On Aug 12, 2004, at 1:57 AM, Chipp Walters wrote:
In Director, can you composite 4 images, one on the top of each other, each with a transparent alpha channel, and export the final single composited image as a PNG with alpha channel intact? I know they can be 'overlayed' on top of each other, but combining them into a single image with the 'sum of the alphas' is quite a different thing. This is not a simple image snapshot I'm talking about.
It seems that I'm being backed into a corner. OK. Here we go. Remember, you dragged it out of me.
Yes. Easily. With mind-blowing speed. Nothing to do with snapshots. Pure image compositing with alpha, additional masks, ink types, and much more. Oh, 4 images...? How about 40? 400? in milliseconds. Sum the alphas and all. It is no big thing. (Terry GetPixel and SetPixel are relatively slow... check out copyPixels()
Can you edit the binary data of a single image?
Yes, you can manipulate individual pixels, with or without alpha. Far more easily than you can in Revolution.
Can you reset the dpi for an image w/out affecting the size of an image?
I don't know. I've never tried.
And, can you create a standalone application which can be launched by clicking a 'document file' (not the app itself) and load the document file automatically?
Yes. I do it all the time. It is not as straight-forward as Rev, but certainly very possible.
Lastly, could you do all of this in 2 weeks?
Oh yes. Other than the DPI thing, I would seriously doubt it would take that much time, probably half that. Trust me, the image handling is THAT MUCH BETTER. To the point where I can't see what the big deal is. Compositing the images and summing the alpha? It is one line of code per image.
If so, I'm just wondering why I don't see more real 'apps' written in Director? In fact, I know of no commercial apps written in Director, though I can't say I've looked all that hard ;-).
Compared to the hordes written in Revolution you mean? Let's face it, there have been hundreds of commercial apps written in Director. Though, given the admitted multimedia bent to them, MOST of them are educational and activity CD ROMS for kids. But they are on the shelves of every computer store in the world as we speak. How many Rev apps are?
Granted, my last spin w/Director was quite awhile ago, but at that time I wasn't sure it could do any of this. Come to think of it, perhaps the 'Flash Generator' server app (is it still around?) may had much of the compositing stuff in it.
Has nothing to do with Flash generator or Flash. Imaging Lingo. It is a complete library of extremely fast image manipulation tools which tap directly into low level libraries, available only in Director. Written for Macromedia by Werner Sharp, one of Director's pioneering authors.
IMO it does. Both REALbasic and Director have MUCH better imaging capabilities than Rev. VASTLY. Apparently, I am the only one in the "conversation" with experience and familiarity (and who owns and uses the current version of) all three.
In anycase, I would say if Director can do all of this, then hurray for Director:-), but it still doesn't diminish the serious imaging capabilities of RR.
--
Troy
RPSystems, Ltd.
http://www.rpsystems.net
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