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From: unknown@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (The Unknown User)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
Subject: Re: gif viewers
Message-ID: <16220@darkstar.ucsc.edu>
Date: 26 May 91 06:53:48 GMT
Article-I.D.: darkstar.16220
References: <9105260435.AA1192269@nike.calpoly.edu>
Sender: usenet@darkstar.ucsc.edu
Organization: University of California, Santa Cruz; Open Access Computing
Lines: 38


carndt@NIKE.CALPOLY.EDU (Chris Arndt) writes:
>I am looking for a GIF image viewer for my GS. I have tried gif.sys16
>(gif.3200.shk). It only handles one size image, and the NASA images
>I am interested in are larger than that.

	Gif3200 deinitely CAN handle images greater than 320 * 200. Either
you have the earlier version, or possibly misunderstood the documentation.
(the latter is not meant as an insult)

	I believe version .2 is the one that handles bigger images.
Unfortunately it's kind of a pain to use now since you have to either
scale an image down (which isn't that bad), or start at an arbitrary 
X,Y position in the picture...

	SHRConvert (or SuperConvert, the commercial "cousin" of SHRConvert
that I believe has many more options than SHRConvert) is the only option
if you want to be able to scroll around a full picture. Note that
both SHRConvert and SuperConvert (*) are really really really really 
painfully slow. I can not say that I have done better, as I have not written
a GIF decoder, but Todd Whisell has said that original 'test runs' of 
a program he's in the process of writing that were FULLY IN C were faster
than SHRConvert. And a BASIC/machine language combo was faster too.

	When Lord High Giffer (Todd Whisell's program) comes out, you'll
see we've acheived speed and elegance in GIF decoders on the GS (finally).

(*) I am making an assumption here. I mailed Jason Harper on CompuServe
about the "speed contest" for GIF decoders on the GS.. He said he had no
interest in trying to make his the fastest decoder. If his were better 
I guess he'd have a valid point, but from the partially completed versions
of GIF3200 (i.e. version .2, not a "full" release version) and LHG (I'm a 
beta tester), they can create output just as nice as SHRConvert in 
times sometimes an order of magnitude better.
-- 
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