# from Bob Jamison # on Friday 14 April 2006 07:57 pm:
A lib that can convert anything to anything would necessarily need an internal format-neutral presentation model for reading and writing. I know of exactly two libs that do that: Imagemagick for bitmaps,
Format-neutral representations of 2D arrays are a cakewalk compared to 2D/3D vector graphics. Okay, bitmaps are more than just arrays, but still -- cakewalk :-)
Batik for svg/ps/pdf/latex/etc. Imagemagick is large, and Batik is HUGE.
Precisely why the uber-converter does not try to do everything in a single central format. Also, it is not written in Java. Also, it is not written in <name of language you don't like/know>.
It would take a lot of work, and I would gladly contribute to it.
Jump in. It could use a bit more documentation of the central formats, but I'm trying to focus more heavily on testing than specifying. Feel free to ping me on whatever list or IRC channel. For the svg/ps/pdf/xar formats, your hub is chromista, but even that is not set in stone.
--Eric