Re: ANNOUNCE: gtk-image-viewer-0.0.1

[dov imagic weizmann ac il]

I was pleased at the discussion that my announcement caused,
and I think it was a valid one. I admit that I was not fully aware of
the capabilities of gqview and eog and I guess there is some overlap
in the functionalities between them. But I still think there is
enough justice for gtk_image_viewer and for giv, that I have to
outline in more detailed documentation. Still here are a list of
what makes gtk_image_viewer different and justifyable in my opinion:

* gtk_image_viewer is a widget which makes it very easy to incorporate
  its functionality in any application that requires zoomable image
  display. E.g. fax-viewers, gimp plugins, medical images viewing
  programs, etc.

* gtk_image_viewer further provides a framework for dealing with any
  zoomable 2D environment. Internally it does all the calculations of
  the relation between image coordinates and display coordinates and
  it provides callback functions for connecting to this. The standard
  bindings of the mouse and the keyboard changes this transformation
  and the application program is just notified about what part of the
  window needs to be redrawn. This framework makes it very easy to
  create a viewer for any 2D zoomable data, e.g. vector data,
  fractals. I hope to give a better example of how this works in the
  next version of the library.

* By providing both image and vector capabilities gtk_image_viewer
  and giv are perfect e.g. for the vision and astrophysics communities
  that may draw contour plots on top of their acquired images.

* giv is using this callback facility to draw vecter graphics. It
  is in routine use to show complex electronic CAD data that consists
  of hundreds of thousands of vectors of various colors and
  thicknesses. I hope to create an example of this from the CIA world
  data once I manage to parse their format. Thus giv may be used both
  for images and for vector graphics.

* By creating a perl binding for the widget and in the combination
  with PDL it should be possible to create a block for image display
  similar to what is available in matlab and IDL. (I am looking for
  a volunteer to do this!)

I hope this clears some things up.

Regards,
--
                                                        ___   ___
                                                      /  o  \   o \
Dov Grobgeld                                         ( o  o  ) o   |
The Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel             \  o  /o  o /
"Where the tree of wisdom carries oranges"              | |   | |
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