Re: Kivio support ?

[Lars Clausen <lrclause cs uiuc edu>]

On Fri, 8 Jun 2001, Hubert Figuiere wrote:

> I was wondering if someone actually planned to write a Kivio[*]
> import/export plug-in. That would be great that Dia be open to data
> exchange with other open source Diagramming software.

Hadn't seen that.  There's a couple things in there that we should
consider, like subselections and automatically refinable grid.  No online
manual, so I had to install it (yum, apt-get:).  Ah, here we go.

The Kivio format is gzipped XML, but with binary junk at the front.  The
stencils (shapes) that are used in the file are stored in it (a neat
feature, but should be optional for Dia).  Other than that, it looks quite
easy, at least to export to.

I'm thinking again that the exporters should be told when something forms a
connected whole.  The Kivio exporter would be able to make a stencil
directly, while a less intelligent exporter (like XFig) would at least be
able to group them together.  Just having pseudo-render functions to mark
start and end of a shape, hm?

-Lars

-- 
Lars Clausen (http://shasta.cs.uiuc.edu/~lrclause) | Hårdgrim of Numenor
"I do not agree with a word that you say, but I    | Retainer of Sir Kegg
will defend to the death your right to say it."    |   of Westfield
    --Evelyn Beatrice Hall paraphrasing Voltaire   | Chaos Berserker of Khorne