Back to Eric's Home Page | Up to Site Map | 28 Apr 2002 |
The distribution also includes a Python script, web2png, that will convert entire web hierarchies (images and HTML or PHP pages). The script requires Python 1.5.2 or later.
The current version is 2.4.4. The program has actually been functional and stable since 1996. See the NEWS file for more.
You can download a source tarball, a source ZIP archive, an Intel binary RPM, or a source RPM here.
The sources can be built under any Unix, or under MS-DOS or Windows using djgpp, or using Borland C. I don't know when the djgpp or Borland builds were last tested, but the Unix version is as stable as a rock.
Binaries of a Win32 port are available.
Note: Some ImageMagick 4.2.x versions have a bug displaying grayscale PNGs that makes it look like gif2png is broken. It's not. The bug has been fixed, at least as of 5.2.2.
A short time later, with Greg's consent, I took over maintaining gif2png in order to give it a proper manual page and release packaging. Alexander Lehmann is OK with this and has even approved a change in the license terms to use the libpng/zlib license.
The patent probably does not cover LZW decompressors such as the one gif2png uses; legal opinions are divided on this, there has been no court test, and Unisys refuses to commit itself. It is possible that you may be liable if you distribute gif2png in a commercial program, or distribute gif2png on a for-profit basis.
For a history of the GIF patent controversy, see http://lpf.ai.mit.edu/Patents/Gif/Gif.html. To avoid legal problems, it would be a good idea to convert all GIFs on your websites and elsewhere to PNGs without delay. See the Burn All GIFs Day site for discussion.
Back to Eric's Home Page | Up to Site Map | 28 Apr 2002 |