[BLACKBOX] Creating .png files

From: [at]} <Aubrey.McIntosh{>
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:02:16 -0600

I want to have a .png file for a web site. This file will display a graph (of historical unemployment data). In very broad terms, I am choosing between two different ways to do that, and I wondered if the community had any comments.

I. I have one subsystem that is very similar to ObxCharts. This draws a frame with the appearance that I desire for the .png file. It also stores and opens the file, and displays a text with values if the view is left clicked. It reads the .csv files that the Bureau of Labor produces with minimum changes and updates the graph.

This subsystem could be extended with the ideas in ObsTicker and produce a strip-chart that can display real time scientific or economic data, and save snapshots in a way that is completely integrated with BB.

II. I have a different subsystem that is based on the FreeImage.dll (v3.11.0) distribution by Necati Ecevit. I can produce graph in that subsystem and emit a .png file. (Nice effort, saved me much time.)

I seem to have these choices:
1. Write a .png Store converter for my first subsystem. This lays groundwork for an editor and much flexibility.
    Some choices are:
    a. Make a correct DrawLine routine for the Free graphics library, and use it to write a straightforward converter.
         I did read the old V4 oberon code last night, studied Bresenhan, and wrote a correct but not robust or versital version.
    b. or write a Frame and/or Port around the Free library,
    c. gain access to the windows BMP underneath the BlackBox viewer and have Free emit a .png from it. I don't think the viewer is easily available to the converter code.

2. Study and possibly Re factor the Free distribution a bit. Emphasize the use of the FIBITMAP data structure + the graphed data as the model. My 1 day impression is that the windows bitmap and the FIBITMAP data structures are viewed as the models in inconsistent ways in different parts of the project.
Leave my existing LineDraw as it is, use it for this project, put it into the hell directory with all the other one offs.


-- 
-- 
Aubrey McIntosh, Ph.D.
1502 Devon Circle
Austin TX 78723-1814
http://home.grandecom.net/~amcintosh/aubrey/Search/
---- To unsubscribe, send a message with body "SIGNOFF BLACKBOX" to LISTSERV{([at]})nowhere.xy
Received on Sat Jan 31 2009 - 00:02:16 UTC

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.0 : Thu Sep 26 2013 - 06:30:49 UTC