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IMC(1)                          Image Compiler                          IMC(1)


NAME

       imc - Image Compiler (v4.3)


SYNOPSIS

       imc [-h] [-v] [-q quality] [inputfile] -o outputfile {-I includedir}*

       or in a URL, as CGI script:

       imc?file=inputfile[&quality=quality]{&include=includedir}*


DESCRIPTION

       This program accepts drawing commands from a file or from standard
       input.  The output of the program is a either a PNG, GIF or JPG image
       (GIF and JPG if supported by the installed libgd and GD perl module).
       If imc is used in a URL as CGI script, the image will be output to the
       browser.

       The input file can also be automatically piped through a C pre-
       processor first, if one is available.


REQUIREMENTS

       imc needs Perl version 5.003, patchlevel 23, or higher (version 5.004
       is recommended).  Also the GD module, version 1.18 or higher, is
       required.  For JPG input/output, version 1.26 or higher is required.
       For GIF input/output, version 2.15 or higher is required.


ARGUMENTS

       The following arguments are accepted when run from the command line
       (the arguments can be specified in random order):

       -h     prints a help text, then quits

       -v     prints version info, then quits

       -q quality
              the quality parameter in case of JPG output (ignored for PNG or
              GIF output)

       inputfile
              the name of the input file with drawing commands (if no input
              file is given, standard input is used)

       -o outputfile
              the name of the output file (the file to generate); this is the
              only mandatory argument; the output type (PNG, GIF or JPG) is
              deduced from the extension of the file (.png, .gif or .jpg)

       -I includedir
              the name of an include directory to be fed to the C pre-
              processor; several include directories may be specified

       In a URL, the inputfile and, optionally, some includedirs have to be
       given.  Also the quality can be passed, for JPG output.


SYNTAX

       The supported syntax is described in the imc Reference Manual, which is
       included in the distribution (in text and HTML format).  Releases with
       the same major version number have a backward compatible syntax.


HISTORY

       imc came out of a kind of contest started by my sysadmin at work.  He
       wanted a program that would allow him to generate web pages that show
       various things of interest about the system (system location, disk
       usage, ...), preferably in a graphical way.

       HTML itself has some restrictions on the placement of text and graphics
       on a page, so he came up with the idea of generating a GIF file from a
       text file with drawing commands, which could then be included in an
       HTML page.  The rest, as they say, is history...

       Since there were patent issues in using GIF files, the GD library
       switched over to PNG instead, and so did this program (since release
       4.0).  Now that the patent issues are not there anymore, the GD library
       (and this program, since release 4.3) has re-added GIF support.


COPYRIGHT

       imc is Copyright (C) 1998, 1999, 2002 Peter Verthez

       This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
       under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
       Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option) any
       later version.

       This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
       WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
       MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
       General Public License for more details.

       You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
       with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
       59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.


BUGS

       Bugs should be reported to the address given below.  Please include the
       version number of the program that you are using (or better yet: only
       report bugs on the latest version; see the README file on how to get
       the latest version).


AUTHOR

       Peter Verthez <Peter.Verthez@advalvas.be>

                                 3 April 2005                           IMC(1)

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