Aug 99 Online
Volume Number: 15
Issue Number: 8
Column Tag: MacTech Online
MacTech Online
by Jeff Clites, online@mactech.com
Gimp
Over the last couple of months we've taken a look at several open source (or
"open-source-like") software projects from the Unix and Linux communities, and I
couldn't leave the topic without mentioning the Gimp. Gimp (the GNU Image
Manipulation Program, affectionately referred to as the Gimp) is the Photoshop of the
Linux world. It is a free, open-source application for doing image manipulation, which
found its humble beginnings with Peter Mattis and Spencer Kimball, two Berkeley
undergraduates who (as the story goes) needed a quick replacement for a senior
project that was going poorly. It has grown since then to be a quite popular and
impressive piece of software. Notably, it can handle an insane number of images
simultaneously, limited only by available memory (see the Publish Magazine link
below for a screenshot of the Gimp with 800 images open); it has a plug-in API to
allow third parties to implement their own effects filters; and it's scriptable, using
either its own scripting language (Script-Fu, which is Scheme-based) or Perl. In
fact, there is a book by O'Reilly and Associates which covers this last topic
extensively, Programming Web Graphics with Perl & GNU Software, by Shawn P.
Wallace (ISBN 1-56592-478-9).
The GIMP Homepagehttp://www.gimp.org/
GIMP Gives Photoshop a Run for Its Money (Publish
Magazine)http://www.publish.com/news/9807/news1.html#wam
About the Gimphttp://www.gimp.org/the_gimp_about.html
Programming Web Graphics with Perl & GNU
Softwarehttp://www.oreilly.com/catalog/prowg/ The catch, of course, is that the Gimp doesn't run under the Mac OS. It relies heavily on
the X Window system, so also does not run on Mac OS X Server, even given its BSD
compatibility layer. (This isn't entirely true; the Gimp can operate in non-interactive
batch mode without requiring X Windows, and in this mode it runs on FreeBSD so will
probably compile on Mac OS X Server.) While it is likely that there will eventually be
third-party X Windows implementations available for Mac OS X, I worry that they
would leave the Gimp (and other applications) with a distinctly un-Macintosh feel. A
more complete solution would probably involve porting the GUI of Gimp to use a Mac
API (probably the Yellow Box/Cocoa), but it's hard to say whether this would be
tantamount to rewriting the entire application. (One encouraging note is the existence
of a non-X-Windows-dependent Windows port.) But I hope that the Macintosh
community gives the Gimp and similar applications some serious consideration - they
are powerful alternatives to their commercial counterparts. We can't let Windows hog
the good toys, can we?
GTk+ and GIMP for Windowshttp://user.sgic.fi/~tml/gimp/win32/
And there are real opportunities here for Mac developers to make a contribution. For
instance, one place the Gimp falls down is in color management. You can basically only
work in RGB mode - there is no built-in support for CMYK or process colors, a
reflection of the Gimp's origin as a tool for web graphics. I'm not sure whether there
are currently plans to change this, but this is where an Apple-flavored developer
influence could really shine. The Gimp with ColorSync would be sweet. Just take a look
at Apple's Color Technologies page if you need to be reminded just how well Apple does
color.
Apple - Mac OS Color Technologieshttp://developer.apple.com/macos/color.html
In additional to the usual complement of electronic documentation (there's a user's
manual available online and in a variety of downloadable formats, as well as an FAQ),
there are have also been a few books published on the Gimp. The above-mentioned
O'Reilly book tells you what you need to know as a programmer or scripter of the
Gimp, and The Artists' Guide to the GIMP, by Michael J. Hammel (ISBN
1578310113), is an extensive guide for those simply wishing to use it.
GUM v.1.0.0 (The GIMP User Manual)http://manual.gimp.org/
GIMP User FAQhttp://www.rru.com/~meo/gimp/faq-user.html
For the moment, you'll have to install Linux to get to the Gimp, but both experiences
(running Gimp and installing Linux) can be fun in their own ways. (In fact, the Gimp
is included with the LinuxPPC distribution.) And who knows, maybe you'll like it so
much that you'll sign on to a new porting effort, or even start one. At the other
extreme, if you would like the Gimp delivered to you on a CD, with the option of
commercial support, check out WilberWorks, Inc. They're the Red Hat of the Gimp, so
to speak.
LinuxPPChttp://linuxppc.org/
WilberWorks, Inc.http://www.wilberworks.com
When you've had enough of playing with pictures, cruise on over to the MacTech Online
web pages at http://www.mactech.com/online/, and see what else we have stirring.