Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!ils.nwu.edu!mccoy
From: mccoy@ils.nwu.edu (Jim McCoy)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: Xloadimage patchlevel 04 now available
Message-ID: <4210@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 22 Feb 90 22:04:29 GMT
References: <1990Feb22.014051.15720@world.std.com> <16331@well.sf.ca.us>
Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu
Reply-To: mccoy@ils.nwu.edu
Organization: The Institute for the Learning Sciences
Lines: 42

In article <16331@well.sf.ca.us>, jef@well.sf.ca.us (Jef Poskanzer) writes:
> In the referenced message, madd@world.std.com (jim frost) wrote:
> }Some future version will support the full range of PGM/etc formats,
> }TIFF, and probably Sun Icon.  Anyone who has sample loaders or format
> }descriptions for these or other formats is encouraged to send them to
> }me.
> 
> Well, the PBMPLUS toolkit contains a whole bunch of "loaders" for
> different formats, but you probably know that!  Jim, could you clarify
> something for me?  I don't think I see the point of making xloadimage
> understand more than a few representative formats.  Am I missing
> something?  Can you explain the logic?

One thing that has always struck me as strange about the PBMPLUS
package (which, I will admit is a marvelous utility) is that there are
so many utilities to do each task.  Xloadimage will allow me to open
files of different format without my having to use xloadimagegif or
xloadimagepbm, etc.  

>  I mean, I don't have anything
> against duplication of effort so long as someone else is doing the
> duplicating

While it is probably not my place to say what should be done with
packages that I have nothing to do with (other than being a very
satisfied user of both), perhaps you two could work together to
merge both utilities into a standard image conversion and displaying
program? 

> -- I'm just curious as to whether PBMPLUS could be
> improved somehow.

Other than perhaps giving people the option of rolling all the little
programs into one comprehensive utility, I can't think of anything...

			
					jim

------------------------------< Jim McCoy >------------------------------------
mccoy@acns.nwu.edu                  |  "...far too many notes for my taste"
#include <disclaimer.h>             |        -Phantom of the Opera
-----------------------<"To thine own self be true">--------------------------