Re: xbm2xface.pl, please add it to the distribution...

Stig (stig@hackvan.com)
Tue, 2 Jul 1996 22:28:41 -0700

In <199607030335.NAA20054@lyrch.cit.gu.edu.au>, Anthony Thyssen wrote...
> | While hacking X-Face support into XEmacs, I wrote a perl script to make the
> | creation of X-Face headers less of a pain in the behind. Please add this to
> | the distribution so that it propagates...
> |
> Very good. But you don't need to go to perl...
> Also X Bitmap files can also have C Program Comments and
> Hotspot Information before what you assume is the third line
> ``static'' array. Tsk, Tsk, Tsk :-)

Oh well. Feel free to patch it.

It works on the output of bitmap(1), is good enough for most people who want
to draw their own x-faces. They certainly ought to have _something_ more
useful than the 27 line README file that comes with the package...

> In my AIcons library (Anthonys X Window Icon Library)
> http://www.sct.gu.edu.au/~anthony/icons/
> support scripts area
> http://www.sct.gu.edu.au/~anthony/icons/support/scripts/
> I have a Shell script using the PBMplus or NetPbm Image Tools to
> convert from the variable X bitmap format to the pbmplus bitmap
> format for easier conversion.

thanks for the reference, I'll poke around some time...

> =======8<--------CUT HERE----------axes/crowbars permitted---------------
...
> # compressed bitmap for use in the mail X-Face header. Requires some
> # bitmap filters from the pbmplus package, and the compface program
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Principal disadvantage highlighted. Perl is more common than pbmplus.

Stig