Re: Binary standards for images and sounds

["Carl Edman" <>]

From: Scott MacFiggen <>:
> In message <>you write:
> >But for example the fact that Xpm uses named colors (rather than RGB
> >values) alone causes a lot of problems.  Sure, X systems have the
> >same   standard list of colors (with some local extensions) and the
> >library   calls to handle it, so it is nothing to worry about.  But
> >what about   other systems ?  When I ported Emacs 19 to NeXTstep
> >this fact added   some 25 kBytes to the installation and that was
> >just because NS already   had a system of color naming and I just
> >needed to convert from the X to   the NS color table format.  But
> >what about systems which don't having   any naming system at all ? 

> >Are you going to write the source the code   for them ?
> 

> Before you start putting the XPM format down anymore I suggest you
> download the libary and read throught the docs, it should take about
> 1/2 hour.  XPM format can take both named colors AND rgb colors.  The
> fact that it can take named colors is a big bonus. X is pretty smart
> when it comes to color maps, if it is given a named color but can't
> allocate it then it can find a pretty good match.  If its given a rgb
> value, it will have a harder time of doing this. Dont ask me why but
> its true.  I was planning on using the XPM format for another game
> that i am/was/maybe going to write and did a bit of research on this.

Please.  I've said it several times and I'm willing to say it again:   
I'm not an expert on X.  I've done more than my share of network  
programming, UN*X kernel drivers, compilers, games and even graphics  
programming under Display Postscript.  I've never written an X program  
more complicated than hello-world and unless someone forces me to I  
won't in the future.  That is why I ask questions about X and don't  
make judgements.  I do not think Xpm is a bad protocol.  Quite to the  
contrary it looks like it was quite clever and cute from what I know  
about it (I've also said that before).  I just wonder if it is a good  
format to use for transmission of images between systems which are not  
X systems.

To answer your particular point:  Yes, XPM can use straight RGB values  
or named colors.  Many of the current XPMs use named colors.  Are we  
going to require in the protocol that the server translates them to RGB  
values ?  If there is a consensus to do that then the problem I raised  
above is solved.  Is there such a consensus ?  If there is not, clients  
will still be required to deal with named colors and the problem I  
raised above remains.

> I'm starting to lose confidence in what you are saying since you keep
> telling us how bad XPM is but have no experience with it.

Please try not to make personal attacks.  There is enough heat in this  
debate from the issues alone.  There is no need to add mutual ego  
bashing.

	Carl Edman