[comp.sys.amiga.graphics] help with pbmplus

c315-25@cs.UAlberta.CA (Huisman Kenneth M) (04/11/91)

I recently ftped pbmplus for my amiga and I would like to use it to convert
a couple gifs into ilbms.  Unfortunately, the documentation that
came with pbmplus seems rather incomplete, and I am not sure if I am
running it properly.

From what I understand, you first run giftoppm and then run ppmtoilbm
correct?
I tried running giftoppm as follows:
giftoppm filename.gif

unfortunately, all it seemed to do is suck up most of my ram and then, after
a period of thought, dump a lot of garbled stuff onto the screen.  I thought
perhaps that the output had to be redirected to a file, and the garbled
stuff was actually supposed to be the output, so then I ran it like this:

giftoppm filename.gif >filename.ppm

but all it did was create a file called ">filename.ppm" and continue to dump
all the garbled characters onto the screen.

I haven't been able to find anywhere in any of the documentation what the
command line is supposed to look like for this program.  Also, I've never
let it run to the end - the garbled character printing seems to go on 
forever.  Should I just be more patient?  Does it come out right in the
end?

Can someone please help me on how to use this program, or possibly direct
me to an amiga GIF viewer/converter that is easier to use?  (I have already
seen GIFMachine, but its docs say it requires WB2.0 which I don't have).

E-mail responses would be preferred.

Ken Huisman

c315-25@cs.ualberta.ca

walrus@wam.umd.edu (Udo K Schuermann) (04/12/91)

In article <1991Apr11.153537.4257@cs.UAlberta.CA> c315-25@cs.UAlberta.CA (Huisman Kenneth M) writes:
>
>From what I understand, you first run giftoppm and then run ppmtoilbm
>correct?
>
>giftoppm filename.gif >filename.ppm
>
>but all it did was create a file called ">filename.ppm" and continue to dump
>all the garbled characters onto the screen.

You almost had it!  The standard AmigaDOS Shell/CLI requires the
i/o redirection to immediately follow the command name (under SKsh
you would have been ok).  Try this:

giftoppm >filename.ppm filename.gif		; GIF --> PPM
ppmquant <filename.ppm >filename2.ppm 32	; reduce 256 to 32 colors
ppmtoilbm <filename2.ppm >filename.iff		; PPM --> ILBM (IFF)

If you're converting a 16 color GIF you can skip the "ppmquant" step.
If "ppmtoilbm" finds more than 32 colors in the PPM file it will write
a HAM file, which may ore may not be what you want.

If you have a shell that handles pipes the way they work under Unix
(SKsh and the ARP shell do), try this:

giftoppm filename.gif | ppmquant 32 | ppmtoilbm >filename.iff

Write yourself a script for often-used conversion to save yourself the
typing!

>the garbled character printing seems to go on 
>forever.  Should I just be more patient?  Does it come out right in the
>end?

The garbled characters are the PPM file!  Try printing a .gif or an .iff
file to the screen.  Same thing.

What PBMPLUS does is convert everything into the PPM format,
manipulate that, and from there convert it to some other format.  The
programs are ports from Unix software and tend to be fairly memory
hungry.  They do a very good job, though!

I hope this clarifies things and is of help to anybody else who is
interested or has problems with the PBMPLUS programs.  Enjoy!

 ._.  Udo Schuermann		We only came for the oil and to test our
 ( )  walrus@wam.umd.edu	weapons.  Thank you very much!

jms@vanth.UUCP (Jim Shaffer) (04/13/91)

In article <1991Apr11.153537.4257@cs.UAlberta.CA> c315-25@cs.UAlberta.CA (Huisman Kenneth M) writes:
>
>giftoppm filename.gif >filename.ppm
>
>but all it did was create a file called ">filename.ppm" and continue to dump
>all the garbled characters onto the screen.

What you need to do is:  giftoppm >filename.ppm filename.gif

This is a SPECTACULARLY STUPID "feature" of the Amiga, that it doesn't let
you put the redirection at the *end* of the command like Unix does.

--
*  From the disk of:  | jms@vanth.uucp		     | "You know I never knew
Jim Shaffer, Jr.      | amix.commodore.com!vanth!jms | that it could be so
37 Brook Street       | uunet!cbmvax!amix!vanth!jms  | strange..."
Montgomery, PA 17752  | 72750.2335@compuserve.com    |		     (R.E.M.)

cs326ag@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Loren J. Rittle) (04/13/91)

In article <jms.4049@vanth.UUCP> jms@vanth.UUCP (Jim Shaffer) writes:
>In article <1991Apr11.153537.4257@cs.UAlberta.CA> c315-25@cs.UAlberta.CA (Huisman Kenneth M) writes:
>>
>>giftoppm filename.gif >filename.ppm
>>
>>but all it did was create a file called ">filename.ppm" and continue to dump
>>all the garbled characters onto the screen.
>
>What you need to do is:  giftoppm >filename.ppm filename.gif
>
>This is a SPECTACULARLY STUPID "feature" of the Amiga, that it doesn't let
>you put the redirection at the *end* of the command like Unix does.

Let's put the blame where it is due... It is a feature of the shell
*you* are using.  (I.e. stock cli/Shell)  The WShell has no such 
problem.
>
>--
>*  From the disk of:  | jms@vanth.uucp		     | "You know I never knew
>Jim Shaffer, Jr.      | amix.commodore.com!vanth!jms | that it could be so
>37 Brook Street       | uunet!cbmvax!amix!vanth!jms  | strange..."
>Montgomery, PA 17752  | 72750.2335@compuserve.com    |		     (R.E.M.)

Loren J. Rittle
-- 
``The Amiga continues to amaze me--if I had not been told that this video was
  created using the Amiga and Toaster, I would not have believed it.  Even     
  Allen said, `I think I know how he did most of the effects.' '' - Jim Lange
  Loren J. Rittle  l-rittle@uiuc.edu

tbissett@nstar.rn.com (Travis Bissett) (04/13/91)

jms@vanth.UUCP (Jim Shaffer) writes:

> This is a SPECTACULARLY STUPID "feature" of the Amiga, that it doesn't let
> you put the redirection at the *end* of the command like Unix does.
> 

Yup. It's a silly feature of AmigaOS. I get around it by using Matt Dillon's 
CSH unix-like shell (I think v2.06). It works so well with my limited 
resources -- 2 FD and 1MB RAM -- that I can't give it up. Does WB2.0 improve 
on the redirection and pipe handler of AmigaOS at all?

Travis

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jms@vanth.UUCP (Jim Shaffer) (04/15/91)

In article <1991Apr13.080833.16713@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> cs326ag@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Loren J. Rittle) writes:
>In article <jms.4049@vanth.UUCP> jms@vanth.UUCP (Jim Shaffer) writes:
>>
>>What you need to do is:  giftoppm >filename.ppm filename.gif
>>
>>This is a SPECTACULARLY STUPID "feature" of the Amiga, that it doesn't let
>>you put the redirection at the *end* of the command like Unix does.
>
>Let's put the blame where it is due... It is a feature of the shell
>*you* are using.  (I.e. stock cli/Shell)  The WShell has no such
>problem.

Well to set the record perfectly straight, I'm using the ARP shell.  I
can't believe that they didn't "fix" this.

--
*  From the disk of:  | jms@vanth.uucp		     | "You know I never knew
Jim Shaffer, Jr.      | amix.commodore.com!vanth!jms | that it could be so
37 Brook Street       | uunet!cbmvax!amix!vanth!jms  | strange..."
Montgomery, PA 17752  | 72750.2335@compuserve.com    |		     (R.E.M.)

andy@cbmvax.commodore.com (Andy Finkel) (04/24/91)

In article <jms.4049@vanth.UUCP> jms@vanth.UUCP (Jim Shaffer) writes:
>In article <1991Apr11.153537.4257@cs.UAlberta.CA> c315-25@cs.UAlberta.CA (Huisman Kenneth M) writes:
>This is a SPECTACULARLY STUPID "feature" of the Amiga, that it doesn't let
>you put the redirection at the *end* of the command like Unix does.

It will under 2.0. 

>*  From the disk of:  | jms@vanth.uucp		     | "You know I never knew

		andy

-- 
andy finkel		{uunet|rutgers|amiga}!cbmvax!andy
Commodore-Amiga, Inc.

 "The best way to do video effects on a Mac is to use an Amiga."

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