IMC(1) Image Compiler IMC(1)NAMEimc - Image Compiler (v4.3)
SYNOPSISimc [-h] [-v] [-q quality] [inputfile] -o outputfile {-I includedir}*
or in a URL, as CGI script:
imc?file=inputfile[&quality=quality]{&include=includedir}*
DESCRIPTION
This program accepts drawing commands from a file or from standard
input. The output of the program is a either a PNG, GIF or JPG image
(GIF and JPG if supported by the installed libgd and GD perl module).
If imc is used in a URL as CGI script, the image will be output to the
browser.
The input file can also be automatically piped through a C pre-proces‐
sor first, if one is available.
REQUIREMENTSimc needs Perl version 5.003, patchlevel 23, or higher (version 5.004
is recommended). Also the GD module, version 1.18 or higher, is
required. For JPG input/output, version 1.26 or higher is required.
For GIF input/output, version 2.15 or higher is required.
ARGUMENTS
The following arguments are accepted when run from the command line
(the arguments can be specified in random order):
-h prints a help text, then quits
-v prints version info, then quits
-q quality
the quality parameter in case of JPG output (ignored for PNG or
GIF output)
inputfile
the name of the input file with drawing commands (if no input
file is given, standard input is used)
-o outputfile
the name of the output file (the file to generate); this is the
only mandatory argument; the output type (PNG, GIF or JPG) is
deduced from the extension of the file (.png, .gif or .jpg)
-I includedir
the name of an include directory to be fed to the C pre-proces‐
sor; several include directories may be specified
In a URL, the inputfile and, optionally, some includedirs have to be
given. Also the quality can be passed, for JPG output.
SYNTAX
The supported syntax is described in the imc Reference Manual, which is
included in the distribution (in text and HTML format). Releases with
the same major version number have a backward compatible syntax.
HISTORYimc came out of a kind of contest started by my sysadmin at work. He
wanted a program that would allow him to generate web pages that show
various things of interest about the system (system location, disk
usage, ...), preferably in a graphical way.
HTML itself has some restrictions on the placement of text and graphics
on a page, so he came up with the idea of generating a GIF file from a
text file with drawing commands, which could then be included in an
HTML page. The rest, as they say, is history...
Since there were patent issues in using GIF files, the GD library
switched over to PNG instead, and so did this program (since release
4.0). Now that the patent issues are not there anymore, the GD library
(and this program, since release 4.3) has re-added GIF support.
COPYRIGHTimc is Copyright (C) 1998, 1999, 2002 Peter Verthez
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option) any
later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MER‐
CHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General
Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
BUGS
Bugs should be reported to the address given below. Please include the
version number of the program that you are using (or better yet: only
report bugs on the latest version; see the README file on how to get
the latest version).
AUTHOR
Peter Verthez <Peter.Verthez@advalvas.be>
3 April 2005 IMC(1)
