Testing Inkscape

2006-05-07T22:49:38Z

Bpfowler: Refactored page to add a section on Unit testing

== Testing Inkscape ==

Inkscape is a young project and the emphasis is still on adding features. Nonetheless is is gratifying that the stability of Inkspace has been steadily rising with each release.

The most important part of 'Testing' is simply to use Inkscape for [[FAQ#Is_Inkscape_ready_for_regular_users_to_use.3F|normal work]] -- confirming that Inkscape has reached this level of maturity, exercise the new features and verify that the application works as expected.

? Bug reports 
? Follow up

=== Developers ===

There are now some UnitTests which should be performed before checking in. These may take over 2 minutes to complete, and so this cannot be made a requirement for each build (Test Driven Development), nonetheless everyone is on their honour not to 'break the build' by committing code that does not pass these tests.

There is an 'inkscape build report; which is sent regularly to the inkscape-tester list (and periodically to the developer list, when new problems are seen) that gives a count of warnings spotted in the code.

* Smoketests
* Defects in the build system

=== Users ===

The field is wide open. We are keen to receive [http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=93438&atid=604306 bug reports] and [http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=93438&atid=604309 feature requests]. These often require analysis, clarification and further action. Anyone can do this. Better still would be to provide patches for any part of the application that is not up to the standard you expect - it is confirmation that the project is evolving. Note that serious testing should be done with an 'unstable' build, either one that you made yourself (to be fair building Inkscape requires gathering many libraries and will take a fair bit of time - it is not a 'good project' for your first foray into source code), or a snapshot that you have downloaded. We would also like to hear about areas in which we do not have parity with comparable applications. If you find that you are coming up with interesting ideas concerning shortcomings in Inkscape, or plans for its future, get involved with the Inkscape testers group.

We need people to create and update documentation, online help, tutorials and screen shots. Noting defects in these is a perfectly valid form of testing - we do not want releases to go out with obsolete documentation.

=== Inkscape Testers ===

A community of Inkscape testers has grown up which has its own [http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/inkscape-tester mailing list], and it is to be hoped that this will spearhead all work on usability and human factors. This group should be your first port of call for these areas:

* [[ComplianceTesting]]
* [[RegressionTesting]]
* [[InteroperabilityTesting]]
* [[UsabilityTesting]]
* [[PerformanceTesting]]
* HIG compliance

See also [[TestingFramework]].

Note: Bryce? Jon? shouldn't the whole of that page be merged here? Or is it better to have this info in two pieces. IMHO wiki pages should not be made too long.

Mac OS X

2006-05-07T22:02:05Z

Bpfowler: Added links to previous release notes

Supported operating systems

2006-05-07T21:52:48Z

Bpfowler: Suggest listing 'Tier 1' Linux distrubtions

Inkscape binaries are provided for the following platforms:

=== [http://inkscape.org/download.php Official binary distributions] ===
* Linux
* Windows 95, 98, 98se, Me, NT, 2000, XP
* [[MacOSX|Mac OS X]] 10.3 (Panther) and later; Starting with the [http://wiki.inkscape.org/wiki/index.php/ReleaseNotes042 0.42 release]

If your favorite OS (we are thinking of Solaris, Plan9, FreeBSD) isn't listed above, you can help by [[CreatingDists|building your own packages]] or [[CompilingInkscape|compiling from source]].

Note: Support for Windows is dependent on Gtk, and it is not clear that [http://users.iafrica.com/c/cq/cquirke/win95ver.htm Windows 9x] will be supported indefinitely.

Note: Should we regard certain distributions, perhaps Debian, Gentoo and SuSE Community Edition as 'Tier One' and always provide qualified install packages for these, leaving the rest to be covered by Autopackage

See also the [http://www.inkscape.org/download.php Download Page] which has a slightly longer version of this info, and the actual files.

NativeUIMacOsX

2006-05-07T21:22:05Z

Bpfowler: Added "Dependencies" section

During a discussion on the Developer's mailing list, it was pointed out that there was a consensus that the Inkscape project should create a Mac OS (Quartz) product using the Gtk+ from [http://developer.imendio.com/wiki/Gtk_Mac_OS_X Imendio].

== Dependencies ==
=== [http://git.or.cz/ git] ===
You will need a working git to check out the Cairo sources. You can download a [http://kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/git-1.3.2.tar.bz2 current snapshot], which compiles and runs flawlessly. There is a [http://pdb.finkproject.org/pdb/package.php/git git fink package] which Tiger users might prefer.

=== [http://www.cairographics.org/ Cairo] ===
At the time of writing, Gtk+ needs version 1.1.6 or later which is more recent than the [http://cairographics.org/releases/ latest unstable release] and more recent by far than the [http://pdb.finkproject.org/pdb/package.php/cairo-shlibs cairo package in fink]. As the [http://developer.imendio.com/wiki/Gtk_Mac_OS_X/Build_Instructions Imendio Build Instructions] do state, the only practical way of obtaining a suitable Cairo is to use the development sources available from the [http://cairographics.org/download#head-d5e2030369f7e642e430ae50d9ad3dc7981b5a4f git repository].

Here is a suggested configuration:
<code>../configure '--enable-debug=yes' '--prefix=/panther-quartz' 'CXXFLAGS=-fmessage-length=0' 'CFLAGS=-fmessage-length=0' '--enable-quartz' '--enable-atsui'</code>

When the script has run, it will produce a lengthy report which should resemble:<pre>cairo will be compiled with the following surface backends:
image: yes (always builtin)
Xlib: yes
Quartz: yes
XCB: no (disabled, use --enable-xcb to enable)
Win32: no (the Microsoft Windows backend requires a Win32 platform)
PostScript: yes
PDF: yes
SVG: yes
glitz: no (disabled, use --enable-glitz to enable)
BeOS: no (disabled, use --enable-beos to enable)
DirectFB: no (disabled, use --enable-directfb to enable)

the following font backends:
FreeType: yes
Win32: no (the Microsoft Windows backend requires a Win32 platform)
ATSUI: yes

the following features:
PNG functions: yes

and the following debug options:
gcov support: no
test surfaces: no

using CFLAGS:
-I/sw/include/libpng12 -I/usr/X11R6/include -I/sw/lib/freetype219/include/freetype2 -I/sw/include/libxml2 -I/sw/include -Wall -Wpointer-arith -Wstrict-prototypes -Wmissing-prototypes -Wmissing-declarations -Wnested-externs -fno-strict-aliasing

*** The Quartz backend is still under active development and
*** is included in this release only as a preview. It does not
*** fully work yet and incompatible changes may yet be made
*** to Quartz-backend specific API.

*** The ATSUI backend is still under active development and
*** is included in this release only as a preview. It does not
*** fully work yet and incompatible changes may yet be made
*** to ATSUI-backend specific API.
</pre>
=== [http://www.pango.org/ Pango] ===
The stated requirement is for version 1.9.0, and I have successfully used the 1.9.1 snapshot. The [http://pdb.finkproject.org/pdb/package.php/pango1-xft2-ft219 pango fink package] is version 1.10.1, and I suggest that you don't use this (since we want to compile our own pango with pangocairo support), and instead use a snapshot later than 1.10.1, to avoid confusion.

Here is a suggested configuration:<code>../configure '--prefix=/panther-quartz' 'CFLAGS=-fmessage-length=0' 'CPPFLAGS=-fmessage-length=0' 'CXXFLAGS=-fmessage-length=0' '--enable-debug=yes'</code>

Note that the configure script will pick up the existence of Cairo without further ado.

In particular, note that when the configure script has finished, it reports which backends it will use, ''videlicet''<pre>configuration:
backends: FreeType X Xft Cairo</pre>

If you don't see Cairo in that list, then it is time to polish up your autoconf debugging skills. See [http://www.ddj.com/184402060 GNU Autoconf]

== Known Issues ==

Installing Inkscape

2006-05-07T20:02:41Z

2006-03-20T09:05:34Z

Bpfowler: Added a section for notable features

Please post links to screenshots and/or criticism of this vector drawing application.

=== Reviews ===

A review specifically comparing Inkscape 0.42.2 and [[FreeHand]] MXA: [http://mikesalsbury.com/mambo/content/view/231/1/]

The most effective site which covers Macromedia Freehand is [http://www.freehandsource.com/ The Freehand Source]. (It is also a proof-by-example that Flash can be used on the Web). Whilst the author admits a little bias with such phrases as "ode to a fantastic program I've grown to love over the years", it really is a wart and all look at the program in its many versions. The (framed) pages on Tips, and Bugs are probably the most useful, but the whole site is worth looking at.

See [http://www.atpm.com/7.07/freehand.shtml Review: [[FreeHand]] 10], though this might contain too little information to be useful.

Note that Macromedia never really took the trouble to encourage invisible or unsanctioned copying of this product, and there are few if any plug-ins for it, nor many good books. I doubt that after the early nineties many youngsters chose or were exposed to it. Further a Google search containing the term 'Freehand' will (in general) take you to many pages with the phrase 'Freehand Tool' or 'Freehand Technique' that often are about Illustrator.

I have found Freehand to be good for doing precise work (such as charts, maps and diagrams), and also good for people with limited artistic skills; Whilst you will find a few artists who like Freehand, you only have to watch a talented person using Illustrator to realise how good that program is, if you have good drawing skills. Also, the concrete interface to Illustrator is now an excellent match to Photoshop.

Whilst there are many individual features of Freehand that are superior, and ought to be incorporated into Inkscape, I suggest that the history of this program and its current state, is a lesson in how not to run a business unit. Having said that, Freehand has missed most opportunities for bloat, and its feature set is no greater than its loyal customers actually use, it has an excellent reputation for the quality of its Postscript output - though I suspect that Illustrator has caught up (if it were ever behind), and its file format, though binary, has allowed Macromedia's developers to produce a program which handles a lot of metadata for each object.

# The Generic pointer tool is small and neat
# Selection markers are unobtrusive
# Envelopes are only shown on request

=== Features ====
* Inset Tool (see below)

=== Screenshots ===

[http://images.google.com/images?q=Freehand&btnG=Google+Search Google Image Search:Freehand]

[http://www.vecpix.com/tutorials/freehand/images/fh006/chrome12.gif Freehand Inset Tool] taken from a [http://www.vecpix.com/tutorials/freehand/fh006.php Freehand tutorial] (and another [http://www.webdersleri.com/sayfa.asp?id=708&mode=print tutorial on using Inset]

Please add more...

=== User Interface ===

[http://davitjcc.tripod.com/fh10info.html Macintosh Keyboard Shortcuts for [[FreeHand]]]

=== Offical Links and General Information ===

[http://www.macromedia.com/software/freehand/ Macromedia Freehand Official web site]

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macromedia_Freehand Macromedia Freehand at Wikipedia]

=== See Also ===

Macromedia Freehand is the product most directly relevant to Inkscape but we can also learn from Macromedia Fireworks and [[MacromediaFlash]] which all seem to be funadmentally very vector orientated software.

Xara X

2006-03-19T22:47:46Z

Bpfowler: Added a section for features common to both

= Features in Common =
*In brief: both are multi-platform and are protected by the GPL. Inkscape is free software; so is [http://xaraxtreme.org/ Xara Xtreme].

= Inkscape Advantages =

=== Fundamental ===
* open, text-based, XML-based standardized format (the [http://www.xara.com/support/docs/webformat/spec/ Xar File Format] is a published standard too, but not XML, and not widely adopted)
* scriptable (perl/python extensions), extendable
* more localisations, easy to add your own

=== Features ===
* live XML tree editor
* live clones (copies that are linked to the original and update when it's changed)
* clone tiler (can be used for two-dimensional object scattering with randomization and coloring)
* tile tracing (tracing anything by a pattern of clones)
* unclumping (two-dimensional, incremental equidistant distribution of objects)
* randomizing object positions
* baseline snapping, alignment, distribution
* find dialog (find any object by type, style, id, etc)
* export and conversion from command line, including batch export [Xara has batch export via GUI only, using Names gallery]
* group transparency (master transparency on groups) [added in Xtreme]
* hierarchical layers, "enter group" command making it a temporary layer
* pattern fills from arbitrary objects
* transform/not transform switch for patterns and gradients
* switch to preserve rounded rect corners in transforms
* scale/rotate/skew any number of objects separately, each around its own center
* numeric skew (both axes; by angle, %, displacement)
* editing transform matrix
* different star/polygon rounding (both Xara's and Inkscape's approaches have their advantages)
* randomized stars
* spirals
* easy segment and arc from ellipse
* the ability to combine color and transparency in a gradient
* linked offsets and text-on-path remain freely transformable
* convenient calligraphy pen (sensitive to tablet pressure&tilt, speed, direction)
* flowing text into arbitrary shapes, chaining, exclusion
* one-command removal of kerns from text
* rotating characters in text (including text on path)
* whiteboard (interactive collaborative drawing across the net)
* connector tool for diagrams
* cool effects for paths: randomize, add nodes, swirl, fractal, function plotter and many others
* smoother and more powerful bitmap tracer
* icon preview
=== convenience ===
* keys for canvas scrolling (with acceleration)
* keys for scaling and rotating (including pixel-size)
* keys for scaling and rotating (including pixel-size) of nodes, including scale/rotate of node groups
* keys for letterspacing, linespacing, kerning in text (including pixel-size)
* nodes can be moved with snapping along the adjacent straight line segments or their Bezier controls
* gradient handles can merge and unmerge
* history of zooms (Xara has a single "previous zoom")
* zooming by single key (+/-, without ctrl)
* any kind of zooming (including area) without tool switching
* "bounding box" per-object selection hints
* cursor changes over selectable objects
* more convenient per-object export hints [Xara has them via the Names gallery, but it's cumbersome]
* more precision in editable numeric fields

= Xara advantages =

* fast renderer
* blends (Inkscape has limited path blending via an extension)
* envelopes, including curvilinear and perspective (Inkscape has limited support via extensions)
* linked colors
* Pantone colors
* colour palette in the main window
* colour blending modes (lighten, darken etc)
* Photoshop plugins[[/Live]] effects
* clipview (Inkscape just needs UI to enable clipping)
* integrated Picture Editor for embedded bitmaps
* can node-edit more than one path at a time
* brushes along path (path remains editable), can be used for object scattering with randomization
* variable stroke width, with selectable profiles or taken from pressure sensitivity
* dynamic drop shadows
* feathering objects' edges (not the same as blurring - only inward from edge, kind of like a blurred transparency mask)
* more gradient types (conic, 4-point etc) [a limitation of the SVG specification, only linear and radial are defined]
* bevel tool (outer/inner; join types; size; light angle and elevation; flat/rounded/chiseled etc types (15 in total))
* "nav bar" tool for buttons (hidden in Xtreme)
* the ability to separate color gradient and transparency gradient [to be implemented in Inkscape via SVG masks]
* gradient profiles [SVG limitation, can be clumsily approximated by multistage gradients]
* rainbow/alt-rainbow gradient options
* different star/polygon rounding (both Xara's and Inkscape's approaches have their advantages)
* fractal fill (only two preset types)
* more input and output formats (including CDR, Flash; but not yet SVG)
* non-AA display mode (note: anti-aliasing is _not_ a significant factor in the speed of Inkscape)

= Per-feature comparison: =

== Pen tool: ==
Xara:
* you can drag curve and nodes (with snapping and closing) while in the tool (but, strangely, not node handles)
Inkscape:
* live preview of the next segment
* you can create hor/vert straight line segments with Ctrl
* length/angle display in statusbar
* you can easily create disconnected subpaths (starting with Shift)

== Path simplification: ==
Xara:
* slider for the just-drawn freehand line (only), to refit both ways (looser or tighter) while it's still selected
* interactive 0-100% slider in Node tool, looser only but remembers setting while you have the same nodes selected lets you de-simplify back
* works on selected nodes (actually, ONLY works on selected nodes)
Inkscape:
* Ctrl+L works in any tool, smoothing incrementally with acceleration
* has wider range and works more gradually
* works on multiple objects, and on whole object without node selection

= Screenshots =

[http://www.xara.com/products/xarax/screenshots.asp Screenshots on the Xara site] Page mirror: [http://web.archive.org/*/http://www.xara.com/products/xarax/screenshots.asp Web Archive]

[http://www.xara.com/products/xarax/screenshots/brushes.jpg Screenshot showing Xara Brushes]

[http://www.xara.com/products/xarax/screenshots/Gallery.jpg Screenshot showing Xara Clipart Gallery]

[http://www.xara.com/products/xarax/screenshots/55Chevy(outlines).jpg Screenshot of Xara depicting a Chevrolet Automobile]
[http://www.xara.com/products/xarax/screenshots/55Chevy(outlines).jpg Screenshot of Xara Wireframe View of Chevrolet Automobile]

= Links =

[http://www.xara.com/products/xarax/ official site]

[http://www.xaraxone.com/ community site of artists]

[http://xaraxtreme.org open source Xara Xtreme]

[http://www.xara.com/support/docs/webformat/spec/ Xar File Format]

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xara_X Xara at Wikipedia]

Discussion

Repeating Inkscape Advantages and doing a full comparision on every page would be redundant.
The purpose of these pages is to see what ideas we can learn from other projects, advantages to be copied and flaws to be avoided.
Comparisions are more about marketing than development and maybe counter productive. I would recommened a restructuring of this page. -- [[AlanHorkan]]
:I object. There's no repetition because we do not list just "Inkscape advantages," but "Inkscape advantages compared to this specific program". Therefore the list of items and their wording will be unique for each program that we compare to. And I don't see how an objective comparison can ever be counterproductive.

::I agree with both of you: Bulia is right about listing some Inkscape advantages, but this list is too extensive, including a lot of minor features, IMO only the *key* features should be noted, the rest are, as Alan said, redundant. --nicu

:::You cannot predict which features will be minor or major for someone. Quite often, a user rejects or falls in love with a program because of some very minor conveniences that he loves or hates. I happen to know both these programs quite well, so I listed everything I know, and I welcome more additions to both Xara and Inkscape lists, no matter how minor. We might need to better categorize these lists, but I would object to trimming them down arbitrarily. I also think that we need something like that, if not more detailed, for other vector editors as well. --bb

:The goal of this page is to track how we compare to Xara and what remains to do to catch up. This list format is the best for this purpose. Ideally we need to have such lists on all "other vector editor" pages on our wiki. --bb

I still object and think having all the information about Inkscape on this page is unnecessary but I think having my objections here prominantly on record may be enough to warn people this is not intended as Comparative Advertising or be misconstrued as anything other than us being interested in learning from other projects.

:I have absolutely no problem if someone perceives this as "comparative advertising", so long as the page is objective and complete. Let the people decide for themselves. --bb

Moho

2006-02-18T11:03:41Z

Bpfowler: Added links

Please post links to screenshots and/or insights of this vector app. We must learn from others.

Moho is a 2D vector-based cartoon animation application,

: It uses technic near from skeletal stroke from S.C. Hsu, I.H.H. Less and H.E. Wiseman. Skeleton is defined as in 3d applications, the curves of the object are linked to parts of this skeleton and follow move/rotation/zoom. Path, can be stroked, with specific brushes, the size of the brush follow a curve, applied to the path, as in skeletal stroke.

: The 2d objects can be moved, in space, as 3d objects. There are some effects, like blur to simulate field depth, and parallax scrollings.

: 3d objects can be imported from 3d softwares in scenes, and used as background objects, or as part of 2d models to simulate 3d, keeping the style of 2d models.

This software is available on Linux, [[MacOSX]] and win32, there is free evaluation demo on site.

(Ben) I can't see the info corresponding to paragraphs 2-4 above on the Moho site. I would draw your atention to the [http://www.lostmarble.com/forum/index.php Moho forums] and point out that this program has a loyal and energetic user base.

=== Screenshots ===

[http://www.lostmarble.com/moho/screens.shtml Moho Screenshots]

=== Links ===

[http://www.lostmarble.com/moho/ official site] * [http://www.gnomefiles.org/app.php?soft_id=24 Gnomefiles] * [http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Movie_Making_Manual-Linux_in_film_production Wikipedia]

Potrace

2006-02-16T22:16:16Z

Bpfowler: /* See also */

PoTrace is an open source [[raster]] to [[vector]] conversion utility. It has been embedded in Inkscape and can trace bitmap images into .svg and .pdf formats.

==To use==
# Import the bitmap you want to trace using the File menu, (File->Import...)
# Select the bitmap
# Choose trace from the Path Menu (Path->Trace Bitmap ...)
# The Trace Bitmap dialog has settings for the tracing operation and a "preview"
# When you are happy with the preview, click OK, potrace will spend a few seconds processing the bitmap
# Close the dialog box and verify that you bitmap has been converted to a grouped set of vector shapes. ([[User:Autodmc|Autodmc]] 11:23, 9 February 2006 (PST))

==????==
features welcome on [[PoTrace]]:
- tracing picture sequences or movie clips (.mpeg, .avi, .mov, .gif animated, .iff animated) into .sgv or .pdf sequences, .svg animated, and .swf

==See also==
* [[Tools]]
* Worked [http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/ch02s05.html example] at the [http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/index.html Inkscape Manual]

==External links==
*[http://potrace.sourceforge.net/ PoTrace at Sourceforge]

__NOTOC__

Related programs

2006-02-16T15:46:02Z

Bpfowler: /* Free */

== <a name="plugins"></a>Inkscape Plugins, Scripts, and Templates ==
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/inkboard Inkboard] plans to add a shared whiteboard function to Inkscape via XMPP (used by Jabber). With Inkboard, a local copy of a diagram can be edited "live" by other users you are chatting with.
* [http://www.digitalunleashed.com/giving.php SVGSlice] allows a high-quality SVG image to be directly sliced into bitmap graphics.

== <a name="outsidetut"></a>Outside Tutorials and Tips ==
* [http://collou.f2o.org/inkspot/ Spotcolors!] Tutorial to create spotcolor separations using Inkscape
* [http://popolon.org/gblog2/made-business-cards-easily-with-inkscape Make business cards easily with Inkscape] short tutorial and 85×54mm SVGz templates provided [http://popolon.org/gblog2/categorie/didacticiel/didacticiel-graphique/didacticiel-inkscape/ more Inkscape tutorials] are available
* [http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/index.php A Guide to Inkscape] by Tavmjong Bah
* [http://jimmac.musichall.cz/weblog.php/Inkscape?flav=php Stopped Clock Blog] Has some good Flash tutorials & other Inkscape writings
* [http://www.deviantart.com/view/14703295/ Icons in Inkscape - mini-tut] by Daj
* [http://www.glitchnyc.com/cgi-bin/blosxom.cgi/technology/opensource/furboa_tutoria.phblox Tutorial: A Simple Approach to Drawing Complex Characters With Inkscape]
* [http://www.angelfire.com/mi/kevincharles/inkscape/index.html Unofficial Inkscape Documentation] a great work-in-progress by Kevin Charles
* [http://www.coofercat.com/wiki/InkScape Some Inkscape Know-How], a beginner's guide to creating complex shapes and flowing text into them
* [http://blog.vybiral.info/my_files/helps/tutorial.png Text following a circle's curve]
* [http://out-of-order.ca/lo/inktut.php Making Icons With Inkscape] A beginner's guide to creating nice icons in Inkscape.
* [http://www.coswellproductions.org/digital_minicomic_scanning_pasteup.php Using Free Software to Do Inexpensive Digital Paste-Up] A guide to using The GIMP and Inkscape to paste up pages for minicomics.

== Similar Applications ==

=== Free ===
* [[SodiPodi]]
* [[Beez]] SVG animation software for Win32, written in Delphi. "As of 2004-09-30 07:29, this project is no longer under active development."
* [[Cenon]]
* [[Dia]] (more for diagrams, less for illustrations)
* [[Gestalter]]
* [[The Gimp gfig]]
* [[Karbon14]] (Koffice)
* [http://glipssvgeditor.sourceforge.net/ GLIPS Graffiti]
* [[mvComicsMaker]] vector + bitmap animation (not maintened since several years).
* [[OpenDraw]]
* [[Sketch|Skencil (formerly known as Sketch)]]
* [http://software.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=06/01/17/2056255&from=rss Synfig] Synfig is a two-dimensional vector animation studio, similar to the commercial product [[Moho]].
* [[Tgif]]
* [[Xfig]]
* [[Kivio]] (Koffice)
* [[KToon]]

=== Other ===
* [[AdobeIllustrator]]
* [[CorelDraw]]
* [[MacromediaFreehand]]
* [[JascWebDraw]]
* [[Xara X]]
* [[MicrosoftVisio]]
* [[Expression]]
* [[MacromediaFlash]]
* [[Moho]] Moho is a 2D vector-based cartoon animation application.
* [[theTAB]] The TAB 2.2 Lite is an entry level animation application, intended for creating cartoons.
* [[XStudio]]
* [[Sketsa]]
* [http://www.macromedia.com/software/fireworks/ Macromedia Fireworks] Raster graphics for the web; infrastructure shared with other Macromedia software means it works very much like a Vector Graphics program. More comparable to Adobe [[ImageReady]], but Fireworks is very specifically designed for effecient creation of web graphics.
* [[Beatware Mobile Designer]]
* [[Real Draw Pro]]
* [[Ikivo Animator]] from [[Ikivo]] is an application that enables designing animated content for mobile devices. Most impressive is the integrated device pro-viewing for guaranteed content accuracy.
* [http://www.colorschemer.com/online.html Color Schemer] A specialized tool for working with colors (for creating color schemes, finding harmonious colors, etc). The link is to an online version of the software.
* [http://www.maa.org/editorial/mathgames/mathgames_08_01_05.html Vector vs Raster] A comprehensive list of 67 Vector-based programs. 32 of the drawing programs support SVG.

== Viewers ==

=== Adobe SVG Viewer ===

* Website
** [http://www.adobe.com/svg/viewer/install/main.html Download Page] updated to v3.03 04/2005

=== Mozilla[[/Firefox]] SVG ===

* Website(s)
** [http://www.mozilla.org/projects/svg/ Official Mozilla SVG Project]
** [http://www.croczilla.com/svg/ http://www.croczilla.com/svg/]
* As of 26 April 2005, [http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/chase/archives/2005/04/svg_here_we_com.html SVG is now enabled in the Firefox trunk nightlies] (read comments on activation). To get a Firefox-SVG version, you can:
** [http://kb.mozillazine.org/Get_and_compile_the_source Build directly from CVS source]
** [http://www.mozilla.org/developer/#builds Download automated builds]
** [http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewforum.php?f=42 Download "Third Party[[/Unofficial]]" builds]
* Cairo will [http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/mt/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=36&search=cairo replace the graphics engine] in 1.9+.
*
* Contact
** irc.mozilla.org #svg

=== Opera Webbrowser SVG Support ===

* Website(s)
** [http://www.opera.com/docs/specs/#graphics "Opera 8 supports an extension of SVG 1.1 Tiny that includes opacity, font handling, and animation."]
** [http://www.opera.com/support/search/supsearch.dml?index=466 Opera KB:Installing the Adobe SVG Viewer plugin]
** [http://my.opera.com/forums/showthread.php?s=680b539088b7de23ad238c32a4303e39&threadid=88098&highlight=svg "[[AdobeSVGViewer]] not working in Version 8"]

* Contact
** http://my.opera.com/forums/

=== Mobile phones ===
There are millions of phones sold with SVGt 1.1 support and the SVGt 1.2 phones will soon hit the market.

* Websites
** [http://www.svg.org/special/svg_phones A growing list at svg.org]
** [http://www.ikivo.com/02player_phones.html Phones with the Ikivo Player]

=== See Also ===

[http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/SVG-Implementations.htm8 SVG Implementations] at the [[W3C]] - Inkscape is not on their list, but Sodipodi is.

[[SVGGeneralInformation]] on a separate page.

== Transcribers[[/Platform]] Optimizers ==

* [http://www.plazmic.com./en/products/index.shtml plazmic] ([[BlackBerry]])

== Co-Projects ==

=== Open Clip Art Library ===
* Website(s)
** [http://www.openclipart.org/ SVG clipart library]
* Contact
** irc.freenode.net #openclipart

=== Cairo ===

* Website(s)
** [http://cairographics.org/ Official Cairo Project]
* Contact
** irc.freenode.net #cairo

=== XSVG ===

* Website(s)
** [http://xsvg.org/ Official XSVG Project]

=== librsvg ===

* Website(s)
** [http://librsvg.sourceforge.net/ Official librsvg Project]
(version >= 2.8 include a good mozilla SVG plugin)
* Contact
** irc.gnome.org #librsvg or irc.gimp.org #librsvg

=== Scribus ===
* Website(s)
** [http://scribus.net/ Scribus Home Page]
* Contact
** irc.freenode.net #scribus

=== [[LittleCMS]] (Color Management System) ===
* Website
** [http://www.littlecms.com/ [[LittleCMS]] Home Page]
* Contact
** mailing list on sourceforge.net

=== ps2svg ===

A nice ps to svg converter written in postscript. Cannot handle text.
http://thunder.prohosting.com/~rshi/svg/

=== libwmf ===
* Website
**[http://wvware.sourceforge.net/libwmf.html Libwmf] provide the wmf2svg script we use for the extension.

=== [[FontForge]] ===
* Website
** [http://fontforge.sourceforge.net [[FontForge]] Home Page]
* Description:
** Vector font editor and converter (ps,TTF, ...).
** Interesting feature that could be imported in inkscape: allow to modify curves by draging the curve itself.
**(feature needed - an utility can be distributed with [[FontForge]] - an open .ttf viewer and printer like [[KeyTypeBook]] for [[MacOS]] Classic (7.0 to 9.6) )
**(w32 [[MinGW]] version (instead of Cygwin) of [[FontForge]] is missing)

(BEN) This page is now rather long, it should be split up ...
([[TomB]]) agreed; some of the bullits can be shunk up (blank lines removed), & links directly about Inkscape can be put in a new page

CompilingFedora

2006-02-15T09:43:08Z

Bpfowler: Added links to [FC2] and [FC3] - kindly back out this edit if it is not right!

== Fedora Core 2 for Inkscape 0.40CVS ==

After having the most up to date RPMs for FC2 from fedora updates, this is what I found for compiling Inkscape.

Well...after checking out a clean copy of the inkscape module, autogen.sh will not generate ltmain.sh, so I had to make a softlink to a copy of ltmain.sh, which was located here: /usr/share/libtools/ltmain.sh

So I ran:

$ ln -s /usr/share/libtools/ltmain.sh ./

Then I ran:

$ ./autogen.sh

Then to get all the makefiles, I ran:

$ ./configure

Now need to have Boehm Garbage collector installed. Follow the Boehm Garbage Collector instructions on the [[CompilingInkscape]] page for this to work. After installed, then rerun:

$ ./configure

For libsigc++2 currently you must download and install: http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=1970

Now you need gtkmm 2.4 and glibmm 2.4:

http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/sources/glibmm/2.4/

http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/sources/gtkmm/2.4/

You need to ./configure; make; make install for libsigc++, glibmm 2.4 and gtkmm 2.4

Afterwards update your paths and all that and then run ./autogen.sh; ./configure; make; make install on the CVS version of inkscape...

I don't think /usr/local/lib is in /etc/ld.so.conf or /etc/ld.so.conf.d/*.conf by default on FC2...
Fix that, then `export [[LD_LIBRARY_PATH]]=/usr/local/lib`, then run `ldconfig`, and try running `inkscape`.
-- Jizzbug

This is what i get now:
*** glibc detected *** free(): invalid pointer: 0x0832ce78 ***
Emergency save activated!
-- Confabulator

== Fedora Core 3 and 0.41CVS ==

== Mandrake 10.2 b3 and 0.41 Static Builds ==

If I try to run either the .386 or .686 Static Builds of 0.41 on Mandrake 10.2 beta3, I get the above error:

*** glibc detected *** free(): invalid pointer: 0x0959d210 ***

The "invalid pointer" is a different value for each one, but same error. I don't have the dependencies I need to compile from source. So, I guess I'll wait another few months before trying Inkscape. (I'm so anxious. As an ex-user of Sodipodi, I've been waiting for something that was a bit more user friendly).
-- This is almost certainly a GCC bug ([[MikeHearn]])

See [[CompilingFC2]] and [[FC3]] -- those pages can probably be deleted if this one is brought up to date.

Developer manual

2006-02-15T09:31:33Z

Bpfowler: Added link to Compiling Inkscape

= Inkscape Developer's Manual =

== Introduction ==

For those of you just joining us, or who have been with us but are just
now getting the itch to work on Inkscape, I thought I'd give some tips
for how to get started working in the codebase based on our own
experiences.

One of the first things most people wonder is "what should I work on".
As you may have already noticed, we generally don't "assign" projects.
We figure there's plenty more work to do than people to do it, so you
may as well work on something that you're either interested in or that
adds something of benefit to you; that's extra motivation to get your
own itches scratched.

If you're really stumped though, we keep a detailed [[Roadmap]] in wiki that
you're welcome to browse through to look for ideas of things to work
on. Tasks that do not have names beside them are open for anyone to
take; if you want to take ownership of a task, just put your name beside
it. Feel free to add or reword tasks as needed, although try not to
load up the current milestone with tasks that aren't critical for the
release. Feel free to work on stuff that is several milestones down the
road; there's rarely any problem with getting stuff done sooner than
planned. ;-)

We have a process for gaining CVS commit access. The reason is that
while it is important that we keep access to the codebase open, we don't
want to be crazy and leave it wide open to any random passer-by. The
process is that we require that the person make two contributions
(patches, documentation, web collateral, etc.) and then make a request
to get account access.

In general you won't need CVS commit access in order to start doing
development, because you can work from an anonymous checkout and create
patches. If you've not done this before, you'll need to learn this
skill first (basically see docs for `cvs diff`).

When you first start hacking on Inkscape code, I wouldn't recommend
taking an objective of implementing a specific feature, because you will
need some time to familiarize yourself with the codebase, and because
you won't really know what features are going to be straightforward to
implement and which will be highly challenging. Of course, if you have
the time and love adventures, this might be a fun way to go.

There are four approaches that I've seen people effectively use in
getting into the codebase:

<ul>
<li>Write code documentation. Some people who don't mind adding
comments to code or writing docs find it useful to just go through
code they're interested in working on and writing up what it does.
The codebase is in dire need of better docs, so this approach pays
dividends well into the future.
</li>

<li>Fix bugs. Tracing down the cause of reported bugs is an effective
way to gain understanding of the codebase in small chunks. Many
common bugs can be traced down and fixed in a matter of hours, and
often will identify some bit of code in need of refactoring or
extension. Note that some of our older bugs are in the system
because they're hard to fix, so you'll want to work on the more
recent ones.
</li>

<li>Chip in on a group effort. Occasionally we identify a major
refactoring effort (such as when we converted from C to C++), that
we encourage lots of people to help on, in the philosophy that many
hands makes short work. This work tends to be pretty rote so is
not hard for new folks to get involved with; it just takes time. We
generally have one of these kinds of efforts per release. It
usually isn't glamorous work, but in aggregate moves the codebase
forward in a major way.
</li>

<li>Subsystem/module work. Some people want to get their hands in the
details quick, so take the approach of developing new code separate
from the codebase, to be integrated in later. This generally tends
to take a larger time commitment than the other approaches, but can be
an effective approach in some circumstances. We have a CVS module
called 'experimental' that you're welcome to house your work until
it's ready for prime time.
</li>
</ul>

Beyond that, you're going to find the documentation for the Inkscape
code is pretty scarce. We've worked on bits and pieces but
unfortunately the vast majority of the code is undocumented. On the
plus side, often you can implement the stuff you care about after
learning only a limited portion of the codebase.

I think you'd find Inkscape an enjoyable Open Source project to work on.
There's a huge range of interesting and useful skills that can be
learned from it, plus the developers are great guys to participate with.
The project itself runs smoothly and puts a premium on keeping things
friendly and low-stress, so heated arguments are rare. The users have
been great to work with and very appreciative of even small new features
and fixes. Plus, since Inkscape is so visual in nature, it's very cool
to see how your little changes make noticeable improvements to the app
overall.

== C++ Reference ==
* FAQ (with answers) sheet. We strongly recommend that everyone read this site comprehensively. You should not need to bookmark it, it should be the first of the sites on your autocomplete list for <code>par</code>!

http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq-lite/

It is actually more in-depth than the name FAQ suggests. Many experienced C++ programmers would benefit from it.

* List of [http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/u/vkarvone/2004s/cplusplus/errors.html schoolboy errors]. None of these should appear in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free/Libre/Open-Source_Software FLOSS] code.

== Strings ==
Please make sure any user-visible strings are localizable. This requires wrapping them with "_(" and ")", like so:

"Select object"
becomes
_("Select object")

In case the interpretation of the string may be ambiguous or may differ according to context, you can add a context prefix (that won't be displayed) in order to eliminate the ambiguity.
"Ambiguous string"
can then become
Q_("Context|Ambiguous string")

For more complex things, please check the gettext/localization documentation.
See also http://developer.gnome.org/doc/API/2.0/glib/glib-I18N.html

== Standards Compliance - Extension Namespaces ==

* Only elements and attributes from our extension namespaces that ''do not affect rendering'' may be saved in SVG documents.
* Generally, this means that extension elements and attributes should only be used to provide UI hints.
* Extension elements and attributes should ''only'' be used where an existing facility provided by XML or SVG is not sufficient.

== Global Verbs ==

Here's a readers' digest summary of how Inkscape accelerators work:

A global mapping between key combinations and integer verb IDs
(sp_verb_t) is maintained in shortcuts.cpp; these are registered using
sp_shortcut_set().

Given an sp_verb_t and an SPView, you can get an SPAction which
represents that action in that view. These mappings are currently
hard-coded in verbs.cpp.

SPActions derive from [[NRActiveObject]], which putatively provides a
"lightweight" method of doing callbacks, versus GObject signals. I
don't completely understand how it works.

SPActions also contain the label, image, etc, used for buttons and
menuitems.

sp_shortcut_invoke() looks up the SPAction for a keypress and SPView and
invokes it automatically. [[SPEventContexts]] call it for keypresses that
they do not handle themselves.

== Garbage collection ==

As you know, many automatic garbage collectors (like libgc) only
free and recycle memory periodically. This means you may have some
extra slush that could be freed, but hasn't yet.

There are other forces at work, though...

Pretty much all allocators, whether automatic or not, whether the
system malloc() or some custom allocator like libgc's, work the
same way: they request large blocks of memory from the operating
system, then divvy those blocks into smaller ones internally to
satisfy application allocation requests.

When an application frees memory, that memory is usually recycled
internally rather than returned to the OS immediately. The reason
for this is that the large memory blocks acquired from the OS must
be completely unused before they can actually be freed.

Let's say for example that an allocator acquires 16 8MB blocks from
the OS in response to 32768 4k application allocations...

In a worst-case scenario, it's possible that the application could
free 32752 of those 4k blocks but the remaining 16 4k just happen
to be distributed across the 16 8MB blocks requested from the OS.

If that happens, from the application's point of view it may only
have 64k allocated, but as far as the OS is concerned, it's still
using 128MB!

Note that this applies to nearly all allocators in common use.

While it's unusual for things to get quite that bad, memory
fragmentation is common enough that many popular allocators (for
example Perl's) simply don't bother trying to return memory to the
OS at all (the memory will still get forcibly reclaimed by the OS
when the process exits).

[ FWIW, libgc's allocator is one of the ones that _does_ make an
effort to release memory to the OS, but it is limited by
fragmentation like any other ]

Also note that for various reasons, the statistics you get from the
OS aren't going to directly reflect the amount of heap-allocated
memory. Be careful drawing conclusions from only looking at e.g.
the output of top(1)...

(the worst thing is that due to the modern practice of
overcommitting memory, the OS may literally lie to an application
about the amount of memory it is being given, hoping the
application won't really try to use it all)

The best approach to evaluating memory usage is if you can ask the
allocator for information on memory usage directly, as that matches
the world from the point of view of the application.

leftover gradients/markers/patterns
will get automatically cleaned up when the objects that use them are
deleted.

Caveats:

* this only applies to such objects created with a build of Inkscape which post-dates this commit (June 7)

* not all automatically-created objects will necessarily be collected; the code that creates them needs to be updated to set the correct collection policy

* paint objects won't get collected until another editing operation takes place, since [[NRArenaShape]] currently holds onto an SPStyle for too long

Technical details:

Assuming its collection policy permits it, an object will be collected
if neither it nor its descendants have any outstanding inter-document
URI references (nonzero SPObject::hrefcount).

There are two "policies" for collecting orphans:

* "with-parent" - the object will only be collected if one of its ancestors is collected

* "always" - the object is always collected if unused

(a third policy might be "never", which would necessarily also prevent
that object's ancestors from ever being collected; I do not plan on
implementing it)

The policy in effect is determined by the inkscape:collect attribute.

Be careful with the "always" policy; it really only makes sense for
"private" objects that are indirectly created behind the scenes (e.g. by
selecting a fill or marker option in the GUI).

SPDocument manages a queue of objects to collect; SPObject handles the machinery for actually queueing them when their hrefcount falls (based on policy), and performing the actual collection (delete).
SPDocument::collectObjects() performs a collection pass; it's currently only called from sp_document_maybe_done().

== Inkscape Experimental CVS ==

The 'experimental' module in Inkscape CVS is provided as a kind of "scratchpad" for
working up new ideas that aren't quite ready for folding into the main codebase.
This includes architectural sketches, examples, experimental patchsets, tools & utilities, or
whatever else strikes the developer's fancy.

Please create a subdirectory within experimental/ for your work. You're welcome to either post
the stuff at the top level or create a subdirectory for yourself. Things linked in at the top level
should be considered fair game for other developers to collaborate on; items posted under
a developer's username should be considered ask-first. Same sort of idea as wiki.

One of the principles behind this module is the idea of a shared working space. Other developers
working in experimental can fairly easily see what others are working on in the tree, and perhaps
borrow or contribute ideas back and forth. Since it is by definition not 'production' code, the
work may be incomplete or in a non-compileable state, and thats O-K.

When an experiment has matured to the point of being actually useful, please move it out of
the experimental module to someplace more appropriate. Or alternatively if the experimental
work has become obsolete or irrelevant, please remove it so we can avoid having the
experimental tree get too bulky.

== Directory Organization ==

=== Distribution / Packaging Files ===

Files related to generation of distribution packages should go under inkscape/packaging, as follows:

inkscape/packaging/
common/
debian/
fedora/
fink/
mandrake/
suse/

=== "Share" Collateral ===

A variety of items are installed in addition to the program itself, and placed into a 'share' directory structured as follows:

AUTHORS
NEWS
clipart/
examples/
extensions/
fonts/
gradients/
icons/
keyboards/
markers/
palettes/
patterns/
screens/
about.svg
templates/
tutorials/

In the CVS codebase, all of these are placed in inkscape/share/ (except AUTHORS and NEWS which will be copied to share during installation. The idea is that in theory, this entire tree structure can be copied into place on the user's machine.

However, we need to provide the user some level of control over the installation. They may wish to exclude some items, or may wish to augment the default install with some items external to the Inkscape package. For example, they may wish to incorporate external clipart collections. One approach would be to install symlinks in the given component directory to the external collection. For example, if the flags package were to install into /usr/share/flags-svg/, we'd just symlink there.

=== Code modules ===
Several parts of the code were written in a modular way, and they have been
accordingly placed in subdirectories of src/, while the main src directory
still contains the biggest part. To get a first overview of the modules, you
might want to have a look at these dependency graphs before you read deeper
into the source code (outside at the moment):

[http://www.ark.in-berlin.de/gri-debug.svgz]
[http://www.ark.in-berlin.de/gri-dialogs.svgz]
[http://www.ark.in-berlin.de/gri-display.svgz]
[http://www.ark.in-berlin.de/gri-io.svgz]
[http://www.ark.in-berlin.de/gri-libcroco.svgz]
[http://www.ark.in-berlin.de/gri-libnr.svgz]
[http://www.ark.in-berlin.de/gri-libnrtype.svgz]
[http://www.ark.in-berlin.de/gri-livarot.svgz]
[http://www.ark.in-berlin.de/gri-widgets.svgz]
[http://www.ark.in-berlin.de/gri-xml.svgz]

These are not all modules! For questions about how to generate these graphs
with graph-includes, please [mailto:rwst@users.sf.net].

Question on .svgz files: Is the server sending the right 'Content-Encoding:' header?
This matters to Mozilla browsers in standards compliance mode! http://jwatt.org/svg/authoring/#server-configuration

= See Also =
* [[DirectoryReorgProposal]]
* [[InkscapeJanitors]]
* [[CompilingInkscape]]

= Links =
[http://advogato.org/article/51.html Software Quality]

FeatureFreezing

2006-02-15T08:50:19Z

Bpfowler: Deleteme

In the release protocol [[CreatingDists]], it is intended that at there is around one week's feature freeze ahead of the 'Hard Freeze'.

(Ben) Note that though virtually every HOWTO on open source software describes these stages in the release process, Inkscape seems to be uniquely punctilious (or shares with the Debian that honour) in observing (or at least documenting the observance) of them.

Whilst I am probably happier than most in using 'process' to ensure software quality, we ought not to go too far down that route!

Distributive writing

2006-02-15T08:28:42Z

Bpfowler: Deleteme

=== This is a new page ===

You might be looking for [[Inkview]], [http://sourceforge.net/projects/inkboard Inkboard] or [[Inkboard2.0]].

Inkview

2006-02-15T08:21:29Z

Bpfowler: Fixed WikiSyntax

Inkview is a slideshow program which uses SVG files. The development version
currently resides in the inkview_slideshow branch in CVS. To check it out run
the following cvs command:
'cvs -z3 checkout -r inkview_slideshow -d inkview_slideshow inkscape'.
To run it do: 'inkview somewhere/*.svg' and the slideshow will consist of
the list of files supplied on the command line in the given order.
Supplying a .jar or .sxw file on the command line should retrieve the SVGs for viewing
(inkview needs to be compiled with the --with-inkjar flag in the configure script for this).

===== Keyboard shortcuts (as of release 0.37) =====
* Left : show previous slide
* Right: show next slide
* Up: go to first slide
* Down: go to last slide
* Escape: quit
* F11: go to fullscreen mode/revert back to window mode
* Return: pop up window with slide buttons (first, prev, next, last)

==== Todo list ====

* add a default SVG for when a document does not load.
::What about using the inkscape logo without text, or with the words Inkview -- rejon
::::There is a nice crystal SVG Inkscape logo at http://www.openclipart.org/incoming//etiquette-icons-0.3.tar.gz
::::in scalable/apps/inkscape.svg --Nick
* usage/help command line switch
* ...

==== Suggestions & ideas ====
See [[InkviewWishlist]].

Freehand

2006-02-15T08:16:17Z

Bpfowler: Delete me

[http://www.macromedia.com Macromedia Freehand]

Freehand is a quality-leading vectorial editor, early develpment started from Aldus (early than 1990) from the postscript boom of 80's

Versions 1 to 3 were targeted to 1 page documents
Versions since 4 allows multiple page over one drawing table (allowing us to see all pages just from zooming out)
[[MacromediaMX]] (11) seems to be the actual version, and very targeted to .swf and web development

The info here should be merged into [[MacromediaFreehand]] and this page deleted.

Clipart Topics

2006-02-15T08:06:08Z

Bpfowler: Added pointer to open clipart

This page is to collect suggestions for what people would like to see covered in the clipart collection.

suggested so far:

* Computer symbols / computer networks
* Musical instruments
* Transport (airplane, bus, car, ship)
* Christmas
* Easter
* Party -- something that will aid in creation of invitation cards, posters and so on.
* Celtic stuff (knots, etc.)
* Storage media symbols (CD, DVD, VCR tape, cassette tape, reel-to-reel tape, LP record)
* Animals (cat, dog, lion, cow, mice, bee hive, etc.)
* Wirey "stick" figures like in MS powerpoint doing different kinds of actions
* Professionals (construction worker, teacher, lawyer, PHB, etc.)
* Symbols for industries (music industry, beef industry, computer industry, etc.)
* U.S. road symbols and signs
* Chemistry symbols
* Flowchart symbols
* Electronic symbols
* Warnings: Biohazard, inflamable, electric shock, etc
* Smilies

This page, which is orphaned would seem to have been made obsolete by the work at [http://www.openclipart.org/wiki/?ClipartRequests Clipart Requests]

Moho

2006-02-15T07:46:48Z

Bpfowler: Tweaked description

Related programs

2006-02-14T11:34:51Z

Bpfowler: Added strap lines for Mobo and Tab

== <a name="plugins"></a>Inkscape Plugins, Scripts, and Templates ==
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/inkboard Inkboard] plans to add a shared whiteboard function to Inkscape via XMPP (used by Jabber). With Inkboard, a local copy of a diagram can be edited "live" by other users you are chatting with.
* [http://www.digitalunleashed.com/giving.php SVGSlice] allows a high-quality SVG image to be directly sliced into bitmap graphics.

== <a name="outsidetut"></a>Outside Tutorials and Tips ==
* [http://collou.f2o.org/inkspot/ Spotcolors!] Tutorial to create spotcolor separations using Inkscape
* [http://popolon.org/gblog2/made-business-cards-easily-with-inkscape Make business cards easily with Inkscape] short tutorial and 85×54mm SVGz templates provided [http://popolon.org/gblog2/categorie/didacticiel/didacticiel-graphique/didacticiel-inkscape/ more Inkscape tutorials] are available
* [http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/index.php A Guide to Inkscape] by Tavmjong Bah
* [http://jimmac.musichall.cz/weblog.php/Inkscape?flav=php Stopped Clock Blog] Has some good Flash tutorials & other Inkscape writings
* [http://www.deviantart.com/view/14703295/ Icons in Inkscape - mini-tut] by Daj
* [http://www.glitchnyc.com/cgi-bin/blosxom.cgi/technology/opensource/furboa_tutoria.phblox Tutorial: A Simple Approach to Drawing Complex Characters With Inkscape]
* [http://www.angelfire.com/mi/kevincharles/inkscape/index.html Unofficial Inkscape Documentation] a great work-in-progress by Kevin Charles
* [http://www.coofercat.com/wiki/InkScape Some Inkscape Know-How], a beginner's guide to creating complex shapes and flowing text into them
* [http://blog.vybiral.info/my_files/helps/tutorial.png Text following a circle's curve]
* [http://out-of-order.ca/lo/inktut.php Making Icons With Inkscape] A beginner's guide to creating nice icons in Inkscape.
* [http://www.coswellproductions.org/digital_minicomic_scanning_pasteup.php Using Free Software to Do Inexpensive Digital Paste-Up] A guide to using The GIMP and Inkscape to paste up pages for minicomics.

== Similar Applications ==

=== Free ===
* [[SodiPodi]]
* [[Beez]] SVG animation software for Win32, written in Delphi. "As of 2004-09-30 07:29, this project is no longer under active development."
* [[Cenon]]
* [[Dia]] (more for diagrams, less for illustrations)
* [[Gestalter]]
* [[The Gimp gfig]]
* [[Karbon14]] (Koffice)
* [http://glipssvgeditor.sourceforge.net/ GLIPS Graffiti]
* [[mvComicsMaker]] vector + bitmap animation (not maintened since several years).
* [[OpenDraw]]
* [[Sketch|Skencil (formerly known as Sketch)]]
* [[Tgif]]
* [[Xfig]]
* [[Kivio]] (Koffice)
* [[KToon]]

=== Other ===
* [[AdobeIllustrator]]
* [[CorelDraw]]
* [[MacromediaFreehand]]
* [[JascWebDraw]]
* [[Xara X]]
* [[MicrosoftVisio]]
* [[Expression]]
* [[MacromediaFlash]]
* [[Moho]] Moho is a 2D vector-based cartoon animation application.
* [[theTAB]] The TAB 2.2 Lite is an entry level animation application, intended for creating cartoons.
* [[XStudio]]
* [[Sketsa]]
* [http://www.macromedia.com/software/fireworks/ Macromedia Fireworks] Raster graphics for the web; infrastructure shared with other Macromedia software means it works very much like a Vector Graphics program. More comparable to Adobe [[ImageReady]], but Fireworks is very specifically designed for effecient creation of web graphics.
* [[Beatware Mobile Designer]]
* [[Real Draw Pro]]
* [[Ikivo Animator]] from [[Ikivo]] is an application that enables designing animated content for mobile devices. Most impressive is the integrated device pro-viewing for guaranteed content accuracy.
* [http://www.colorschemer.com/online.html Color Schemer] A specialized tool for working with colors (for creating color schemes, finding harmonious colors, etc). The link is to an online version of the software.
* [http://www.maa.org/editorial/mathgames/mathgames_08_01_05.html Vector vs Raster] A comprehensive list of 67 Vector-based programs. 32 of the drawing programs support SVG.

== Viewers ==

=== Adobe SVG Viewer ===

* Website
** [http://www.adobe.com/svg/viewer/install/main.html Download Page] updated to v3.03 04/2005

=== Mozilla[[/Firefox]] SVG ===

* Website(s)
** [http://www.mozilla.org/projects/svg/ Official Mozilla SVG Project]
** [http://www.croczilla.com/svg/ http://www.croczilla.com/svg/]
* As of 26 April 2005, [http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/chase/archives/2005/04/svg_here_we_com.html SVG is now enabled in the Firefox trunk nightlies] (read comments on activation). To get a Firefox-SVG version, you can:
** [http://kb.mozillazine.org/Get_and_compile_the_source Build directly from CVS source]
** [http://www.mozilla.org/developer/#builds Download automated builds]
** [http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewforum.php?f=42 Download "Third Party[[/Unofficial]]" builds]
* Cairo will [http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/mt/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=36&search=cairo replace the graphics engine] in 1.9+.
*
* Contact
** irc.mozilla.org #svg

=== Opera Webbrowser SVG Support ===

* Website(s)
** [http://www.opera.com/docs/specs/#graphics "Opera 8 supports an extension of SVG 1.1 Tiny that includes opacity, font handling, and animation."]
** [http://www.opera.com/support/search/supsearch.dml?index=466 Opera KB:Installing the Adobe SVG Viewer plugin]
** [http://my.opera.com/forums/showthread.php?s=680b539088b7de23ad238c32a4303e39&threadid=88098&highlight=svg "[[AdobeSVGViewer]] not working in Version 8"]

* Contact
** http://my.opera.com/forums/

=== Mobile phones ===
There are millions of phones sold with SVGt 1.1 support and the SVGt 1.2 phones will soon hit the market.

* Websites
** [http://www.svg.org/special/svg_phones A growing list at svg.org]
** [http://www.ikivo.com/02player_phones.html Phones with the Ikivo Player]

=== See Also ===

[http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/SVG-Implementations.htm8 SVG Implementations] at the [[W3C]] - Inkscape is not on their list, but Sodipodi is.

[[SVGGeneralInformation]] on a separate page.

== Transcribers[[/Platform]] Optimizers ==

* [http://www.plazmic.com./en/products/index.shtml plazmic] ([[BlackBerry]])

== Co-Projects ==

=== Open Clip Art Library ===
* Website(s)
** [http://www.openclipart.org/ SVG clipart library]
* Contact
** irc.freenode.net #openclipart

=== Cairo ===

* Website(s)
** [http://cairographics.org/ Official Cairo Project]
* Contact
** irc.freenode.net #cairo

=== XSVG ===

* Website(s)
** [http://xsvg.org/ Official XSVG Project]

=== librsvg ===

* Website(s)
** [http://librsvg.sourceforge.net/ Official librsvg Project]
(version >= 2.8 include a good mozilla SVG plugin)
* Contact
** irc.gnome.org #librsvg or irc.gimp.org #librsvg

=== Scribus ===
* Website(s)
** [http://scribus.net/ Scribus Home Page]
* Contact
** irc.freenode.net #scribus

=== [[LittleCMS]] (Color Management System) ===
* Website
** [http://www.littlecms.com/ [[LittleCMS]] Home Page]
* Contact
** mailing list on sourceforge.net

=== ps2svg ===

A nice ps to svg converter written in postscript. Cannot handle text.
http://thunder.prohosting.com/~rshi/svg/

=== libwmf ===
* Website
**[http://wvware.sourceforge.net/libwmf.html Libwmf] provide the wmf2svg script we use for the extension.

=== [[FontForge]] ===
* Website
** [http://fontforge.sourceforge.net [[FontForge]] Home Page]
* Description:
** Vector font editor and converter (ps,TTF, ...).
** Interesting feature that could be imported in inkscape: allow to modify curves by draging the curve itself.
**(feature needed - an utility can be distributed with [[FontForge]] - an open .ttf viewer and printer like [[KeyTypeBook]] for [[MacOS]] Classic (7.0 to 9.6) )
**(w32 [[MinGW]] version (instead of Cygwin) of [[FontForge]] is missing)

(BEN) This page is now rather long, it should be split up ...
([[TomB]]) agreed; some of the bullits can be shunk up (blank lines removed), & links directly about Inkscape can be put in a new page

TheTAB

2006-02-14T11:11:25Z

Bpfowler: Added strap line from the offical site

Please post links to screenshots and/or insights of this vector app. We must learn from others.

The TAB 2.2 Lite is an entry level animation application, intended for creating cartoons.

=== Screenshots ===

[http://www.the-tab.com/htm/product/interface.htm Screenshots] of the TAB.

=== Video demo ===
A demo video, in .mov format:
[http://www.the-tab.com/htm/download/bonus/theTABdemoclip.zip]

=== Links ===

The [http://www.the-tab.com/ TAB 2.2 Lite ] web site, has numerous animations, but very little information.

Related programs

2006-02-14T10:59:03Z

Bpfowler: Added line about Beez

== <a name="plugins"></a>Inkscape Plugins, Scripts, and Templates ==
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/inkboard Inkboard] plans to add a shared whiteboard function to Inkscape via XMPP (used by Jabber). With Inkboard, a local copy of a diagram can be edited "live" by other users you are chatting with.
* [http://www.digitalunleashed.com/giving.php SVGSlice] allows a high-quality SVG image to be directly sliced into bitmap graphics.

== <a name="outsidetut"></a>Outside Tutorials and Tips ==
* [http://collou.f2o.org/inkspot/ Spotcolors!] Tutorial to create spotcolor separations using Inkscape
* [http://popolon.org/gblog2/made-business-cards-easily-with-inkscape Make business cards easily with Inkscape] short tutorial and 85×54mm SVGz templates provided [http://popolon.org/gblog2/categorie/didacticiel/didacticiel-graphique/didacticiel-inkscape/ more Inkscape tutorials] are available
* [http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/index.php A Guide to Inkscape] by Tavmjong Bah
* [http://jimmac.musichall.cz/weblog.php/Inkscape?flav=php Stopped Clock Blog] Has some good Flash tutorials & other Inkscape writings
* [http://www.deviantart.com/view/14703295/ Icons in Inkscape - mini-tut] by Daj
* [http://www.glitchnyc.com/cgi-bin/blosxom.cgi/technology/opensource/furboa_tutoria.phblox Tutorial: A Simple Approach to Drawing Complex Characters With Inkscape]
* [http://www.angelfire.com/mi/kevincharles/inkscape/index.html Unofficial Inkscape Documentation] a great work-in-progress by Kevin Charles
* [http://www.coofercat.com/wiki/InkScape Some Inkscape Know-How], a beginner's guide to creating complex shapes and flowing text into them
* [http://blog.vybiral.info/my_files/helps/tutorial.png Text following a circle's curve]
* [http://out-of-order.ca/lo/inktut.php Making Icons With Inkscape] A beginner's guide to creating nice icons in Inkscape.
* [http://www.coswellproductions.org/digital_minicomic_scanning_pasteup.php Using Free Software to Do Inexpensive Digital Paste-Up] A guide to using The GIMP and Inkscape to paste up pages for minicomics.

== Similar Applications ==

=== Free ===
* [[SodiPodi]]
* [[Beez]] SVG animation software for Win32, written in Delphi. "As of 2004-09-30 07:29, this project is no longer under active development."
* [[Cenon]]
* [[Dia]] (more for diagrams, less for illustrations)
* [[Gestalter]]
* [[The Gimp gfig]]
* [[Karbon14]] (Koffice)
* [http://glipssvgeditor.sourceforge.net/ GLIPS Graffiti]
* [[mvComicsMaker]] vector + bitmap animation (not maintened since several years).
* [[OpenDraw]]
* [[Sketch|Skencil (formerly known as Sketch)]]
* [[Tgif]]
* [[Xfig]]
* [[Kivio]] (Koffice)
* [[KToon]]

=== Other ===
* [[AdobeIllustrator]]
* [[CorelDraw]]
* [[MacromediaFreehand]]
* [[JascWebDraw]]
* [[Xara X]]
* [[MicrosoftVisio]]
* [[Expression]]
* [[MacromediaFlash]]
* [[Moho]]
* [[theTAB]]
* [[XStudio]]
* [[Sketsa]]
* [http://www.macromedia.com/software/fireworks/ Macromedia Fireworks] Raster graphics for the web; infrastructure shared with other Macromedia software means it works very much like a Vector Graphics program. More comparable to Adobe [[ImageReady]], but Fireworks is very specifically designed for effecient creation of web graphics.
* [[Beatware Mobile Designer]]
* [[Real Draw Pro]]
* [[Ikivo Animator]] from [[Ikivo]] is an application that enables designing animated content for mobile devices. Most impressive is the integrated device pro-viewing for guaranteed content accuracy.
* [http://www.colorschemer.com/online.html Color Schemer] A specialized tool for working with colors (for creating color schemes, finding harmonious colors, etc). The link is to an online version of the software.
* [http://www.maa.org/editorial/mathgames/mathgames_08_01_05.html Vector vs Raster] A comprehensive list of 67 Vector-based programs. 32 of the drawing programs support SVG.

== Viewers ==

=== Adobe SVG Viewer ===

* Website
** [http://www.adobe.com/svg/viewer/install/main.html Download Page] updated to v3.03 04/2005

=== Mozilla[[/Firefox]] SVG ===

* Website(s)
** [http://www.mozilla.org/projects/svg/ Official Mozilla SVG Project]
** [http://www.croczilla.com/svg/ http://www.croczilla.com/svg/]
* As of 26 April 2005, [http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/chase/archives/2005/04/svg_here_we_com.html SVG is now enabled in the Firefox trunk nightlies] (read comments on activation). To get a Firefox-SVG version, you can:
** [http://kb.mozillazine.org/Get_and_compile_the_source Build directly from CVS source]
** [http://www.mozilla.org/developer/#builds Download automated builds]
** [http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewforum.php?f=42 Download "Third Party[[/Unofficial]]" builds]
* Cairo will [http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/mt/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=36&search=cairo replace the graphics engine] in 1.9+.
*
* Contact
** irc.mozilla.org #svg

=== Opera Webbrowser SVG Support ===

* Website(s)
** [http://www.opera.com/docs/specs/#graphics "Opera 8 supports an extension of SVG 1.1 Tiny that includes opacity, font handling, and animation."]
** [http://www.opera.com/support/search/supsearch.dml?index=466 Opera KB:Installing the Adobe SVG Viewer plugin]
** [http://my.opera.com/forums/showthread.php?s=680b539088b7de23ad238c32a4303e39&threadid=88098&highlight=svg "[[AdobeSVGViewer]] not working in Version 8"]

* Contact
** http://my.opera.com/forums/

=== Mobile phones ===
There are millions of phones sold with SVGt 1.1 support and the SVGt 1.2 phones will soon hit the market.

* Websites
** [http://www.svg.org/special/svg_phones A growing list at svg.org]
** [http://www.ikivo.com/02player_phones.html Phones with the Ikivo Player]

=== See Also ===

[http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/SVG-Implementations.htm8 SVG Implementations] at the [[W3C]] - Inkscape is not on their list, but Sodipodi is.

[[SVGGeneralInformation]] on a separate page.

== Transcribers[[/Platform]] Optimizers ==

* [http://www.plazmic.com./en/products/index.shtml plazmic] ([[BlackBerry]])

== Co-Projects ==

=== Open Clip Art Library ===
* Website(s)
** [http://www.openclipart.org/ SVG clipart library]
* Contact
** irc.freenode.net #openclipart

=== Cairo ===

* Website(s)
** [http://cairographics.org/ Official Cairo Project]
* Contact
** irc.freenode.net #cairo

=== XSVG ===

* Website(s)
** [http://xsvg.org/ Official XSVG Project]

=== librsvg ===

* Website(s)
** [http://librsvg.sourceforge.net/ Official librsvg Project]
(version >= 2.8 include a good mozilla SVG plugin)
* Contact
** irc.gnome.org #librsvg or irc.gimp.org #librsvg

=== Scribus ===
* Website(s)
** [http://scribus.net/ Scribus Home Page]
* Contact
** irc.freenode.net #scribus

=== [[LittleCMS]] (Color Management System) ===
* Website
** [http://www.littlecms.com/ [[LittleCMS]] Home Page]
* Contact
** mailing list on sourceforge.net

=== ps2svg ===

A nice ps to svg converter written in postscript. Cannot handle text.
http://thunder.prohosting.com/~rshi/svg/

=== libwmf ===
* Website
**[http://wvware.sourceforge.net/libwmf.html Libwmf] provide the wmf2svg script we use for the extension.

=== [[FontForge]] ===
* Website
** [http://fontforge.sourceforge.net [[FontForge]] Home Page]
* Description:
** Vector font editor and converter (ps,TTF, ...).
** Interesting feature that could be imported in inkscape: allow to modify curves by draging the curve itself.
**(feature needed - an utility can be distributed with [[FontForge]] - an open .ttf viewer and printer like [[KeyTypeBook]] for [[MacOS]] Classic (7.0 to 9.6) )
**(w32 [[MinGW]] version (instead of Cygwin) of [[FontForge]] is missing)

(BEN) This page is now rather long, it should be split up ...
([[TomB]]) agreed; some of the bullits can be shunk up (blank lines removed), & links directly about Inkscape can be put in a new page

Inkscape Wiki:Bug reports

2006-02-13T16:54:47Z

Bpfowler: Added link to bug tracker

See:
*[http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=93438&atid=604306 Inkscape Bug Tracker at Sourceforge]

Tools

2006-02-10T11:10:34Z

Bpfowler: Tweaked potrace HOWTO

=== SVG Validator ===

A <a href="http://jiggles.w3.org/svgvalidator/">validator service</a>
(and downloadable tool) is provided by the [[W3C]]. It will complain about
sodipodi or inkscape namespaced items in the document, unless you've
exported to plain SVG.

=== SVG::Metadata ===

A <a href="http://search.cpan.org/CPAN/authors/id/B/BR/BRYCE/SVG-Metadata-0.10.tar.gz">Perl module and set of scripts</a> to help in adding and processing
metadata in SVG files.

=== Autotrace and Frontline ===
Autotrace is vectorization program by Martin Weber. That means
you can convert bitmap images (like scans) to vector graphics. While
not optimal for photos, it does good job on line art and poster-like
images. Doesn't do too well with color.

Frontline is GUI frontend to Autotrace by Masatake Yamato. Frontline
can be run as standalone aplication, but it can also be directly accessed
from Inkscape and GIMP.

If you want to have tracing option, yo have to install both Autotrace
and Frontline before compiling Inkscape. Inkscape automatically
detects these programs, and adds inline raster to vector conversion
option to image menu.

Both autotrace and frontline can be downloaded from
<a href="http://autotrace.sourceforge.net/">http://autotrace.sourceforge.net/</a>.

=== potrace ===

[http://potrace.sourceforge.net/ Potrace] is now embedded into Inkscape. You don't need to run it separately.

:So how the f--- do I use it via Inkscape???? [[User:StupidQuestion|StupidQuestion]] 00:17, 9 February 2006 (PST)

# Import the bitmap you want to trace using the File menu, (File->Import...)
# Select the bitmap
# Choose trace from the Path Menu (Path->Trace Bitmap ...)
# The Trace Bitmap dialog has settings for the tracing operation and a "preview"
# When you are happy with the preview, click OK, potrace will spend a few seconds processing the bitmap
# Close the dialog box and verify that you bitmap has been converted to a grouped set of vector shapes.
[[User:Autodmc|Autodmc]] 11:23, 9 February 2006 (PST)

Stupid: I came across this whilst looking for help on editing our wiki, now we don't make enough use of the wiki as a collaboration tool see [[UserManual]] for an example, though this may improve now we have adopted Mediawiki, so don't take it the wrong way when I suggest that for parity with other sections of this page, I will probably remove the text of your question sometime in the next few days. (If I don't, I guess someone else will). You are very welcome to list your areas of interest on your own page and/or continue to work on the wiki (this page needs many of its links re-working, for instance), and leave your mark on this project.
--[[User:Bpfowler|Bpfowler]] 03:10, 10 February 2006 (PST)

=== Delineate ===

Front end written in java that does interesting things with color
images.

<a href="http://delineate.sourceforge.net/">http://delineate.sourceforge.net/</a>

=== ill2svg ===

ill2svg (Illustrator to SVG) is a small script that helps turn Adobe
Illustrator .ai files into SVG. While it doesn't always do a perfect job,
it can sometimes be of great help.

To use the program, just type:

<pre>ill2svg.pl [-l "string" -h] infile > outfile.svg

options:
-l specify the file's line-ending convention: dos, mac,
or unix; the default is unix

-h print this message and exit
</pre>

=== gimp2sodipodi ===

Shandy Brown has assembled a somewhat obscure but useful set of tools to
get from GIMP to Sodipodi (and thus to Inkscape). That is, convert
raster to vector.

=== The Gimp ===

Gimp is firstly a bitmap graphic tool, but:
* It imports SVG (with help of librsvg) into bitmap or vector path, exports SVG.
* Gimp selection can be converted to vector path, and path are exported/imported in SVG.

Gimp can be used to create nice textures to use in inkscape or shapes that can be vectorized in Inkscape.
and, importing SVG drawings from Inkscape to Gimp, allow to do several effects by filling and stroking shapes.

There is limited drag'n'drop features between Gimp and Inkscape:
* path, can be drag'n'droped from Gimp path dialog to Inkscape
* pictures can be drag'n'droped from Gimp document history to inkscape it that's a recognised format for Inkscape.

<a href="http://gimp.org">http://gimp.org</a>

=== <a href="http://www.xs4all.nl/%7Esalsaman/lives/">LIVES</a> ===

LIVES is the Linux Video Editing System that permits editing and
making video without worries about formats, frame sizes, or frame
rates. It doesn't support SVG directly yet, but you can create animated
works by moving your shapes in Inkscape and exporting as numbered
png's.

Help:Contents

2006-02-10T10:30:14Z

Bpfowler: Added links to User mailing list and similar

==Raster to SVG conversion==
: Somewhere in here it says potrace is embedded in inkscape. So how the hell do I convert a bmp into an svg in inkscape????? [[User:StupidQuestion|StupidQuestion]] 00:13, 9 February 2006 (PST)

I am going to make a wild guess and suggest that this page is very far from being the best place to ask questions!

You should check the [[UserManual]] and the [http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/inkscape-user Inkscape Users Mailing List], which will probably give you good guidance on what you are trying to do. If these [[CommunicationChannels|resources]] do not give you useful answers, then this is a Bug either in Inkscape or its documentation, and you are invited to add it to our [http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=93438&atid=604306 Sourceforge Bug Tracker].

However, don't do this without searching first!

Help:Editing

2006-02-10T10:17:59Z

Bpfowler: Added page (stub)

I was expecting to find links to the core [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Contents Mediawiki] project, [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Help:Editing Wikisyntax], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:How_to_edit_a_page Editing a page] and perhaps some [http://neowiki.sixthcrusade.com/index.php/Help:Editing guidance] on style and [http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Help:MediaWiki_namespace techniques].

Developer manual

2006-02-10T09:35:12Z

Bpfowler: Added an external links section

= Inkscape Developer's Manual =

== Introduction ==

For those of you just joining us, or who have been with us but are just
now getting the itch to work on Inkscape, I thought I'd give some tips
for how to get started working in the codebase based on our own
experiences.

One of the first things most people wonder is "what should I work on".
As you may have already noticed, we generally don't "assign" projects.
We figure there's plenty more work to do than people to do it, so you
may as well work on something that you're either interested in or that
adds something of benefit to you; that's extra motivation to get your
own itches scratched.

If you're really stumped though, we keep a detailed [[Roadmap]] in wiki that
you're welcome to browse through to look for ideas of things to work
on. Tasks that do not have names beside them are open for anyone to
take; if you want to take ownership of a task, just put your name beside
it. Feel free to add or reword tasks as needed, although try not to
load up the current milestone with tasks that aren't critical for the
release. Feel free to work on stuff that is several milestones down the
road; there's rarely any problem with getting stuff done sooner than
planned. ;-)

We have a process for gaining CVS commit access. The reason is that
while it is important that we keep access to the codebase open, we don't
want to be crazy and leave it wide open to any random passer-by. The
process is that we require that the person make two contributions
(patches, documentation, web collateral, etc.) and then make a request
to get account access.

In general you won't need CVS commit access in order to start doing
development, because you can work from an anonymous checkout and create
patches. If you've not done this before, you'll need to learn this
skill first (basically see docs for `cvs diff`).

When you first start hacking on Inkscape code, I wouldn't recommend
taking an objective of implementing a specific feature, because you will
need some time to familiarize yourself with the codebase, and because
you won't really know what features are going to be straightforward to
implement and which will be highly challenging. Of course, if you have
the time and love adventures, this might be a fun way to go.

There are four approaches that I've seen people effectively use in
getting into the codebase:

<ul>
<li>Write code documentation. Some people who don't mind adding
comments to code or writing docs find it useful to just go through
code they're interested in working on and writing up what it does.
The codebase is in dire need of better docs, so this approach pays
dividends well into the future.
</li>

<li>Fix bugs. Tracing down the cause of reported bugs is an effective
way to gain understanding of the codebase in small chunks. Many
common bugs can be traced down and fixed in a matter of hours, and
often will identify some bit of code in need of refactoring or
extension. Note that some of our older bugs are in the system
because they're hard to fix, so you'll want to work on the more
recent ones.
</li>

<li>Chip in on a group effort. Occasionally we identify a major
refactoring effort (such as when we converted from C to C++), that
we encourage lots of people to help on, in the philosophy that many
hands makes short work. This work tends to be pretty rote so is
not hard for new folks to get involved with; it just takes time. We
generally have one of these kinds of efforts per release. It
usually isn't glamorous work, but in aggregate moves the codebase
forward in a major way.
</li>

<li>Subsystem/module work. Some people want to get their hands in the
details quick, so take the approach of developing new code separate
from the codebase, to be integrated in later. This generally tends
to take a larger time commitment than the other approaches, but can be
an effective approach in some circumstances. We have a CVS module
called 'experimental' that you're welcome to house your work until
it's ready for prime time.
</li>
</ul>

Beyond that, you're going to find the documentation for the Inkscape
code is pretty scarce. We've worked on bits and pieces but
unfortunately the vast majority of the code is undocumented. On the
plus side, often you can implement the stuff you care about after
learning only a limited portion of the codebase.

I think you'd find Inkscape an enjoyable Open Source project to work on.
There's a huge range of interesting and useful skills that can be
learned from it, plus the developers are great guys to participate with.
The project itself runs smoothly and puts a premium on keeping things
friendly and low-stress, so heated arguments are rare. The users have
been great to work with and very appreciative of even small new features
and fixes. Plus, since Inkscape is so visual in nature, it's very cool
to see how your little changes make noticeable improvements to the app
overall.

== C++ Reference ==
* FAQ (with answers) sheet. We strongly recommend that everyone read this site comprehensively. You should not need to bookmark it, it should be the first of the sites on your autocomplete list for <code>par</code>!

http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq-lite/

It is actually more in-depth than the name FAQ suggests. Many experienced C++ programmers would benefit from it.

* List of [http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/u/vkarvone/2004s/cplusplus/errors.html schoolboy errors]. None of these should appear in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free/Libre/Open-Source_Software FLOSS] code.

== Strings ==
Please make sure any user-visible strings are localizable. This requires wrapping them with "_(" and ")", like so:

"Select object"
becomes
_("Select object")

In case the interpretation of the string may be ambiguous or may differ according to context, you can add a context prefix (that won't be displayed) in order to eliminate the ambiguity.
"Ambiguous string"
can then become
Q_("Context|Ambiguous string")

For more complex things, please check the gettext/localization documentation.
See also http://developer.gnome.org/doc/API/2.0/glib/glib-I18N.html

== Standards Compliance - Extension Namespaces ==

* Only elements and attributes from our extension namespaces that ''do not affect rendering'' may be saved in SVG documents.
* Generally, this means that extension elements and attributes should only be used to provide UI hints.
* Extension elements and attributes should ''only'' be used where an existing facility provided by XML or SVG is not sufficient.

== Global Verbs ==

Here's a readers' digest summary of how Inkscape accelerators work:

A global mapping between key combinations and integer verb IDs
(sp_verb_t) is maintained in shortcuts.cpp; these are registered using
sp_shortcut_set().

Given an sp_verb_t and an SPView, you can get an SPAction which
represents that action in that view. These mappings are currently
hard-coded in verbs.cpp.

SPActions derive from [[NRActiveObject]], which putatively provides a
"lightweight" method of doing callbacks, versus GObject signals. I
don't completely understand how it works.

SPActions also contain the label, image, etc, used for buttons and
menuitems.

sp_shortcut_invoke() looks up the SPAction for a keypress and SPView and
invokes it automatically. [[SPEventContexts]] call it for keypresses that
they do not handle themselves.

== Garbage collection ==

As you know, many automatic garbage collectors (like libgc) only
free and recycle memory periodically. This means you may have some
extra slush that could be freed, but hasn't yet.

There are other forces at work, though...

Pretty much all allocators, whether automatic or not, whether the
system malloc() or some custom allocator like libgc's, work the
same way: they request large blocks of memory from the operating
system, then divvy those blocks into smaller ones internally to
satisfy application allocation requests.

When an application frees memory, that memory is usually recycled
internally rather than returned to the OS immediately. The reason
for this is that the large memory blocks acquired from the OS must
be completely unused before they can actually be freed.

Let's say for example that an allocator acquires 16 8MB blocks from
the OS in response to 32768 4k application allocations...

In a worst-case scenario, it's possible that the application could
free 32752 of those 4k blocks but the remaining 16 4k just happen
to be distributed across the 16 8MB blocks requested from the OS.

If that happens, from the application's point of view it may only
have 64k allocated, but as far as the OS is concerned, it's still
using 128MB!

Note that this applies to nearly all allocators in common use.

While it's unusual for things to get quite that bad, memory
fragmentation is common enough that many popular allocators (for
example Perl's) simply don't bother trying to return memory to the
OS at all (the memory will still get forcibly reclaimed by the OS
when the process exits).

[ FWIW, libgc's allocator is one of the ones that _does_ make an
effort to release memory to the OS, but it is limited by
fragmentation like any other ]

Also note that for various reasons, the statistics you get from the
OS aren't going to directly reflect the amount of heap-allocated
memory. Be careful drawing conclusions from only looking at e.g.
the output of top(1)...

(the worst thing is that due to the modern practice of
overcommitting memory, the OS may literally lie to an application
about the amount of memory it is being given, hoping the
application won't really try to use it all)

The best approach to evaluating memory usage is if you can ask the
allocator for information on memory usage directly, as that matches
the world from the point of view of the application.

leftover gradients/markers/patterns
will get automatically cleaned up when the objects that use them are
deleted.

Caveats:

* this only applies to such objects created with a build of Inkscape which post-dates this commit (June 7)

* not all automatically-created objects will necessarily be collected; the code that creates them needs to be updated to set the correct collection policy

* paint objects won't get collected until another editing operation takes place, since [[NRArenaShape]] currently holds onto an SPStyle for too long

Technical details:

Assuming its collection policy permits it, an object will be collected
if neither it nor its descendants have any outstanding inter-document
URI references (nonzero SPObject::hrefcount).

There are two "policies" for collecting orphans:

* "with-parent" - the object will only be collected if one of its ancestors is collected

* "always" - the object is always collected if unused

(a third policy might be "never", which would necessarily also prevent
that object's ancestors from ever being collected; I do not plan on
implementing it)

The policy in effect is determined by the inkscape:collect attribute.

Be careful with the "always" policy; it really only makes sense for
"private" objects that are indirectly created behind the scenes (e.g. by
selecting a fill or marker option in the GUI).

SPDocument manages a queue of objects to collect; SPObject handles the machinery for actually queueing them when their hrefcount falls (based on policy), and performing the actual collection (delete).
SPDocument::collectObjects() performs a collection pass; it's currently only called from sp_document_maybe_done().

== Inkscape Experimental CVS ==

The 'experimental' module in Inkscape CVS is provided as a kind of "scratchpad" for
working up new ideas that aren't quite ready for folding into the main codebase.
This includes architectural sketches, examples, experimental patchsets, tools & utilities, or
whatever else strikes the developer's fancy.

Please create a subdirectory within experimental/ for your work. You're welcome to either post
the stuff at the top level or create a subdirectory for yourself. Things linked in at the top level
should be considered fair game for other developers to collaborate on; items posted under
a developer's username should be considered ask-first. Same sort of idea as wiki.

One of the principles behind this module is the idea of a shared working space. Other developers
working in experimental can fairly easily see what others are working on in the tree, and perhaps
borrow or contribute ideas back and forth. Since it is by definition not 'production' code, the
work may be incomplete or in a non-compileable state, and thats O-K.

When an experiment has matured to the point of being actually useful, please move it out of
the experimental module to someplace more appropriate. Or alternatively if the experimental
work has become obsolete or irrelevant, please remove it so we can avoid having the
experimental tree get too bulky.

== Directory Organization ==

=== Distribution / Packaging Files ===

Files related to generation of distribution packages should go under inkscape/packaging, as follows:

inkscape/packaging/
common/
debian/
fedora/
fink/
mandrake/
suse/

=== "Share" Collateral ===

A variety of items are installed in addition to the program itself, and placed into a 'share' directory structured as follows:

AUTHORS
NEWS
clipart/
examples/
extensions/
fonts/
gradients/
icons/
keyboards/
markers/
palettes/
patterns/
screens/
about.svg
templates/
tutorials/

In the CVS codebase, all of these are placed in inkscape/share/ (except AUTHORS and NEWS which will be copied to share during installation. The idea is that in theory, this entire tree structure can be copied into place on the user's machine.

However, we need to provide the user some level of control over the installation. They may wish to exclude some items, or may wish to augment the default install with some items external to the Inkscape package. For example, they may wish to incorporate external clipart collections. One approach would be to install symlinks in the given component directory to the external collection. For example, if the flags package were to install into /usr/share/flags-svg/, we'd just symlink there.

=== Code modules ===
Several parts of the code were written in a modular way, and they have been
accordingly placed in subdirectories of src/, while the main src directory
still contains the biggest part. To get a first overview of the modules, you
might want to have a look at these dependency graphs before you read deeper
into the source code (outside at the moment):

[http://www.ark.in-berlin.de/gri-debug.svgz]
[http://www.ark.in-berlin.de/gri-dialogs.svgz]
[http://www.ark.in-berlin.de/gri-display.svgz]
[http://www.ark.in-berlin.de/gri-io.svgz]
[http://www.ark.in-berlin.de/gri-libcroco.svgz]
[http://www.ark.in-berlin.de/gri-libnr.svgz]
[http://www.ark.in-berlin.de/gri-libnrtype.svgz]
[http://www.ark.in-berlin.de/gri-livarot.svgz]
[http://www.ark.in-berlin.de/gri-widgets.svgz]
[http://www.ark.in-berlin.de/gri-xml.svgz]

These are not all modules! For questions about how to generate these graphs
with graph-includes, please [mailto:rwst@users.sf.net].

Question on .svgz files: Is the server sending the right 'Content-Encoding:' header?
This matters to Mozilla browsers in standards compliance mode! http://jwatt.org/svg/authoring/#server-configuration

= See Also =
* [[DirectoryReorgProposal]]
* [[InkscapeJanitors]]

= Links =
[Software Quality http://advogato.org/article/51.html]