NAME¶
pic2graph - convert a PIC diagram into a cropped image
SYNOPSIS¶
pic2graph [
-unsafe ] [
-format fmt ] [
-eqn delim ]
DESCRIPTION¶
Reads a PIC program as input; produces an image file (by default in Portable
Network Graphics format) suitable for the Web as output. Also translates
eqn(1) constructs, so it can be used for generating images of
mathematical formulae.
PIC is a rather expressive graphics minilanguage suitable for producing
box-and-arrow diagrams of the kind frequently used in technical papers and
textbooks. The language is sufficiently flexible to be quite useful for state
charts, Petri-net diagrams, flow charts, simple circuit schematics, jumper
layouts, and other kinds of illustration involving repetitive uses of simple
geometric forms and splines. Because PIC descriptions are procedural and
object-based, they are both compact and easy to modify.
The PIC language is fully documented in
Making Pictures With GNU PIC, a
document which is part of the
groff(1) distribution.
Your input PIC code should
not be wrapped with the .PS and .PE macros
that normally guard it within
groff(1) macros.
The output image will be clipped to the smallest possible bounding box that
contains all the black pixels. Older versions of
convert(1) will
produce a black-on-white graphic; newer ones may produce a
black-on-transparent graphic. By specifying command-line options to be passed
to
convert(1) you can give it a border, force the background
transparent, set the image's pixel density, or perform other useful
transformations.
This program uses
pic(1),
eqn(1),
groff(1),
gs(1),
and the ImageMagick
convert(1) program. These programs must be
installed on your system and accessible on your $PATH for
pic2graph to
work.
OPTIONS¶
- -unsafe
- Run pic(1) and groff(1) in the `unsafe' mode
enabling the PIC macro sh to execute arbitrary commands. The
default is to forbid this.
- -format fmt
- Specify an output format; the default is PNG (Portable
Network Graphics). Any format that convert(1) can emit is
supported.
- -eqn delim
- Change the fencepost characters that delimit eqn(1)
directives ($ and $, by default). This option requires an
argument, but an empty string is accepted as a directive to disable
eqn(1) processing.
Command-line switches and arguments not listed above are passed to
convert(1).
FILES¶
- /usr/share/groff/1.21/tmac/eqnrc
- The eqn(1) initialization file.
ENVIRONMENT¶
- GROFF_TMPDIR
- The directory in which temporary files will be created. If
this is not set pic2graph searches the environment variables
TMPDIR, TMP, and TEMP (in that order). Otherwise,
temporary files will be created in /tmp.
BUGS¶
Due to changes in the behavior of ImageMagick
convert(1) that are both
forward and backward-incompatible, mismatches between your
pic2graph
and
convert(1) versions may produce zero-sized or untrimmed output
images. For this version of
pic2graph you will need a version of
convert(1) that supports the
-trim option; older versions of
pic2graph used
-crop 0x0, which no longer has trimming
behavior.
SEE ALSO¶
eqn2graph(1),
grap2graph(1),
pic(1),
eqn(1),
groff(1),
gs(1),
convert(1).
AUTHOR¶
Eric S. Raymond <esr@thyrsus.com>, based on a recipe by W. Richard
Stevens.