Perl Graphics Programming

Creating Vector Images and Animations

Part II focuses on the Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) format and Macromedia’s SWF (Shockwave/Flash) format. Vector images differ from raster images in that the image data is stored as a series of points and instructions for connecting those points. The strength of vector graphics is that the same image can be represented at any scale without a loss of quality or information.

In Chapter 6, we describe SVG, an XML file format designed to tightly integrate with the other document standards of the World Wide Web.

Chapter 7, expands on the SVG discussion in Chapter 6, providing recipes for SVG animation, scripting, and manipulation using the XSLT XML transformation language.

In Chapter 8, we introduce the Shockwave/Flash file format, a compact format for web animations used by Macromedia’s popular Flash tool. Although many web purists claim to despise the spread of “Flash-enabled” web sites, SWF is too prevalent to ignore. Flash can actually be used constructively, even if you just think of it as a stop-gap until SVG catches on!

In Chapter 9, we present the Ming library, an API for making SWF files from Perl. This chapter is supplemented by Appendix D, an ActionScript reference. While there are many fine books about ActionScripting, they are all geared toward users of Macromedia’s Flash software. The needs of a Ming developer are slightly different, and Appendix D fills those needs.