Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!sharkey!indetech!vsi1!teda!netcom!marcos
From: marcos@netcom.UUCP (Marcos H. Woehrmann)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics
Subject: Re: Image File Format Survey
Message-ID: <12435@netcom.UUCP>
Date: 23 Aug 90 05:24:45 GMT
References: <12345@netcom.UUCP>
Organization: Netcom- The Bay Area's Public Access Unix System {408 241-9760 guest}
Lines: 55

In article <12345@netcom.UUCP>, marcos@netcom.UUCP (Marcos H. Woehrmann) writes:
> 
> I'm working on some software which will convert between various image
> file formats and have been thinking about which formats to support. 
> Some, like GIF and mac PICT are obvious, but I know there are lots of
> others.
>  
> Therefore I'm conducting a survey: if you are using one or more image
> file formats please mail me and let me know which ones (don't post,
> I'll summarize the results in few weeks).  I'm especially intersted in
> 16 & 24 bit formats (and 8 bit formats on non-IBM PCs and Macs).
>  

Several people (>7) have sent me mail telling me I'm foolish for
writing another Image File Format Converter; I should be starting with
PBMPLUS and adding the features I need.
 
Well, if that many people bothered to send me mail, there must be
hundreds who are thinking the same thing (and who's mail is making its
way to me now).  So to avoid having to answer everyone individually
I'll post the reasons I'm not using PBMPLUS:
 
1.  I'm planning to sell my software (at least as shareware and
    probably as a commercial product).  PBMPLUS documentation states:
    "Permission to use, copy ...  for any purpose and WITHOUT FEE
    (emphasis mine) is hereby granted...".  I'm not a lawyer (nor do I
    play one on TV) but I feel that Jef wouldn't approve of my selling
    his software.
 
2.  My software will run on an IBM PC under MS-DOS and a MAC under
    MacOS 6.0.x (as well as Suns, Decs, and all of the other unix
    boxes).  The last I checked PBMPLUS does not work unless you have
    lots of memory (I posted a question to the net a while ago asking
    if anyone had gotten PBMPLUS to compile under MS-DOS; I got one
    reply from someone who had gotten a couple of the modules to work
    with small images).  My software won't require more than 256k of
    actual memory (though it will use more if you have it).
 
3.  My software will be better than PBMPLUS :-).  How many people still
    use the first word processor (WordStar, in my case) or spreadsheet
    (VisiCalc) they ever used?  Just because there is a package out
    there doesn't mean that someone shouldn't write a better one.
 
So, please answer my survey.  (Oh, one more thing, if you mention a
really obscure file format, give me a hint where I might find the
description).

marcos

-- 
Marcos H. Woehrmann    {claris|apple}!netcom!marcos  or  marcos@netcom

  "These are but a few examples of what can happen when the human mind is
   employed to learn, to probe, to question as opposed to merely keeping
   the ears from touching." -- rec.humor.funny 90.07.16