Re: [Phpgroupware-developers] The GIF issue

[Peter]

I find the GIF patent a minor thing. PHP.net support php4win.com, a site that 
supplies a Win32 binary of PHP compiled 
with more options. phpgroupware could invent phpgwskins.org or similar to 
supply untested skins and unsupported 
images. All pgpgw needs is an admin panel to provide an image directory 
selection, an image prefix field and an 
image type field. Someone selects /images/bad/bad/, enters the image file name 
prefix of "unsupported_3.1.02", and 
enters the image type of gif. Internally the code changes /images/something.png 
to 
/images/bad/bad/unsupported_3.1.02something.gif.

I am more worried about the PHP3 compatibility issue. There are things in PHP4 
that are important to software which will 
be used professionally. === and other features are as close as PHP gets to 
strong data typing, something that is 
needed as PHP based projects grow in size. Can/will PHP4 become GPL? What 
happens when PHP5 arrives? If not, I 
would use that as a strong argument against staying with GNU and put the 
PHP4/PHP5 issue way ahead of the GIF 
argument.

If you do replace GIFs with PNGs and have a problem with transparency, please 
list the browsers that work and those 
that do not. In my experience, most browsers internally translate PNG to GIF 
and process the transparency bits as a 
single bit that works well with some images. If you have an image with a sharp 
transparency rolloff so they are all on or 
off, the PNG works just like a GIF. If you have a graduation, then the 
transparency does not work in a GIF so is no worse 
in a PNG.

24 bit PNG transparency fails frequently but is a replacement for JPEG and JPEG 
does not have transparency. If there 
are example 8 bit PNGs with matching GIFs that work differently in particular 
browsers, please let me know which 
images and which browsers. I will see how common that browser is amongst 
visitors to my Web site and my customers 
Web sites.

Peter

1/17/02 5:14:30 AM, "Dan Kuykendall (Seek3r)" <address@hidden> wrote:

>Since we kept hearing complaints from Loic about us including GIFs in
>phpGroupWare's CVS and soon tarballs on Savnnah I decided it was time to
>hop on the phone and talk to the Free Software Foundation directly.
>I have met Bradly Kuhn in the past and we have a good relationship, so I
>went to him on the issue. Bradly is the VP of the FSF so I know he can
>make decisions on the issue.
>
>The issue revolves around a patent involved with gif compression. You
>can read the FSF's position here.
>http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/gif.html
>
>The patent expires in 2 years, but that is too long to the FSF to be
>willing to ignore for our situation. Basicly they had a dead set policy
>that GNU software will not include GIF's. Period.
>
>Now this is where we have a real problem, because we use GIF's in phpGW
>for most of our images. Now switching most of our images to PNG shouldnt
>be a problem, except for the navbar images. Because the navbar images
>currently need to be transparent so that themes can switch the colors at
>will and have things still look nice.
>PNG's support transparency, but the support is not consistant, and in
>most browsers the transparant part doesnt work.
>
>There are some work arounds we could try, such as having some fixed
>white space around the image, so that thy are all consistant and things
>will still look resonable.
>
>The FSF doesnt want to have this become an issue which make phpGW
>abandon its status as a GNU project, but are not willing to budge on the
>issue.
>
>I would like as much feedback as possible to help figure out what we
>should do.
>
>The options I currently see are:
>
>1) Convert to PNG, stay a GNU project and help them fight software
>patents with our protest of GIF's
>
>2) Convert to PNG, stay a GNU project but also have someone host a copy
>of al the gifs and a script to drop them into place so that they get
>used. This would satify the requirement and use a loophole. Not one the
>FSF would like, but its an option.
>
>3) Stick with GIF's and leave the GNU project. This means we also have
>to leave Savannah.
>We could host CVS on phpgroupware.org and setup our own TTS as our bug
>tracking tool.
>
>These are the only options I see in this situation. If you have other
>suggestions, let us know and please vote.
>
>Seek3r
>
>_______________________________________________
>Phpgroupware-developers mailing list
>address@hidden
>http://mail.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/phpgroupware-developers
>