Mail Archives: djgpp/1997/03/15/21:32:47
Mark T Logan wrote:
>
> has targa support(as of 2.2). I agree that GIF and JPG would be good,
> but I
> know nothing about these formats except that GIF uses LZH, or whatever
> that algorithm is called. Same one as PKZIP uses.
GIF uses LZW as its compression algorithm. PKZIP uses LZSS, which is not
the same at all (though it was invented by the same two researchers,
Lempel and Ziv, hence the name similarity).
> I suspect someone
> out there must have GIF reading code, and It would be a gracious gesture
> on their part to donate it to allegro.
Be careful with GIF: Unisys has a patent on LZW. In the past, they said
they did not mean to enforce it for free/shareware packages, but I have
heard that they recently changed their mind... So, adding GIF support to
Allegro might put Allegro in trouble.
As for JPEG, the Independent Jpeg Group has produced a Jpeg Library
(LIBJPEG.a), which compiles fine with DJGPP (it is available on simtel,
in directory graphics, as jpegsrcXXX.zip). It provides all the calls you
need for implementing Jpeg codes/decoders. This should be an easy way to
provide Jpeg support. (A similar library also exists for PNG).
Francois
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