Programming Web Graphics with Perl and GNU Software [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

As a how-to book, Programming Web Graphics with Perl & GNU Software covers a narrow but powerful niche of Web development--on-the-fly graphics generation. It also focuses on the Perl language and its associated free code modules, making the techniques you learn in this book immediately available for free.

Author Shawn P. Wallace begins with a look at the popular image formats on the Web: GIF, PNG and JPEG. The chapter quickly demystifies these critical graphics file types. The next chapter discusses the dance between graphics and Web browsers with a look at CGI, HTML display, colour schemes and other details.

Among the tools discussed in this book are the GD Perl module for working with GIF files, the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP), GIFScript and ImageMagick. The author uses a chessboard simulation application to illustrate how to manipulate graphics dynamically. Some sections focus on graphing, animation and image maps to illustrate the flex ibility of dynamic graphics.

Near the end of the book the author presents a "Web graphics cookbook"--a collection of examples you can use in your sites that includes a graphical Web counter, a JavaScript rollover menu, image thumbnailing scripts and more. The author finishes with a discussion of creating and integrating PostScript code.

This guide reads more like a brain dump from the author than a comprehensive discussion of Web graphics; however, there's much to be gleaned from his knowledge. --Stephen W Plain

As a how-to book, Programming Web Graphics with Perl & GNU Software covers a narrow but powerful niche of Web development--on-the-fly graphics generation. It also focuses on the Perl language and its associated free code modules, making the techniques you learn in this book immediately available for free.

Author Shawn P. Wallace begins with a look at the popular image formats on the Web: GIF, PNG, and JPEG. This chapter offers a quick and fascinating demystification of these critical graphics file types. The next chapter discusses the dance between graphics and Web browsers, with a look at CGI, HTML display, color schemes, and other details.

Among the tools discussed in this book is the GD Perl module for working with GIF files, the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP), GIFScript, and ImageMagick. The author uses a chessboard simulation application to illustrate how to manipulate graphics dynamically. Some sections focus on graphing, animation, and image maps to illustrate the flexibility of dynamic graphics.

Near the end of the book, the author presents a "Web graphics cookbook"--a collection of examples you can use in your sites that includes a graphical Web counter, a JavaScript rollover menu, image thumbnailing scripts, and more. The author finishes with a discussion of creating and integrating PostScript code.

This guide reads more like a brain dump from the author than a comprehensive discussion of Web graphics; however, there's much to be gleaned from his knowledge. --Stephen W Plain

'...is a cross between a how to manual and an idea book. It will empower readers in the often mystical area of graphic creation and suggest new ways to give web sites lively, dynamic content, all without spending a penny on software. 454 pages are hardly enough to provide a thorough course in every tool mentioned, but in each case there is enough material to lift the reader to basic confidence, and the references to take them further. Although without some knowledge of Perl it might be intimidating, the text should be accessible to the complete graphics novice. Shawn Wallace has written an excellent book on a topic which deserves it."'--Gavin Inglis, news@UK, June 2000

From access counters and log-report graphs to scientific plots and on-the-fly animated GIFs, graphics scripting is within the grasp of most Web authors. This text is aimed at intermediate and advanced Web users who want to use CGI scripts to generate dynamic graphic content. It also aims to help demystify the manipulation of graphics formats for newcomers to the Web. The book covers the following: a tour through the most popular Web graphics file formats by implementing parsers for GIF, JPEG, and PNG files; descriptions of the PNG, JPEG and giflib libraries, as well as many other free and proprietary libraries and SDKs; documentation and examples using the Perl graphics modules GD and GIFgraph, and the Perl interface; powerful ImageMagick libraries; documentation on the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) and the Perl interface that lets you easily script plug-ins or interface to the GIMP via the Web; the creation of image maps from data extracted from a database; the implementation of several Perl modules for the creation of neatly formatted PostScript files; details on interfacing to a fax gateway; reusable recipes for many popular applications such as Web counters and Web cam; the creation of animated GIFs on-the-fly; and optimizing graphics generation on the server-side.

From access counters and log-report graphs to scientific plots and on-the-fly animated GIFs, graphics scripting is within the grasp of most Web authors. This text is aimed at intermediate and advanced Web users who want to use CGI scripts to generate dynamic graphic content. It also aims to help demystify the manipulation of graphics formats for newcomers to the Web.

The book covers the following: a tour through the most popular Web graphics file formats by implementing parsers for GIF, JPEG, and PNG files; descriptions of the PNG, JPEG and giflib libraries, as well as many other free and proprietary libraries and SDKs; documentation and examples using the Perl graphics modules GD and GIFgraph, and the Perl interface; powerful ImageMagick libraries; documentation on the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) and the Perl interface that lets you easily script plug-ins or interface to the GIMP via the Web; the creation of image maps from data extracted from a database; the implementation of several Perl modules for the creation of neatly formatted PostScript files; details on interfacing to a fax gateway; reusable recipes for many popular applications such as Web counters and Web cam; the creation of animated GIFs on-the-fly; and optimizing graphics generation on the server-side.

Shawn Wallace has been applying computers to graphics problems for the past twelve years. A programmer and artist, Shawn is managing director of the AS220 (www.as220.org) artist community in Providence, RI., a cofounder of the SMT Computing Society, and a member of the Rhode Island chapter of the Perl Mongers. He is also involved in the Bolero open source music notation system (www.as220.org/shawn/bolero) and the Institute for Folk Computing, a program to inform and inspire the use of open software by the general public in Providence. Shawn studied computer engineering at the University of Rhode Island and participated in the construction of an early (mid-80s) hypermedia delivery system at HyperView Systems in Middletown, RI.