Graphics::MNG - Perl extension for the MNG library from Gerard Juyn (gerard@libmng.com)
# OO-interface use Graphics::MNG; my $it=['user data']; my $obj = new Graphics::MNG ( ); # w/o user data my $obj = new Graphics::MNG ( undef ); # w/o user data my $obj = new Graphics::MNG ( $it ); # w/ user data my $obj = Graphics::MNG::new( ); # w/o name w/o data my $obj = Graphics::MNG::new('Graphics::MNG' ); # w/ name w/o data my $obj = Graphics::MNG::new('Graphics::MNG',$it); # w/ name w/ data $obj->set_userdata(['user data']); my $data = $obj->get_userdata(); print @$data[0],"\n"; undef $obj; # functional interface use Graphics::MNG qw( :fns ); my $handle = initialize( ['more user data'] ); die "Can't get an MNG handle" if ( MNG_NULL == $handle ); my $rv = reset( $handle ); die "Can't reset the MNG handle" unless ( MNG_NOERROR == $rv ); my $data = get_userdata( $handle ); print @$data[0],"\n"; $rv = cleanup( $handle ); die "handle not NULL" unless ( MNG_NULL == $handle );
This is alpha stage software. Use at your own risk. Please visit http://www.libmng.com/ to learn all about the new MNG format. MNG (which stands for Multiple Network Graphics) is an extension of the PNG format, which is already gaining popularity over the GIF format. MNG adds the aspect of animation that PNG lacks. The Gd module (by Lincoln Stein) supports PNG formats, but MNG is more complicated. It would be cumbersome to add support to the Gd interface for MNG. Gerard Juyn as been kind enough to bring us a C-library that supports MNG, so now I thought I'd do my part in bringing you a Perl interface to that library. The Graphics::MNG module is an attempt to provide an "accurate" interface to the MNG graphics library. This means that the Perl methods supported in this module should look very much like the functions in the MNG library interface. This module supports both a functional and an OO interface to the MNG library.
Everthing under the :constants tag is exported by default. Ideally, you'll use one of the incantations of new() to get yourself an object reference, and you'll call methods on that.
:all -- everything :callback_types -- enum list of callback types (MNG_TYPE_*) :canvas -- constants for canvas ops (MNG_CANVAS_*) :canvas_fns -- functions for canvas ops (MNG_CANVAS_*) :chunk_fns -- functions for chunk ops (getchunk_*,putchunk_*) :chunk_names -- constants for chunk ops (MNG_UINT_*) :chunk_properties -- constants for chunk ops :compile_options -- constants describing how this extension was built :constants -- constants which are commonly used (MNG_FALSE, MNG_TRUE, MNG_NOERROR, MNG_NULL, MNG_INVALIDHANDLE) :errors -- constants returned as error values :fns -- functions for the MNG functional interface :misc -- constants misc. (MNG_SUSPEND*) :util_fns -- pure PERL default implementations of callback functions (see section "UTILITY FUNCTIONS" below) :version -- functions to return various version numbers (MNG,PNG,draft,etc.) :IJG -- constants IJG parameters for compression :ZLIB -- constants zlib compression params for deflateinit2
The OO-I/F is the same as the functional interface, except that you new() your handle into existence, and you undef() it out. Also, you don't pass it as the first parameter to any of the methods -- that's done for you when you use the -> calling syntax to call a method. There are a *lot* of interface functions in the MNG library. I'd love to list them all here, but you're really better off opening up the libmng.h file, related documentation, or the Graphics/MNG.pm file and looking at the list of exported methods. I'll try to make a list here of the methods that deviate in interface characteristics from those found in the MNG library itself. I doubt that I've implemented the Perl interface correctly for all of them. You will find bugs. Sorry about that. In some cases it is convenient to change the Perl interface to make it more convenient to use from within Perl. A good example of this is any mng_get*() methods that returned values via pointers in the parameter list. Most or all of these will return a list of values (with the status as the first element), and will only accept the input parameters. On error, only the status code is returned. The method getlasterror() behaves in a similiar manner, except that it will return the list of parameters only when there is an error. Otherwise, it just returns the status (in this case MNG_NOERROR). The method initialize() currently takes only one argument -- a scalar (typically a reference) to user data. If the MNG library is not compiled with MNG_INTERNAL_MEMMNGMT, then this Perl interface will provide default memory allocation support. You can use other interface methods to enable/disable trace support. I've also added some new methods to the interface: my ($texterror) = error_as_string([$hHandle,] MNG_NOERROR()); my ($name, $type) = getchunk_name([$hHandle,] $iChunktype); my ($rv, $href) = getchunk_info($hHandle, $hChunk, $iChunktype) my ($rv) = putchunk_info($hHandle, [$iChunktype,] \%chunkHash) - error_as_string(): This method takes an mng_retcode and translates it into the corresponding string. For example, 0 => 'MNG_NOERROR'. This class method may also be called as a function. - getchunk_name(): This method takes the chunktype and returns the ASCII name of the chunk, and also a string containing the hexadecimal representation of the chunktype. This class method may also be called as a function. - getchunk_info(): This method uses the $iChunktype parameter to look up the correct getchunk_*() method to call on the $hHandle object to get the chunk information related to $hChunk. It returns a list of status and a hash reference containing all of the chunk information. If called in a scalar context, an array reference containing this list is returned. The key names of the hash correspond to the libmng parameter names for the appropriate mng_getchunk_*() function. There are two additional fields added to the returned hash: 'iChunktype' : the type as passed in by $iChunktype 'pChunkname' : the chunk name (from getchunk_name($iChunktype)) This hash reference can be passed directly to putchunk_info(). - putchunk_info(): This method uses the $iChunktype parameter to look up the correct putchunk_*() method to call on the $hHandle object. The key names of the hash must correspond to the libmng parameter names for the mng_putchunk_*() function that will be called. If the $iChunktype parameter is excluded, then the hash is examined for a field named 'iChunktype'. If any fields are excluded, they default to '0', which (before presentation to the libmng interface) will translate to a string for array and pointer types, and will translate to zero for integer types. This seems safe because most arrays and pointer types are accompanied by a length field, which will also default to zero if it is excluded. This method is mostly useful for directly copying chunks from one file to another in conjunction with the getchunk_info() method.
This section documents the list of added interfaces provided by the MNG module which do not exist in libmng. They have been added for your convenience. They can be imported under the ':util_fns' tag. - FileOpenStream( $hHandle ) This is a default callback implementation for use with setcb_openstream. - FileCloseStream( $hHandle ) This is a default callback implementation for use with setcb_closestream. - FileReadData( $hHandle, \$pBuf, $iSize, \$pRead ) This is a default callback implementation for use with setcb_readdata. - FileReadHeader( $hHandle, $iWidth, $iHeight ) This is a default callback implementation for use with setcb_processheader. - FileWriteData( $hHandle, $pBuf, $iBuflen, \$pWritten ) This is a default callback implementation for use with setcb_writedata. - FileIterateChunks( $hHandle, $hChunk, $iChunktype, $iChunkseq ) This is a default callback implementation for use with iterate_chunks. - FileReadChunks( $filename [, \&iteration_function] ) NOTE: This is not an object method. This is a convenience function which will return a list of two elements (status, MNG object). The userdata portion of the returned MNG object will contain the following keys: 'filename' => <filename>, 'width' => <width of image>, 'height' => <height of image>, 'chunks' => [ <list of image chunks> ], You can specify your own chunk iteration function, or you can leave it out and the default (FileIterateChunks()) will be used. - FileWriteChunks( $filename, \@chunks ) NOTE: This is not an object method. This is a convenience function which will accept a list of image chunks (as returned by FileReadChunks) and will write them to the specified filename. The status of the entire operation is returned.
The MNG library is designed around the concept of callbacks. I've tried to make the Perl interface closely model the library interface. That means that you'll be working with callback functions. Depending on your point of view, that's a limitation. If you want to write a file with the MNG library, you'll have to call create() before writing chunks. That's just how libmng works. If you forget, you'll be disappointed with the results. This Perl module is in the alpha stage of development. That means that you'll be lucky to compile it, let alone use it effectively without tripping over bugs. The MNG library may have limitations of its own, please visit the MNG homepage to learn about them.
You'll need a compiled MNG library, complete with header files, in order to build this Perl module. MNG requires some or all of the following support libraries: - lcms (little CMS) - libjpeg - libz Specifically, I compile the MNG library (static library, NOT a DLL) using MSVC++ with the following compilation flags: MNG_FULL_CMS, MNG_INTERNAL_MEMMNGMT, NON_WINDOWS, MNG_BUILD_SO, MNG_SUPPORT_TRACE
Since this is alpha software... - compile the MNG as a static library (Win32) or as a shared library - edit Makefile.PL as appropriate for your header file and lib paths Then you can install this module by typing the following: perl Makefile.PL make make test make install
There is a suite of tests packaged with this module. Test #0 is really just a setup script that has been pieced together from other sources. It uses pure PERL to generate a test case MNG file for later tests. If you have GD, it will also generate the necessary PNG images. Since all of the output of this script is already packaged in the distribution, you probably won't need to run it. It's just there for your reference and my convenience. The last couple of tests actually read and write MNG files. There are some good examples in there, it's worth checking out. If you're on cygwin, 'make test' may not work correctly. If it complains about not being able to open up t/*.t, just type this at the command prompt in the Graphics/MNG directory: perl -Mblib test.pl
I have successfully read and written MNG files with this interface. If you can't write (simple) MNG files, you may be doing something wrong. See the section LIMITATIONS for related topics. You may have noticed that the "mng_" prefix has been removed from all of the functions. This was done to make the OO-I/F look prettier. However, if you import the functional interface, you'll get read() and write() in your namespace, thus clashing with Perl's built-in functions. I may change the name for these in the future (i.e. an interface deviation). In the meantime, I suggest that you use sysread() and syswrite() in your callbacks. Even better, use the OO-I/F and don't import qw(:fns). I'm developing exclusively on Win32 for now, although everything *should* work well for any other platform that the MNG library supports. I'm pretty sure that I have *not* gotten all of the appropriate #ifdef protection around parts of the XS code that may be affected by MNG compilation flags.
This is alpha software. Expect the worst. Hope for the best. For any functions that return or accept an array of integers or structs, I plan (eventually) to provide a Perl interface that accepts an array of integers or structs (the structs themselves probably being represented as arrays or hashes). Right now, you'll need to pack() and unpack() the string. I may add a convenience method to insert PNG or JNG files into the MNG stream. This would make use of getchunk_*() and putchunk_*() methods. I need to add a questionaire to the Makefile.PL script to ask the user how the libmng was built. I may also automate a search for the appropriate header files, and prompt the user if they can't be found. This interaction may look much like the setup/install scripts for GD or PPM.
David P. Mott (dpmott@sep.com)
I'd love to support this interface full time, but my work schedule won't allow that. If you see a problem, try to fix it. If you can fix it, write a test case for it. If you get all of that done, send me the fix and the test case, and I'll include it in the next release. If you can't fix it, or don't know how to test it, go ahead and send me some email. I'll see what I can do. If you want to maintain this module, by all means mail me and I'll get you set up. Releases will happen approximately whenever I feel like I have something worthwhile to release, or whenever I get a whole bunch of email from people like you demanding a release.
The Graphics::MNG module is Copyright (c) 2001 David P. Mott, USA (dpmott@sep.com) All rights reserved. This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself (i.e. GPL or Artistic). See the the Perl README file for more details. (maybe here: http://www.perldoc.com/perl5.6.1/README.html) For more info on GNU software and the GPL see http://www.gnu.org/ For more info on the Artistic license see http://www.perl.com/perl/misc/Artistic.html THIS PACKAGE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
L<perl>. The PNG homepage: http://www.libpng.org/pub/png/ The MNG homepage: http://www.libmng.com/ The PNG specification: http://www.libpng.org/pub/png/spec/ The MNG specification: http://www.libpng.org/pub/mng/spec/ The JPEG homepage: http://www.ijg.org/ The Lcms homepage: http://www.littlecms.com/ The Zlib homepage: http://www.gzip.org/zlib/ The GD module: [download it from your favorite CPAN server] The GD homepage: http://www.boutell.com/gd/ The Freetype homepage: http://www.freetype.org/
To install Graphics::MNG, copy and paste the appropriate command in to your terminal.
cpanm
cpanm Graphics::MNG
CPAN shell
perl -MCPAN -e shell install Graphics::MNG
For more information on module installation, please visit the detailed CPAN module installation guide.