On Friday 14 October 2005 21:56, Charles Moir wrote:
So, if this is a feature that you guys are thinking of adding to Inkscape, lets have a common API to call external photo editors. Then we can be compatible - we can both use and call Photo editors in a compatible way. What's more this provides an added incentive for the various photo editors out there to support this API and so greatly increase the interop and choice for all users.
I might be talking b**ls here, because for all I know Linux already has an open, common API to pass photos to and from the various picture editors. But it seems another area where we could both possibly develop a feature in parallel, but both benefit equally from it.
I don't know of anything *specifically* for that.
However, there is an API that might be relevant here, with added benefits. It's a network protocol, primarily for 3D graphics collaboration, called "Verse":
http://www.blender.org/modules/verse/
Performance could be an issue for large bitmaps, since it's a network protocol, but perhaps an optimised version could be used locally.
The added benefits would be that Inkscape/Xara would be capable of fully integrating in 3D production houses, where many people work on different parts of a scene at the same time. As I understand it, when artists update an image, 3D modellers would see those changes as they model. Likewise, different 2D/bitmap/vector artists could collaborate in a workgroup, all in realtime, building up an image between them. Of course, if you're doing it locally, you could draw in GIMP and see it update in Inkscape/Xara too.
Being 3D-oriented, there's probably some scope for sharing 2D nodes as well, perhaps allowing different artists to modify subgroups or layers of nodes in the same master drawing at once.
Blender is the major project involved as far as I know. There is already a GIMP plugin:
http://users.pandora.be/blendix/verse/
Even if this particular protocol isn't suitable (quite possible, I suppose), it might give some ideas on how to go beyond what MS are doing and produce something really special, with its own niche. Perhaps a similar API for 2D graphics could be created, with a gateway/bridge developed in future.
Also, I think there is also a similar (perhaps more popular/complete/relevant) 3D network collaboration protocol being used/developed for products like Alias's Maya and Autodesk's 3D Studio Max.
Hope this helps some :)