OpenWetWare:Software/Image Editor

Current wiki limitations with regards to images

 * In MediaWiki, images are only handled as a bunch of pixels (through standards such as PNG, JPEG, GIF ...).
 * MediaWiki is already providing a limited support for SVG; however it is based on a SVG->PNG rasterization (ImageMagic library). Also, as any other XML languages, SVG is really wordy and not so friendly to directly edit as an xml document. Graphical editors are needed.
 * No easy way to update/edit an image from the wiki. It is a static piece of information if you don't have a suitable editor to modify the image.
 * No way to have a look at differences between versions of a given image.
 * No way to link pages to graphical objects in an image.

Practicals
Examples based on the current level of SVG support provided by mediaWiki (ImageMagik SVG-->PNG rasterization):
 * Gel annotations
 * Petri dish annotations
 * Graph

A new way to handle images/drawings

 * Use a text-based drawing language to benefit from the wiki history mechanism.
 * provide within the wiki a way to view/edit the image/drawing.
 * Provide a way to link subregions of an image to wiki pages or URLs.
 * Make computer-generated images feasible.

Proposed architecture

 * Drawing description would be SVG based and stored on a standard Wiki page.
 * PNG, JPEG, GIF images can be handled within SVG.
 * A Java applet would implement an image viewer/editor.
 * The applet would be embedded into a standard Wiki page where the image has to be shown.
 * The applet can switch back and forth between two modes (Viewing/Editing). Once edited, the new SVG file can be saved on its Wiki page.

Benefits

 * Can be used to replace powerpoint-like graph.
 * Would enable collaborative annotations over real experimental data (gels, culture plates, random pictures).

Related projects

 * inkscape: OpenSource SVG Editor
 * Batik: SVG library
 * iNote (not SVG compliant)
 * glipsgraffiti: SVG editor
 * Sketsa

Comments

 * this xml-type/applet-based architecture could be easily extended to implement new features (graph, gene annotations, ...)

=Road Map=

Specifications for OWW Image Editor V1
features:
 * Applet based.
 * SVG handled by Batik library
 * Display PNG, JPEG, GIF, Tiff images.
 * Display SVG graphics.
 * No animation handled.
 * Read and display SVG files from a pre-existing OWW pages.
 * No editing capabilities.

Specifications for OWW Image Editor V2
features:
 * Based on Version 1.
 * Define an editing mode to update SVG source file.
 * Enable to add, delete, scale Ellipses.
 * Enable to add, delete, scale Rectangles.
 * Enable to add, delete, scale Text in a unique color.
 * Can save changes on the OWW page.

Specifications for OWW Image Editor V3
features:
 * Based on Version 2.
 * Enable multiple colors.
 * Can create OWW page if the SVG file doesn't exist yet