Publisher Platinum/Publisher Platinum.iso/clipart/utils/giftech/gifslow.pas

Pascal/Delphi Source File | 1993-04-30 | 28.9 KB | 815 lines

program gifslow;

{Written 1/16/88-1/19/88 by Jim Griebel. This software is experimental!
USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. In the public domain. 'GIF' and 'Graphics Interchange
Format' are trademarks of Compuserve, Inc., an H&R Block Company. 'Turbo
Pascal' is a trademark of Borland International.}

{This is a short simple GIF reader/displayer for the EGA, adapted from
GIFREAD, an earlier effort targeted on the Hercules. No provision is made
for saving files or for scrolling in this program, which is intended as an
example. This is the ultraslow version, pure high level}


uses crt,dos;

type

    RasterArray = Array [0..63999] of byte;
    RasterP = ^RasterArray;

var
    GifFile:File of RasterArray;  {The input file}
    GifStuff:RasterP;   {The heap array to hold it, raw}
    Raster:RasterP;     {The raster data stream, unblocked}
    Raster2:RasterP;    {More raster data stream if needed}
    Regs:Registers;     {Turbo's predefined record}

    Byteoffset,         {Computed byte position in RASTER array}
    Bitoffset           {Bit offset of next code in RASTER array}
    :LongInt;

    Width,      {Read from GIF header, image width}
    Height,     { ditto, image height}
    LeftOfs,    { ditto, image offset from left}
    TopOfs,     { ditto, image offset from top}
    RWidth,     { ditto, raster width}
    RHeight,    { ditto, raster height}
    ClearCode,  {GIF clear code}
    EOFCode,    {GIF end-of-information code}
    OutCount,   {Decompressor output 'stack count'}
    MaxCode,    {Decompressor limiting value for current code size}
    Code,       {Value returned by ReadCode}
    CurCode,    {Decompressor variable}
    OldCode,    {Decompressor variable}
    InCode,     {Decompressor variable}
    FirstFree,  {First free code, generated per GIF spec}
    FreeCode,   {Decompressor, next free slot in hash table}
    GIFPtr,     {Array pointers used during file read}
    RasterPtr,
    XC,YC,      {Screen X and Y coords of current pixel}
    Pindex,     {Index into screen save array}
    ReadMask,   {Code AND mask for current code size}
    I           {Loop counter, what else?}
    :word;


    Interlace,  {True if interlaced image}
    NextRaster, {True if file > 64000 bytes}
    ColorMap    {True if colormap present}
    :Boolean;

    ch           {Utility}
    :char;

    a,              {Utility}
    Resolution,     {Resolution, read from GIF header}
    BitsPerPixel,   {Bits per pixel, read from GIF header}
    Background,     {Background color, read from GIF header}
    ColorMapSize,   {Length of color map, from GIF header}
    CodeSize,       {Code size, read from GIF header}
    InitCodeSize,   {Starting code size, used during Clear}
    FinChar,        {Decompressor variable}
    Pass,           {Used by video output if interlaced pic}
    BitMask,        {AND mask for data size}
    R,G,B
    :byte;


    {The hash table used by the decompressor}
    Prefix: Array [0..4095] of word;
    Suffix: Array [0..4095] of byte;

    {An output array used by the decompressor}
    Outcode:Array [0..1024] of byte;

    {The color map, read from the GIF header}
    Red,Green,Blue: array [0..255] of byte;

    {The EGA palette, derived from the color map}
    Palette: Array [0..255] of byte;

    {Strings to hold the filenames}
    FileString:String [80];


Const

    MaxCodes: Array [0..9] of Word = (4,8,16,$20,$40,$80,$100,$200,$400,$800);

    CodeMask:Array [1..4] of byte= (1,3,7,15);

    PowersOf2: Array [0..8] of word=(1,2,4,8,16,32,64,128,256);

    Masks: Array [0..9] of Integer = (7,15,$1f,$3f,$7f,$ff,$1ff,$3ff,$7ff,$fff);

    Rastersize:Word = 64000;


{This procedure checks to be sure we've got enough heap for the array
we're trying to allocate, then allocates same. If there isn't enough
heap available, we exit with an error}

Procedure AllocMem (Var P:RasterP);

Var ASize:Longint;

Begin
     ASize:=MaxAvail;
     If ASize<RasterSize then
        Begin
             Textmode (15);
             Writeln ('Insufficient memory available!');
             Halt;
        End
        Else
        Getmem (P,RasterSize);
End;


{Mimics a file read of a single byte, reading from the input record rather
than the file itself. If you wish to change back to a file of byte rather
than using the faster read of the record, you can modify this routine to
read directly from the file. This is simpler but slower}

Function Getbyte:Byte;

  Begin
       If GIFPtr=RasterSize then Exit;
       Getbyte:=GIFStuff^[GIFPtr];
       GIFPtr:=Succ(GIFPtr);
  End;

{Reads two bytes, to get a word value}

Function Getword:Word;

Var A,B:Byte;

Begin
     A:=Getbyte;
     B:=Getbyte;
     Getword:=A+(256*B);
End;



{Mimic reading in the raster data. Unblock it into a single large array
to save having to do this as we go, which makes life a lot simpler for
the rest of the program. We cope here with files larger than 64000 bytes by
doing another read from the input file, and by creating a second RASTER
array if necessary to hold the excess unblocked data}

Procedure ReadRaster;

Var BlockLength:Byte;
    I,IOR:Integer;

Begin
   RasterPtr:=0;
   Repeat
   BlockLength:=Getbyte;
     For I:=0 to Blocklength-1 do
       Begin
         If Gifptr = RasterSize then
            Begin
                 {$I-}
                 Read (GIFFile,GIFStuff^);
                 {$I+}
                 IOR:=IOResult;
                 GIFPtr:=0;
            End;
         If not Nextraster then
                  Raster^[RasterPtr]:=Getbyte else
                         Raster2^[RasterPtr]:=Getbyte;
         RasterPtr:=Succ (RasterPtr);
         If RasterPtr=RasterSize then
         Begin
            NextRaster:=True;
            Rasterptr:=0;
            AllocMem (Raster2);
         End;
       End;
   Until Blocklength=0;
End;


{Fetch the next code from the raster data stream. The codes can be any
length from 3 to 12 bits, packed into 8-bit bytes, so we have to maintain
our location in the Raster array as a BIT offset. We compute the byte offset
into the raster array by dividing this by 8, pick up three bytes, compute
the bit offset into our 24-bit chunk, shift to bring the desired code to
the bottom, then mask it off and return it. If the unblocked raster data
overflows the original RASTER array, we switch to the second one}

Procedure ReadCode;

Var RawCode:LongInt;
    A,B:Word;


Begin
     ByteOffset:=BitOffset div 8;

{Pick up our 24-bit chunk}

     A:=Raster^[Byteoffset]+(256*Raster^[ByteOffset+1]);
     If CodeSize>=8 then
     Begin
     B:=Raster^[Byteoffset+2];
     RawCode:=A+(65536*B);
     End
     Else Rawcode:=A;

{Doing the above calculation as a single statement, i.e.
Rawcode:=Raster^[Byteoffset]+(256*Raster^[Byteoffset+1])+
         (65536*Raster[Byteoffset+2])
sometimes returns incorrect results. This may or may not be a bug.}


     RawCode:=RawCode shr (BitOffset mod 8);
     Code:=RawCode and ReadMask;

{Cope with overflow of the first RASTER array}

     If (Nextraster) and (Byteoffset>=63000) then
        Begin
             Move (Raster^[Byteoffset],Raster^[0],RasterSize-Byteoffset);
             Move (Raster2^[0],Raster^[RasterSize-Byteoffset],63000);
             Bitoffset:=Bitoffset mod 8;
             FreeMem (Raster2,RasterSize);
        End;

     BitOffset:=BitOffset+CodeSize;

End;


Procedure AddToPixel (Index:Byte);


Begin

     Regs.AH:=12;
     Regs.AL:=Index;
     Regs.CX:=XC;
     Regs.DX:=YC;
     Intr ($10,Regs);

{Update the X-coordinate, and if it overflows, update the Y-coordinate}

     XC:=Succ (XC);
     If XC=Width then

{If a non-interlaced picture, just increment YC to the next scan line. If
it's interlaced, deal with the interlace as described in the GIF spec. Put
the decoded scan line out to the screen if we haven't gone past the bottom
of it}

        Begin

        XC:=0;
        If not Interlace then YC:=Succ (YC) else
            Begin
               Case Pass of
               0: Begin
                  YC:=YC+8;
                  If YC>=Height then
                  Begin
                     Pass:=Succ(Pass);
                     YC:=4;
                  End;
                  End;
               1: Begin
                  YC:=YC+8;
                  If YC>=Height then
                     Begin
                       Pass:=Succ(Pass);
                       YC:=2;
                     End;
                  End;
               2: Begin
                  YC:=YC+4;
                  If YC>=Height then
                     Begin
                          Pass:=Succ(Pass);
                          YC:=1;
                     End;
                  End;
               3: Begin
                  YC:=YC+2;
                  End;
               End;    {Case}
            End;  {If interlace}
        End;

End;

{Use the BIOS functions to set up the EGA. This avoids dependence on Turbo's
GRAPH package and the necessity to keep .BGI files with the executable}

Procedure InitEGA;

Begin


{Set EGA graphics mode}

   Regs.AX:=$0010;
   Intr ($10,Regs);

{Set the palette}

   Regs.AX:=$1002;
   Regs.DX:=Ofs (Palette);
   Regs.ES:=Seg (Palette);
   Intr ($10,Regs);

End;


{Determine the palette value corresponding to the GIF colormap intensity
value.}

Procedure DetColor (Var PValue:Byte;MapValue:Byte);

Var Local:Byte;

Begin
     PValue:=MapValue div 64;
     If PValue=1 then PValue:=2 else
     If PValue=2 then PValue:=1;
End;

{Set the key variables to
their necessary initial values.}

Procedure ReInitialize;
Begin
     XC:=0;          {X and Y screen coords back to home}
     YC:=0;
     Pass:=0;        {Interlace pass counter back to 0}
     Bitoffset:=0;   {Point to the start of the raster data stream}
     GIFPtr:=0;      {Mock file read pointer back to 0}
End;

{React to GIF clear code, or reset GIF decompression values back to their
initial state when restarting.}

Procedure DoClear;

    Begin
      CodeSize:=InitCodeSize;
      MaxCode:=MaxCodes [CodeSize-2];
      FreeCode:=FirstFree;
      ReadMask:=Masks [CodeSize-3];
    End;

Begin    {the main program}

{Initialize a bunch of variables}

     ReInitialize;         {Initialize common vars}
     Nextraster:=False;    {Over 64000 flag off}

{Get memory for the raster data array, and the input file data array}

     AllocMem (Raster);
     AllocMem (GIFStuff);

{Prompt the user for the filename}

     Write ('Filename: ');
     Readln (Filestring);


{Open the file}

{$I-}
     Assign (giffile,FileString);
     Reset (giffile);
{$I+}

{Cope with I/O error should one occur}

     I:=IOResult;
     If I<>0 then
        Begin
             Writeln ('Error opening file ',FileString,'. Press any key ');
             Readln;
             Exit;
        End;

{Read in the GIF file. Reading it as one big hunk rather than N bytes results
in far faster disk I/O; see user notes. Error checking is turned off in
order to avoid 'attempt to read past EOF' errors. If the file does not exist,
this will be detected at RESET}

     Writeln ('Reading . . . ');
{$I-}
     Read (GIFFile,GIFStuff^);
{$I+}

{Note that 4.0 requires this assignment, or else if an error results (as it
will if the file is smaller than 64000 bytes) no I/O will be allowed for
the remainder of the run}

I:=IOResult;

{Deal with the GIF header. Start by checking the GIF tag to make sure this
is a GIF file}

     FileString:='';
     for i:=1 to 6 do
     Begin
         FileString:=FileString+chr(Getbyte);
     End;
     If FileString<>'GIF87a' then
        Begin
             Writeln ('Not a GIF file, or header read error. Press any key ');
             Readln;
             Exit;
        End;

{Get variables from the GIF screen descriptor}

     RWidth:=Getword;         {The raster width and height}
     RHeight:=Getword;
     {Get the packed byte immediately following and decode it}
     B:=Getbyte;
     If B and $80=$80 then Colormap:=True else Colormap:=False;
     Resolution:=B and $70 shr 5 +1;
     BitsPerPixel:=B and 7 +1;
     If BitsPerPixel=1 then I:=2 else I:=1 shl BitsPerPixel;
     Write ('Colors: ',I);
     BitMask:=CodeMask [BitsPerPixel];
     Background:=Getbyte;
     B:=Getbyte;         {Skip byte of 0's}

{Compute size of colormap, and read in the global one if there. Compute
values to be used when we set up the EGA palette}

     ColorMapSize:=1 shl BitsPerPixel;
     If Colormap then
     Begin
     For I:=0 to ColorMapSize-1 do
     Begin
         Red [I]:=Getbyte;
         Green [I]:=Getbyte;
         Blue [I]:=Getbyte;
         DetColor (R,Red[I]);
         DetColor (G,Green [I]);
         DetColor (B,Blue [I]);
         Palette [I]:=B and 1+(2*(G and 1))+(4*(R and 1))+(8*(B div 2))+(16*(G div 2))+(32*(R div 2));
     End;
     Writeln;
     Palette [16]:=Background;
     End;

{Now read in values from the image descriptor}

     B:=Getbyte;  {skip image seperator}
     Leftofs:=Getword;
     Topofs:=Getword;
     Width:=Getword;
     Writeln ('Width: ',Width);
     Height:=Getword;
     Writeln ('Height: ',Height);
     A:=Getbyte;
     If A and $40=$40 then Interlace:=True else Interlace:=False;


{Note that we ignore the possible existence of a local color map. I've yet
to encounter an image that had one, and the spec says it's defined for
future use. This could lead to an error reading some files}

{Start reading the raster data. First we get the intial code size}

     Codesize:=Getbyte;

{Compute decompressor constant values, based on the code size}

     ClearCode:=PowersOf2 [Codesize];
     EOFCode:=ClearCode+1;
     FirstFree:=ClearCode+2;
     FreeCode:=FirstFree;

{The GIF spec has it that the code size is the code size used to compute the
above values is the code size given in the file, but the code size used in
compression/decompression is the code size given in the file plus one.}

     Codesize:=Succ (Codesize);
     InitCodeSize:=Codesize;
     Maxcode:=Maxcodes [Codesize-2];
     ReadMask:=Masks [Codesize-3];

{Read the raster data. Here we just transpose it from the GIF array to the
Raster array, turning it from a series of blocks into one long data stream,
which makes life much easier for ReadCode}

     Writeln ('Unblocking');
     ReadRaster;

{Get ready to do the actual read/display. Free up the heap used by the
GIF array since we don't need it any more, and if the user wants to save,
reclaim it for the Picture array}

     FreeMem (GIFStuff,RasterSize);
     OutCount:=0;

{Set up the EGA}

     InitEGA;

{Decompress the file, continuing until you see the GIF EOF code. One
obvious enhancement is to add checking for corrupt files here.}

   Repeat

     {Get the next code from the raster array}

          ReadCode;

          If Code <> EOFCode then
          Begin

     {Clear code sets everything back to its initial value, then reads
      the immediately subsequent code as uncompressed data.}

            If Code = ClearCode then
               Begin
                 DoClear;
                 ReadCode;
                 CurCode:=Code;
                 OldCode:=Code;
                 FinChar:=Code and BitMask;
                 AddToPixel (FinChar);
               End
               Else

     {If not a clear code, then must be data: save same as CurCode and InCode}

               Begin
                CurCode:=Code;
                InCode:=Code;

     {If greater or equal to FreeCode, not in the hash table yet; repeat
      the last character decoded}

                If Code>=FreeCode then
                  Begin
                    CurCode:=OldCode;
                    OutCode [OutCount]:=FinChar;
                    OutCount:=Succ (OutCount);
                  End;

     {Unless this code is raw data, pursue the chain pointed to by CurCode
     through the hash table to its end; each code in the chain puts its
     associated output code on the output queue.}

                If CurCode>BitMask then
                   Repeat
                     OutCode [OutCount]:=Suffix [CurCode];
                     OutCount:=Succ (OutCount);
                     CurCode:=Prefix [CurCode];
                   Until CurCode<=BitMask;

      {The last code in the chain is treated as raw data.}

               FinChar:=CurCode and BitMask;
               OutCode [OutCount]:=FinChar;
               OutCount:=Succ (OutCount);

     {Now we put the data out to the using routine. It's been stacked
      LIFO, so deal with it that way}

               For I:=OutCount-1 downto 0 do
                    AddToPixel (Outcode [I]);

      {Make darned sure OutCount gets set back to start}

               OutCount:=0;

      {Build the hash table on-the-fly. No table is stored in the file.}

               Prefix [FreeCode]:=OldCode;
               Suffix [FreeCode]:=FinChar;
               OldCode:=InCode;

     {Point to the next slot in the table. If we exceed the current MaxCode
      value, increment the code size unless it's already 12. If it is, do
      nothing: the next code decompressed better be CLEAR}

               FreeCode:=Succ (FreeCode);
               If FreeCode>=MaxCode then
                Begin
                  If CodeSize < 12 then
                  Begin
                     CodeSize:=Succ (CodeSize);
                     MaxCode:=MaxCode*2;
                     ReadMask:=Masks [CodeSize-3];
                  End;
                End;
               End {not Clear};

               If Keypressed then
                  Begin
                       Ch:=Readkey;
                       If Ch=#27 then
                          Begin
                               Textmode (15);
                               Exit;
                          End;
                  End;
            End; {not EOFCode}
       Until Code=EOFCode;

       Writeln (^G); {signals whole picture decoded}

    {Read one key, then pack it in}

    Ch:=Readkey;

    Textmode (15);                 {Back to text}
    Close (GifFile);
    FreeMem (Raster,RasterSize);

End.
-------- end of PASCAL Source file (file name is GIFSLOW.PAS) --------
-------- start of User Notes (file name is USER.NOT) --------
WHAT YOU GET

     The .ARC file you got should contain the following files:

     This USER.NOT file
     GIFSLOW.PAS
     GIFEGA.PAS
     NLZW.ASM
     READRAST.ASM
     SCROLL.ASM
     SCRSAVE.ASM
     GIFSLOW.EXE
     GIFEGA.EXE

     These make up the source and executable for two GIF reader/displayers
written in Turbo Pascal 4.0 and MASM compatible assembly language. GIFSLOW
is written entirely in Turbo to lay out the techniques being used in a form
more accessible than assembly language, and boy, does it live up to its
name -- you can go have a short beer while the program is decoding and
displaying a single picture. GIFEGA is much faster -- it takes about 15-30
seconds to display a picture depending on its complexity -- and adds a
directory display, scrolling, and a file save feature. The guts of GIFEGA
are in assembly-language external files, which I've tuned to make it as
fast as I can manage. The principal reason for putting up these amateur
works is to provide source code for LZW decompression, which seems to be a
stumbling block for many who'd otherwise be writing their own GIF readers.
     Using the program is pretty straightforward. With GIFSLOW all you do
is type in the filename at the prompt. If you get tired of waiting for the
picture to fully display, hitting ESC will get you out of it. GIFEGA is a
little more sophisticated. The program will display a list of eligible
files (files with the extension '.GIF') in the current directory. You're
then prompted for a filename. Just hitting ENTER at this point gets you out
of the program. Type in a single '\' character and the program will prompt
you for a new path name, then switch to that new path and display a new
list of files. Type in the filename you'd like to see displayed (you don't
have to add the .GIF extension), and the program will display it. When the
display is done, the computer will beep. If the picture is larger
vertically than the screen, you can then scroll it by using the Up and Down
Arrows and the Home and End keys. The Up and Down arrow keys move the
picture in increments of ten scan lines at a time. The Home key moves to
the top of the picture, and the End key moves to the bottom. Hitting ESC
gets you out of the display and produces a prompt asking you to hit the
space bar if you want to save the file as an EGA Paint compatible .SCR
file. Hit the space bar and you'll save the file with the same pathname and
filename but the extension .SCR. That's all there is to it.

HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS

     While the operation of the program is pretty fully explained in the
comments, a brief sketch of its operation and a few notes on the techniques
used are probably useful. The program starts by getting and sorting the
directory list, displaying it, and then getting the filename from the user.
The file is then read in, and it's worth spending a few moments on how we
do this.
     Since a GIF file has a header of no fixed length, the obvious way to
treat it is as a file of byte. The problem is that reading long files a
byte at a time in Turbo is a very slow process; if we cheat the compiler a
bit by claiming that the file is really a single large data structure, and
try to read it all in one fell swoop, we can speed matters up enormously.
     This is what both programs do. The file is declared as a RasterArray,
a one-dimensioned array of 64,000 bytes, which is maintained on the heap.
We try to read this big data structure from the file. This demands that we
turn off I/O checking during the read (otherwise if the file is smaller
than 64,000 bytes an error will occur) and call IORESULT after the read (or
else Turbo will refuse to do any more I/O). If the file is larger than
64,000 bytes, this will be detected and dealt with later.
     Now we have the whole file, or most of it, in memory, and we have to
read the header. This is done by the functions GetByte and GetWord, which
mimic a file read of a single byte or of a word. We read the necessary
variables described in the GIF spec from the file, and compute some more
based on those. As described in 'Problems and Limitations' below we don't
cope with absolutely every possibility outlined in the GIF spec, but I've
yet to have the program fail on this account (although making the program
conform completely to the spec is one obvious enhancement). We also read
and set up the color palette. At this point, if it's a 256-color picture,
we do an extremely crude fix to make the picture display in 16 colors with
(hopefully) some remote resemblance to the original. This is done by
arbitrarily declaring the first 16 colors in the palette to be the EGA
palette, then resetting the color values above 16 to their nearest
equivalents below 16. This could be improved on, and I'm open to
suggestions as to how.
     Once we have the necessary variables and constants all set up, we're
ready to start decompressing. The first step in this is to unblock the
whole data stream -- that is, to turn the data stream from a series of 255-
byte or less blocks into one long stream of data. This may seem to be an
unnecessary step; a lot of GIF readers seem to unblock the data stream as
they go, but if we do that then each and every time we read a code we have
to check to see if we're near the end of the current block, and if so, move
the tail end of that block up to the front of the read buffer, unblock and
add on the next block, and recompute BITOFFSET to point back to the start
of the buffer. This makes for an awful lot of checking and computation
repeated God knows how many times. Unblocking the data stream beforehand
makes the READCODE routine much simpler, whether in high level or in
assembly, and faster as well. (And why Compuserve decided to block the durn
thing beats me: tradition?)
     During unblocking we also cope with files larger than 64,000 bytes.
The logic of this is simple enough: if we run out of GIFSTUFF during
unblocking, we allocate memory for another RASTER array, do another read
from the file, and put the rest of the data stream into this second RASTER
array. During decoding, if this second array exists, we check to see if
we're near the end of the first one. If so, we move the end of the first
one up to the front of it, copy the contents of the second RASTER array
into the first, reset BITOFFSET back to the start of the array, and keep
on. This is just what other readers do on a block-by-block basis, but done
on a larger scale, and only once. You can see this happen on a file bigger
than 64,000 bytes: there'll be a 'hiccup' when the arrays are readjusted.
This is faster than waiting and doing a second file read during the actual
decompress/display, but as a consequence the program uses a lot of memory:
as much as 192K over and above the size of the program at peak.
     Once we have our data stream unblocked we can unravel the LZW
decompression. This, frankly, I don't understand too well, but what comes
out of the decompression cycle are pixels ready to write to the EGA screen.
GIFSLOW does this a pixel at a time using a BIOS call; GIFEGA does this a
scan line at a time, writing directly to EGA memory. We take advantage of
the fact that the EGA's memory will hold a 640x480 picture (even if the
card will only display 640x350) to get the whole picture into EGA memory,
so that when we're done we can grab the four bit planes and save them in
new heap arrays. We can then use those heap arrays to scroll the picture or
save it as an EGA Paint-compatible .SCR file (which consists of the header
followed by the four bit planes in order 0,2,1,3). Scrolling is done only
if the picture is larger than the screen, and is done by using Write Mode 0
to move the bitplanes from the heap arrays back into the EGA memory,
starting at an an offset into the bitplane arrays determined by the Turbo
variable ROLL. Originally the scrolling routine moved the bitplanes one at
a time and all at a time, but this led to a 'rainbow' effect with some
pictures (you could see the bitplanes being moved) and the routine was
changed to move a scan line from each bitplane at a time, which got rid of
the problem but allows you to see the scroll in action as the picture
ripples down the screen. This could doubtless be improved.

LIMITATIONS AND KNOWN PROBLEMS

     The program deviates somewhat from the letter of the GIF spec, as
follows:
     No provision is made for a default colormap if a global one is not
supplied.
     No provision is made for dealing with a local colormap.
     No provision is made for dealing with GIF enhancements, nor with
multiple images in the same file.
     While all these are deviations from the strict spec, I've yet to have
the program fail on that account.
     The program doesn't cope well with 256-color images. This is doubtless
fixable (and one obvious area for improvement) but I haven't spent much
time on it.
     No provision is made in the program for modes other than vanilla EGA
(640x350x16). One consequence of this is that though the save routine can
write .SCP (640x480) files as well as .SCR files, this feature is
permanently turned off in the program as it stands. This can be fixed, if
you have an EGA that will handle more resolution, by changing the typed
constant EGAHeight to 480.
     The program doesn't work with GRABEGA; the files produced seem to have
the wrong palette setting. Since GRABEGA works with other GIF readers the
bug would seem to be in GIFEGA, but I don't know where, and since the
program incorporates a .SCR save routine I'm not looking too hard.

     Some obvious areas of enhancement would include: more comprehensive
error checking and recovery (at present the program will lock up or
otherwise die if there's an error in the GIF data stream; detecting these
is tough), printing, a sexier directory display with moving highlights,
more save file formats, etc. More professional programmers would doubtless
like more modularity and structure, less reliance on globals, and so on, in
the code; anyone is welcome to dive in and improve the program any way he
or she can.

     I hope you enjoy the program; I had fun writing it, and I hope you
have fun with it. The code is placed in the public domain, since it's based
on the work of others who were generous enough to place their code in the
public domain; chief among these is Tom Pfau of DEC, who wrote the public
domain file unsqueezer LZDCMP, on which this program is based. While I've
claimed no copyright and you can do what you like with the code, it's
intended for the use of individuals for their own enjoyment, and I ask that
you don't use it in any program transferred for a fee.

-------- end of User Notes (file name is USER.NOT) --------