source: trunk/third/libpng/README @ 18166

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1README for libpng 1.2.5 - October 3, 2002 (shared library 12.0)
2See the note about version numbers near the top of png.h
3
4See INSTALL for instructions on how to install libpng.
5
6Libpng comes in two distribution formats.  Get libpng-*.tar.gz if you
7want UNIX-style line endings in the text files, or lpng*.zip if you want
8DOS-style line endings.
9
10Version 0.89 was the first official release of libpng.  Don't let the
11fact that it's the first release fool you.  The libpng library has been in
12extensive use and testing since mid-1995.  By late 1997 it had
13finally gotten to the stage where there hadn't been significant
14changes to the API in some time, and people have a bad feeling about
15libraries with versions < 1.0.  Version 1.0.0 was released in
16March 1998.
17
18****
19Note that some of the changes to the png_info structure render this
20version of the library binary incompatible with libpng-0.89 or
21earlier versions if you are using a shared library.  The type of the
22"filler" parameter for png_set_filler() has changed from png_byte to
23png_uint_32, which will affect shared-library applications that use
24this function.
25
26To avoid problems with changes to the internals of png_info_struct,
27new APIs have been made available in 0.95 to avoid direct application
28access to info_ptr.  These functions are the png_set_<chunk> and
29png_get_<chunk> functions.  These functions should be used when
30accessing/storing the info_struct data, rather than manipulating it
31directly, to avoid such problems in the future.
32
33It is important to note that the APIs do not make current programs
34that access the info struct directly incompatible with the new
35library.  However, it is strongly suggested that new programs use
36the new APIs (as shown in example.c and pngtest.c), and older programs
37be converted to the new format, to facilitate upgrades in the future.
38****
39
40Additions since 0.90 include the ability to compile libpng as a
41Windows DLL, and new APIs for accessing data in the info struct.
42Experimental functions include the ability to set weighting and cost
43factors for row filter selection, direct reads of integers from buffers
44on big-endian processors that support misaligned data access, faster
45methods of doing alpha composition, and more accurate 16->8 bit color
46conversion.
47
48The additions since 0.89 include the ability to read from a PNG stream
49which has had some (or all) of the signature bytes read by the calling
50application.  This also allows the reading of embedded PNG streams that
51do not have the PNG file signature.  As well, it is now possible to set
52the library action on the detection of chunk CRC errors.  It is possible
53to set different actions based on whether the CRC error occurred in a
54critical or an ancillary chunk.
55
56The changes made to the library, and bugs fixed are based on discussions
57on the PNG implementation mailing list <png-implement@ccrc.wustl.edu>
58and not on material submitted privately to Guy, Andreas, or Glenn.  They will
59forward any good suggestions to the list.
60
61For a detailed description on using libpng, read libpng.txt.  For
62examples of libpng in a program, see example.c and pngtest.c.  For usage
63information and restrictions (what little they are) on libpng, see
64png.h.  For a description on using zlib (the compression library used by
65libpng) and zlib's restrictions, see zlib.h
66
67I have included a general makefile, as well as several machine and
68compiler specific ones, but you may have to modify one for your own needs.
69
70You should use zlib 1.0.4 or later to run this, but it MAY work with
71versions as old as zlib 0.95.  Even so, there are bugs in older zlib
72versions which can cause the output of invalid compression streams for
73some images.  You will definitely need zlib 1.0.4 or later if you are
74taking advantage of the MS-DOS "far" structure allocation for the small
75and medium memory models.  You should also note that zlib is a
76compression library that is useful for more things than just PNG files.
77You can use zlib as a drop-in replacement for fread() and fwrite() if
78you are so inclined.
79
80zlib should be available at the same place that libpng is.
81If not, it should be at ftp.uu.net in /graphics/png
82Eventually, it will be at ftp.uu.net in /pub/archiving/zip/zlib
83
84You may also want a copy of the PNG specification.  It is available
85as an RFC and a W3C Recommendation.  Failing
86these resources you can try ftp.uu.net in the /graphics/png directory.
87
88This code is currently being archived at ftp.uu.net in the
89/graphics/png directory, and on CompuServe, Lib 20 (PNG SUPPORT)
90at GO GRAPHSUP.  If you can't find it in any of those places,
91e-mail me, and I'll help you find it.
92
93If you have any code changes, requests, problems, etc., please e-mail
94them to me.  Also, I'd appreciate any make files or project files,
95and any modifications you needed to make to get libpng to compile,
96along with a #define variable to tell what compiler/system you are on.
97If you needed to add transformations to libpng, or wish libpng would
98provide the image in a different way, drop me a note (and code, if
99possible), so I can consider supporting the transformation.
100Finally, if you get any warning messages when compiling libpng
101(note: not zlib), and they are easy to fix, I'd appreciate the
102fix.  Please mention "libpng" somewhere in the subject line.  Thanks.
103
104This release was created and will be supported by myself (of course
105based in a large way on Guy's and Andreas' earlier work), and the PNG group.
106
107randeg@alum.rpi.edu
108png-implement@ccrc.wustl.edu
109
110You can't reach Guy, the original libpng author, at the addresses
111given in previous versions of this document.  He and Andreas will read mail
112addressed to the png-implement list, however.
113
114Please do not send general questions about PNG.  Send them to
115the address in the specification (png-group@w3.org).  At the same
116time, please do not send libpng questions to that address, send them to me
117or to png-implement@ccrc.wustl.edu.  I'll
118get them in the end anyway.  If you have a question about something
119in the PNG specification that is related to using libpng, send it
120to me.  Send me any questions that start with "I was using libpng,
121and ...".  If in doubt, send questions to me.  I'll bounce them
122to others, if necessary.
123
124Please do not send suggestions on how to change PNG.  We have
125been discussing PNG for three years now, and it is official and
126finished.  If you have suggestions for libpng, however, I'll
127gladly listen.  Even if your suggestion is not used for version
1281.0, it may be used later.
129
130Files in this distribution:
131
132      ANNOUNCE      =>  Announcement of this version, with recent changes
133      CHANGES       =>  Description of changes between libpng versions
134      KNOWNBUG      =>  List of known bugs and deficiencies
135      LICENSE       =>  License to use and redistribute libpng
136      README        =>  This file
137      TODO          =>  Things not implemented in the current library
138      Y2KINFO       =>  Statement of Y2K compliance
139      example.c     =>  Example code for using libpng functions
140      libpng.3      =>  manual page for libpng (includes libpng.txt)
141      libpng.txt    =>  Description of libpng and its functions
142      libpngpf.3    =>  manual page for libpng's private functions
143      png.5         =>  manual page for the PNG format
144      png.c         =>  Basic interface functions common to library
145      png.h         =>  Library function and interface declarations
146      pngconf.h     =>  System specific library configuration
147      pngasmrd.h    =>  Header file for assembler-coded functions
148      pngerror.c    =>  Error/warning message I/O functions
149      pngget.c      =>  Functions for retrieving info from struct
150      pngmem.c      =>  Memory handling functions
151      pngbar.png    =>  PNG logo, 88x31
152      pngnow.png    =>  PNG logo, 98x31
153      pngpread.c    =>  Progressive reading functions
154      pngread.c     =>  Read data/helper high-level functions
155      pngrio.c      =>  Lowest-level data read I/O functions
156      pngrtran.c    =>  Read data transformation functions
157      pngrutil.c    =>  Read data utility functions
158      pngset.c      =>  Functions for storing data into the info_struct
159      pngtest.c     =>  Library test program
160      pngtest.png   =>  Library test sample image
161      pngtrans.c    =>  Common data transformation functions
162      pngwio.c      =>  Lowest-level write I/O functions
163      pngwrite.c    =>  High-level write functions
164      pngwtran.c    =>  Write data transformations
165      pngwutil.c    =>  Write utility functions
166      contrib       =>  Contributions
167       gregbook         =>  source code for PNG reading and writing, from
168                            Greg Roelofs' "PNG: The Definitive Guide",
169                            O'Reilly, 1999
170       msvctest     =>  Builds and runs pngtest using a MSVC workspace
171       pngminus     =>  Simple pnm2png and png2pnm programs
172       pngsuite     =>  Test images
173       visupng      =>  Contains a MSVC workspace for VisualPng
174      projects      =>  Contains project files and workspaces for building DLL
175       beos             =>  Contains a Beos workspace for building libpng
176       borland          =>  Contains a Borland workspace for building libpng
177                            and zlib
178       msvc             =>  Contains a Microsoft Visual C++ (MSVC) workspace
179                            for building libpng and zlib
180       netware.txt      =>  Contains instructions for downloading a set of
181                            project files for building libpng and zlib on
182                            Netware.
183       wince.txt        =>  Contains instructions for downloading a Microsoft
184                            Visual C++ (Windows CD Toolkit) workspace for
185                            building libpng and zlib on WindowsCE
186      scripts       =>  Directory containing scripts for building libpng:
187       descrip.mms      =>  VMS makefile for MMS or MMK
188       makefile.std     =>  Generic UNIX makefile (cc, creates static libpng.a)
189       makefile.linux   =>  Linux/ELF makefile
190                            (gcc, creates libpng12.so.0.1.2.5)
191       makefile.gcmmx   =>  Linux/ELF makefile (gcc, creates
192                            libpng12.so.0.1.2.5, uses assembler code
193                            tuned for Intel MMX platform)
194       makefile.gcc     =>  Generic makefile (gcc, creates static libpng.a)
195       makefile.knr     =>  Archaic UNIX Makefile that converts files with
196                            ansi2knr (Requires ansi2knr.c from
197                            ftp://ftp.cs.wisc.edu/ghost)
198       makefile.aix     =>  AIX makefile
199       makefile.cygwin  =>  Cygwin/gcc makefile
200       makefile.darwin  =>  Darwin makefile
201       makefile.dec     =>  DEC Alpha UNIX makefile
202       makefile.freebsd =>  FreeBSD makefile
203       makefile.hpgcc   =>  HPUX makefile using gcc
204       makefile.hpux    =>  HPUX (10.20 and 11.00) makefile
205       makefile.ibmc    =>  IBM C/C++ version 3.x for Win32 and OS/2 (static)
206       makefile.intel   =>  Intel C/C++ version 4.0 and later
207       libpng.icc       =>  Project file, IBM VisualAge/C++ 4.0 or later
208       makefile.macosx  =>  MACOS X Makefile
209       makefile.netbsd  =>  NetBSD/cc makefile, PNGGCCRD, makes libpng.so.
210       makefile.ne0bsd =>  NetBSD/cc makefile, PNGGCCRD, makes libpng0.so
211       makefile.openbsd =>  OpenBSD makefile
212       makefile.sgi     =>  Silicon Graphics IRIX (cc, creates static lib)
213       makefile.sggcc   =>  Silicon Graphics (gcc, creates libpng12.so.0.1.2.5)
214       makefile.sunos   =>  Sun makefile
215       makefile.solaris =>  Solaris 2.X makefile
216                            (gcc, creates libpng12.so.0.1.2.5)
217       makefile.so9     =>  Solaris 9 makefile
218                            (gcc, creates libpng12.so.0.1.2.5)
219       makefile.32sunu  =>  Sun Ultra 32-bit makefile
220       makefile.64sunu  =>  Sun Ultra 64-bit makefile
221       makefile.sco     =>  For SCO OSr5  ELF and Unixware 7 with Native cc
222       makefile.mips    =>  MIPS makefile
223       makefile.acorn   =>  Acorn makefile
224       makefile.amiga   =>  Amiga makefile
225       smakefile.ppc    =>  AMIGA smakefile for SAS C V6.58/7.00 PPC
226                            compiler (Requires SCOPTIONS, copied from
227                            scripts/SCOPTIONS.ppc)
228       makefile.atari   =>  Atari makefile
229       makefile.beos    =>  BEOS makefile for X86
230       makefile.bor     =>  Borland makefile (uses bcc)
231       makefile.bc32    =>  32-bit Borland C++ (all modules compiled in C mode)
232       makefile.bd32    =>  To make a png32bd.dll with Borland C++ 4.5
233       makefile.tc3     =>  Turbo C 3.0 makefile
234       makefile.dj2     =>  DJGPP 2 makefile
235       makefile.msc     =>  Microsoft C makefile
236       makefile.vcawin32 => makefile for Microsoft Visual C++ 5.0 and
237                            later (uses assembler code tuned for Intel MMX
238                            platform)
239       makefile.vcwin32 =>  makefile for Microsoft Visual C++ 4.0 and
240                            later (does not use assembler code)
241       makefile.os2     =>  OS/2 Makefile (gcc and emx, requires pngos2.def)
242       pngos2.def       =>  OS/2 module definition file used by makefile.os2
243       makefile.watcom  =>  Watcom 10a+ Makefile, 32-bit flat memory model
244       makevms.com      =>  VMS build script
245       pngdef.pas       =>  Defines for a png32bd.dll with Borland C++ 4.5
246       SCOPTIONS.ppc    =>  Used with smakefile.ppc
247      mangle        =>  Directory containing scripts to build libpng12m.so:
248       mangle.in        =>  Function-decoration macros added to png.h by the
249                            makefiles.
250       makefile.linux   =>  Linux/ELF makefile
251                            (gcc, creates libpng12m.so.0.1.2.5)
252       makefile.gcmmx   =>  Linux/ELF makefile (gcc, creates
253                            libpng12.so.0m.1.2.5, uses assembler code
254                            tuned for Intel MMX platform)
255       makefile.sgi     =>  Silicon Graphics (cc, creates libpng12m.so)
256       makefile.sggcc   =>  Silicon Graphics (gcc, creates libpng12m.so)
257
258Good luck, and happy coding.
259
260-Glenn Randers-Pehrson
261 Internet: randeg@alum.rpi.edu
262
263-Andreas Eric Dilger
264 Internet: adilger@enel.ucalgary.ca
265 Web: http://www-mddsp.enel.ucalgary.ca/People/adilger/
266
267-Guy Eric Schalnat
268 (formerly of Group 42, Inc)
269 Internet: gschal@infinet.com
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