup_asimage(),
release_asimage(), release_asimage_by_name()
Layers helper functions :
init_image_layers(), create_image_layers(),
destroy_image_layers()
Encoding :
asimage_add_line(), asimage_add_line_mono(),
asimage_print_line()
Decoding :
start_image_decoding(), stop_image_decoding(),
asimage_decode_line (), set_decoder_shift(),
set_decoder_bevel_geom(), set_decoder_back_color()
ASImage from scientific data :
set_asimage_vector(), colorize_asimage_vector(),
create_asimage_from_vector()
Output :
start_image_output(), set_image_output_back_color(),
toggle_image_output_direction(), stop_image_output()
X11 conversions :
ximage2asimage(), pixmap2asimage(), asimage2ximage(),
asimage2mask_ximage(), asimage2pixmap(), asimage2mask()
Transformations :
scale_asimage(), tile_asimage(), merge_layers(),
make_gradient(),
flip_asimage(), mirror_asimage(), pad_asimage(),
blur_asimage_gauss(), fill_asimage(), adjust_asimage_hsv()
Import :
file2ASImage(), file2pixmap()
Export :
ASImage2file()
Text Drawing :
create_font_manager(), destroy_font_manager(),
open_freetype_font(), open_X11_font(), get_asfont(),
release_font(), print_asfont(), print_asglyph(),
draw_text(), draw_fancy_text()