GD Library
| GD Library | |
|---|---|
| Basic data
|
|
| developer | Thomas Boutell |
| Publishing year | 1994 |
| Current version |
2.3.0 ( March 22, 2020 ) |
| operating system | portable |
| programming language | C. |
| category | Graphics library |
| License | BSD similar license |
| www.libgd.github.io | |
The GD Library , short GD or GDlib and GD2 , is one of Thomas Boutell and other developed open source - program library for the dynamic creation and manipulation of graphics. The GD Library is written in C , but there are interfaces to other programming languages such as Perl or PHP .
development
The abbreviation GD initially stood for "gif draw", the original output format. When Unisys demanded license fees for the LZW algorithm used in the Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) from 1999 for non-commercial software projects (see GIF and the LZW patents ), the GIF output was no longer supported and the PNG format was used instead (Reading GIF files was still possible, however). When the patent expired worldwide in 2004, full GIF support was reintroduced with version 2.0.28.
Functions
In addition to GIF - and PNG - JPG and WBMP files can also be written. From version 2.0, true-color images can also be created, previously only images with 256 colors were possible.
The range of functions includes the drawing of lines, rectangles, polygons, circular arcs and ellipses as well as the text output with built-in TrueType or Postscript fonts . In addition, images or sections of images can be read in from files and manipulated. 7-bit alpha channels are supported. It is also possible to generate animated GIF files.
A widespread area of application is the dynamic generation of web graphics with PHP, for example for diagrams, or the generation of preview images . A number of libraries are based on GD and provide extended functions for information graphics , for example , according to JpGraph.
GD2
GD2 is the improved version of GD and is still widely used today; z. B. It is built into PHP 5.
With GD2 a variety of tasks can be performed on saved .gif or .png images, e.g. B .:
- change the image size, production of "postage stamps" (thumbnails),
- Change colors (e.g. for frame graphic elements).
List of supported programming languages
Similar software packages
Web links
- Current repository from LibGD
- Official project homepage
- Support for other programming languages: