Perl Graphics Programming

Graphics programmers aren't the only ones who need to be proficient with graphics. Web and applications programmers know that a dull web page can be quickly transformed into one that's interesting and lively with the use of well-planned graphics. And fortunately, you don't need the skills of a fulltime graphics programmer to use graphics effectively. From access counters and log report graphs to scientific plots and on-the-fly animated GIFs, graphics scripting is within the grasp of most web programmers. Using open source software, like Perl, you have the power to dynamically generate graphics based on user input and activity, easily manipulate graphics content, and optimize graphics for compression and quality.

Geared toward Perl users and webmasters, Perl Graphics Programming focuses on open-source scripting programs that manipulate graphics files for use on the Web. The book demystifies the manipulation of graphics formats for newcomers to the Web with a practical, resource-like approach. With this book you'll learn to:

• Generate dynamic web graphics with charts, tables, and buttons
  
• Automate graphics tasks (thumbnails and borders)
  
• Create dynamics web documents (PDF, Postscript)
  
• Produce rich Internet experiences with Flash and SVG

You'll begin with a tour of the most common web graphic file formats--PNG, JPEG, GIF, SWF, SVG, Postscript and PDF--then you'll explore the most powerful tools and Perl modules available for manipulating these graphics, such as GD, PerlMagick, and GIMP. Included in this part of the book is a thorough description of the Ming module for creating on-the-fly Flash files. Next, a "cookbook" section includes practical, all purpose recipes: GIF animation, generating images within a dynamic application, communicating between SWF front-end and Perl back-end, XSLT transformations, compression, and much more.

Perl programmers naturally turn to Perl to tackle whatever challenge they have at hand, and graphics programming is no exception. Perl Graphics Programming provides all the tools you need to begin programming and designing graphics for the Web immediately. This book will change how you think about generating and manipulating graphics for the Web.

Table of Contents

Preface 

Part I. Raster Images and Web Graphics

1. Creating Graphics with Perl
2. On-the-Fly Graphics with GD
3. Graphics Scripting with Image::Magick
4. Charts and Graphs with GD::Graph
5. Scripting the Gimp with Perl

Part II. Vector Images and Animations

6. SVG: The Scalable Vector Graphics Format
7. Creating SVG with Perl
8. SWF: The Flash File Format
9. Using Ming

 
 
Part III. Documents and Printing

10. Printing with Postscript and PDF
11. Using the PostScript Modules
12. Creating PDF Documents with Perl

Part IV. Appendixes

A. Serving Graphics on the Web
B. Gimp Reference
C. Image::Magick File Formats
D. ActionScript Reference
Index

圖形程式設計師不是唯一需要精通圖形的人。網頁和應用程式程式設計師知道，通過巧妙運用圖形，一個乏味的網頁可以迅速變得有趣和生動。幸運的是，你不需要成為一名全職圖形程式設計師就能有效地使用圖形。從訪問計數器和日誌報告圖表到科學繪圖和即時動態GIF圖像，大多數網頁程式設計師都能夠掌握圖形腳本。使用像Perl這樣的開源軟體，你可以根據用戶輸入和活動動態生成圖形，輕鬆操作圖形內容，並優化圖形的壓縮和品質。

《Perl圖形程式設計》針對Perl使用者和網站管理員，專注於用於在網頁上操作圖形檔案的開源腳本程式。本書以實用的資源風格方法，為新手解密網頁圖形格式的操作。通過本書，你將學會：

- 使用圖表、表格和按鈕生成動態網頁圖形
- 自動化圖形任務（縮略圖和邊框）
- 創建動態網頁文件（PDF、Postscript）
- 使用Flash和SVG製作豐富的網路體驗

你將首先瞭解最常見的網頁圖形檔案格式，如PNG、JPEG、GIF、SWF、SVG、Postscript和PDF，然後探索最強大的工具和Perl模組，如GD、PerlMagick和GIMP，用於操作這些圖形。本書的一部分還包括對Ming模組的詳細描述，該模組可用於即時生成Flash檔案。接下來，"食譜"部分包含實用的通用配方：GIF動畫、在動態應用程式中生成圖像、SWF前端與Perl後端之間的通信、XSLT轉換、壓縮等等。

Perl程式設計師自然會轉向Perl來應對手頭的任何挑戰，圖形程式設計也不例外。《Perl圖形程式設計》提供了你開始編程和設計網頁圖形所需的所有工具。這本書將改變你對於生成和操作網頁圖形的思考方式。

目錄：

前言

第一部分. 光柵圖像和網頁圖形

1. 使用Perl創建圖形
2. 使用GD進行即時圖形處理
3. 使用Image::Magick進行圖形腳本編寫
4. 使用GD::Graph創建圖表和圖形
5. 使用Perl腳本編寫Gimp

第二部分. 向量圖像和動畫

6. SVG：可縮放向量圖形格式
7. 使用Perl創建SVG
8. SWF：Flash檔案格式
9. 使用Ming

第三部分. 文件和列印

10. 使用Postscript和PDF進行列印
11. 使用PostScript模組
12. 使用Perl創建PDF文件

第四部分. 附錄

A. 在網頁上提供圖形
B. Gimp參考
C. Image::Magick檔案格式
D. ActionScript參考
索引