On Fri, 2 Aug 1996, Duane Percox wrote:
 
> If you want to write one, you might want to get a copy of:
> "Graphics File Formats - Reference and Guide", Brown and Shepard
 
Thanks!  I was hoping that perhapse someone had found a need for
building .gif files on the HP 3000 and would have some code I
could use so that I 1) could save a lot of time and 2) not have
to "re-invent the wheel".  In case anyone is interested, I found
an excellent source of information about a variety of graphics
file formats at:
 
   http://www.webreference.com/dev/graphics/refer.html
 
including a pointer to the very same book you mention, which has
a web page at:
 
   http://www.ora.com/catalog/gffcd/
 
The format of .gif files doesn't look too difficult, but the
compression code might be a pain due to the variable number of
bits used in the tables.  Sometimes the fields are two bits,
other times they are three, or four, or ...
 
I found descriptions of the .gif file formats at:
 
   http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/Graphics/GIF/spec-gif87.txt
and:
   http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/Graphics/GIF/spec-gif89a.txt
 
so if I need to, I can code from scratch.  I also noted that
commercial software must license the right to use the
compression technology from Unisys, which is apparently why
so many new graphics products don't import/export .gif files.
 
 
Anyway, if anyone has any code for encoding or decoding .gif files
(either gif87 or gif89a), please let me know.
 
Thanks!
 
John
--------------------------------------------------------------
John Korb                            email: [log in to unmask]
Innovative Software Solutions, Inc.
 
The thoughts, comments, and opinions expressed herein are mine
and do not reflect those of my employer(s), or anyone else.