Description:
The remarkable growth of Linux as a computer operating system has no doubt been fueled in part by applications like the GIMP. GIMP for Linux Bible clearly illustrates how this flexible, powerful, and free graphics-editing application takes advantage of a robust host environment like Linux. This book clearly presents and liberally illustrates the open-source graphics application, with at least one screen shot on every page. The first quarter of the book introduces the application, including its history and how it relates to Linux. There are also sections on how to download and install the latest version, and a rundown of the user interface and GIMP basics. Experienced users who are already familiar with GIMP will enjoy the review in the introductory sections. Part 3, "GIMP Concepts," dives deeply into the mechanics of GIMP, including manipulation of its more interesting and advanced features. Part 4, "Filters and Script-Fu," explores GIMP's powerful built-in filters and its scripting language, which can be used for almost everything from batch processing to macro execution. Part V, "Real World Applications," is arguably the book's best section. Real-life issues and techniques are discussed, including working with fonts, capturing screen shots, creating images for the Web, and building images used for tiling. Any application built on a flavor of the Linux operating system, using X-windows for its interface, can't be all that easy. The book does an excellent job of explaining the workings of GIMP and how it relates to other applications and the host operating system. The writing is clear and complete, and the accompanying CD-ROM is a treasure-trove of goodies, including the GIMP application itself, the GIMP toolkit, over 200 plug-ins, and example scripts. For any user interested in extracting the most from this flexible application, the GIMP for Linux Bible is a worthy addition to the reference shelf. --Mike Caputo
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