image_paradise 0.4.20

data/README.md

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+
+This gem was <b>last updated</b> on the <span style="color: darkblue; font-weight: bold">18.11.2023</span> (dd.mm.yyyy notation), at <span style="color: steelblue; font-weight: bold">08:22:30</span> o'clock.
+
+<img src="https://i.imgur.com/FqAgAbm.png" style="margin: 0.8em; margin-left: 3em">
+
+(This image was partially autogenerated via cfdg. You can re-use
+this image and modify it if you wish to without restrictions.
+For the actual .cfdg code, please have a look at the gallery
+there: https://www.contextfreeart.org/gallery/)
+
+## How to install this project
+
+The obvious way is to do this:
+
+    gem install image_paradise
+
+However had, installing into the user directory may be 
+more useful, depending on your use case:
+
+    gem install image_paradise --user-install
+
+The latter may be a bit better, as it should be easier to get
+this installed into the home directory.
+
+Then you can symlink bin/image_paradise to $PATH or any other
+name as-is. Or just start irb, require 'image_paradise', and
+call whatever class you need there. You could even do so 
+for the ruby-gtk3 bindings, if you have these installed,
+and the gtk_paradise gem.
+
+Example for this:
+
+    require 'image_paradise'
+    ImageParadise.confree_GUI # Start the gtk-confree GUI.
+
+For an explanation of the --user-install option see the
+article here:
+
+https://guides.rubygems.org/faqs/#i-installed-gems-with---user-install-and-their-commands-are-not-available
+
+## Flip-flopping an image from left-to-right
+
+If you want to flip an image left-to-right, you can use
+the method <b>.flip_image_left_right</b>. The file resides
+at <b>image_paradise/toplevel_methods/flip_image_left_right.rb</b>.
+
+Example:
+
+    require 'image_paradise/toplevel_methods/flip_image_left_right.rb'
+    ImageParadise.flip_image_left_right() # Pass the file path to this method.
+
+## Transparent images
+
+You can use this API to make an image **transparent**:
+
+    require 'image_paradise/toplevel_methods/make_this_image_transparent.rb'
+    ImageParadise.make_this_image_transparent
+    ImageParadise.make_this_image_transparent('foobar.jpg')
+
+This will try to make use of ImageMagick's **convert** ability.
+
+## Negating an image
+
+You can negate an image, aka the "flipped" colour state, via:
+
+    require 'image_paradise/toplevel_methods/negate.rb'
+    ImageParadise.negate()
+    ImageParadise.negate('filename_here.jpg')
+
+If you negate such an image again, you will have the original 
+image back.
+
+## Merging image files together
+
+You can use the toplevel method **ImageParadise.merge_these_images**
+in order to merge several image files together. This depends on the
+binary called **convert**, from ImageMagick. Note that this will
+merge from the left-to-the-right side, and use white background
+by default if an image has to be padded. The biggest image will
+determine the amount that has to be padded here.
+
+As first argument simply pass an Array of the files that you wish
+to merge, such as:
+
+    ImageParadise.merge_these_images(%w( foo.png bar.png bla.png ))
+    ImageParadise.merge(%w( foo.png bar.png bla.png )) # <- This also works.
+
+## Greyscaling images
+
+You can grayscale images via:
+
+    ImageParadise.greyscale_this_image()
+    ImageParadise.grayscale_this_image()
+
+This currently (Jan 2019) depends on the gem called **mini_magick**. In
+the future we may add some more flexibility to this method, but for the
+time being mini_magick is a dependency if you wish to make use of
+these **toplevel methods**. 
+
+Greyscaling an image may be useful if you wish to use this for
+**optical character recognition**, aka recognising written text
+on it.
+
+## class ImageParadiseImageToAscii
+
+This class can convert images to ASCII files, if ImageMagick
+(and the rmagick bindings) are available.
+
+To specifically require this class, do this:
+
+    require 'image_paradise/requires/require_image_to_ascii.rb'
+
+Then pass the filename into the class:
+
+    result = ImageParadise::ImageToAscii['foobar.jpg']
+    result = ImageParadise.image_to_ascii('foobar.jpg')
+
+or
+
+    _ = ImageParadise::ImageToAscii.new '/foo/bar.png'
+    _.to_ascii # Generate the ascii "image" here specifically, via this method call.
+
+or
+
+	  print ImageParadise::ImageToAscii('yo.png').to_ascii(width: 50)
+
+	  +--------------------------------------------------+
+	  |oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo|
+	  |oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo|
+	  |oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo|
+	  |oooooooooooooooooo===++++====ooooooooooooooooooooo|
+	  |ooooooooooooo=+:~.~........~~~:+=ooooooooooooooooo|
+	  |oooooooooo==:~...~~:++++++:~~..~~:+=oooooooooooooo|
+	  |oooooooo=+:...~++====oooo====+:~..~:+=oooooooooooo|
+	  |ooooooo=+~..~:++==ooooooooooo=++:~..~+=ooooooooooo|
+	  |oooooo=+~.~:+=+~.~~~~~~~~:~~~.~:++:~.~+=oooooooooo|
+	  |ooooo=+~~.+===~................~+==:.~~+=ooooooooo|
+	  |ooooo=:~~:+=+:~................~~+=+:~.:=ooooooooo|
+	  |ooooo=~.~+==+~.......XXXXX.......+==+~.:=ooooooooo|
+	  |ooooo=~~~+==:~.......XXXXX.......:==+~.:=ooooooooo|
+	  |ooooo=~~~:==+~.......XXXXX......~+==+~.~=ooooooooo|
+	  |ooooo=:~~~+=++~.................:+=+~~~:=ooooooooo|
+	  |ooooo=+:..~+==+~~...........~~~+==+~..:+=ooooooooo|
+	  |ooooooo+:..~:+=o=+:........:+====:~.~:==oooooooooo|
+	  |oooooooo=+~.~~:+==+~......~+==+:~..~:+oooooooooooo|
+	  |ooooooooo=+:~..~~:~~.......~:~~..~:+oooooooooooooo|
+	  |oooooooooooo=+~~..............~:+=oooooooooooooooo|
+	  |ooooooooooooooo==++:~~~~~~:++==ooooooooooooooooooo|
+	  |oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo|
+	  |oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo|
+	  |oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo|
+	  +--------------------------------------------------+
+  
+Add colours via the "colour" option
+
+	  require 'image_paradise'
+    a = ImageParadise::ImageToAscii.new "http://www.evangogh.org/images/paintings/self-portrait.jpg"
+    puts a.to_ascii(color: true)
+
+Command Line examples:
+
+    image_to_ascii ~/Desktop/foo.png # Local file.
+    image_to_ascii http://www.google.com/images/foo.png # Remote image.
+    image_to_ascii -c -f html ~/foobar.jpg > ~/Desktop/ascii-as-html.html # Output via HTML.
+    image_to_ascii -w 50 -c -f html ~/foo/bar.jpg > ~/Desktop/saturdaynight.html # Or smaller.
+
+To display help:
+
+	  image_to_ascii -h
+
+	  Usage: image_to_ascii [options] <path_or_url>
+        -w, --width WIDTH                Width of the finished Ascii Image (Default: 150)
+        -f, --format [text/html]         output format (Default: text)
+        -c, --color                      Switch to use colored terminal output (Default: false)
+        -i, --invert-chars               Invert the character map. *Depending on background and image color - this can make the result clearer.*
+        -v, --version                    Show the version of this project
+        -h, --help                       Show this message
+
+## SVG
+
+ImageParadise now has a submodule called **Svg**, for svg-related
+objects. Documentation is currently missing for this part. Hopefully
+I will have more time in the future to add the missing
+documentation here. :\
+
+## ImageMagick versus GraphicsMagick
+
+GraphicsMagick is a fork of ImageMagick, started in the year 2002.
+
+I do not know the real differences between these two projects. For now,
+the **image_paradise** gem will focus on ImageMagick first. Perhaps at
+a later time I may add support for GraphicsMagick, but I want to 
+finish the GUI components first, before looking for more flexibility
+after that.
+
+## Create background images and wallpapers
+
+To create a white wallpaper, use this API:
+
+    ImageParadise.white_wallpaper
+    ImageParadise.white_wallpaper(width = :default, height = :default)
+    ImageParadise.white_wallpaper(1200, 800)
+
+This makes use of a more general API called:
+
+    ImageParadise.wallpaper()
+
+The first argument is the colour for that background image. The default
+colour here will be black, hence a black background image.
+
+## cfdg
+
+The **image_paradise** gem includes code that allows the user to
+batch-generate images from **.cfdg** files, making use of the 
+cfdg binary (**context free design**).
+
+You can download **cfdg** from:
+
+https://www.contextfreeart.org/downloads.html
+
+I typically compile the variant from source directly.
+
+My long-term goal in this regard, as far as the **image_paradise**
+gem is concerned, is to **use a commandline variant**, as well as
+a GUI wrapper for this. The GUI will be written in **ruby-gtk3**.
+Perhaps www-bindings via sinatra may also be offered one day, via
+the ImageParadise project - let's see.
+
+Additionally, the image_paradise .gem will include many .cfdg
+example files, written by many different people (mostly; I wrote
+a few .cfdg files as well but not many). The filename of all these
+.cfdg files **must** be downcased - I mention this because some
+of the upstream .cfdg files have upcased characters, which annoys
+me. Keep it simple, folks!
+
+Some of these files are **+16 years old** and have to be updated
+really, but you know how it is when time is a limited resource. So
+the rules that govern some of these .cfdg files is ... a bit
+outdated.
+
+I'll also have to add URLs to some of these ancient .cfdg files,
+author-information and so forth; this is low priority for now,
+though. It's mostly clean up work, which isn't as much fun
+to do. :-)
+
+To start the **ruby-gtk3** bindings, depending on the gtk_paradise
+gem, you can try this from the commandline:
+
+    confree_generator --gui
+
+The following image shows how this may look in **December 2021** -
+in the long run I intend to improve this GUI, but for now the
+most important part is to finish the desired functionality. I'd
+love to have a full editor for CFDG one day:
+
+<img src="https://i.imgur.com/yNyt0He.png" style="margin: 1em; margin-left: 3em">
+
+Todo list for the ruby-gtk3 wrapper:
+
+- On middle-mouse scroll-wheel scroll-event, change the number of
+the gtk-entry there, e. g. upwards scrolling means
+larger width, down-scroll means smaller width respectively.
+
+Existing features and functionality for the ruby-gtk3 wrapper
+over the cfdg binary:
+
+- Show all existing local .cfdg files via a button that can
+be clicked. Upon clicking that button, the file is loaded,
+and then a new image is created from this via cfdg. This
+has been implemented in **March 2021**.
+
+- Upload to imgur via an image-event-button (the old
+upload-to-imageshack is no longer available, but perhaps it
+may be re-added in the future)
+
+In <b>September 2022</b> the widget was rewritten and looks a bit
+better now:
+
+<img src="https://i.imgur.com/9Qv4w5H.png" style="margin: 1em; margin-left: 3em">
+
+As for .cfdg files distributed as part of the image_paradise gem,
+I try to adhere to this specification in the long run:
+
+- The file name should be noted near the very top of the file.
+- All .cfdg file names must be lowercased at all times, so no
+files called <b>foo_BAR.cfdg</b>.
+- If they were obtained from the www, a hyperlink should
+exist within the file, pointing to that original .cfdg
+file. In this case the author should be mentioned as well,
+and the creation date and addition date added too.
+
+## ImageParadise::Identify
+
+If you need meta-data about an image then class ImageParadise::Identify
+may be of help. Internally it is just a wrapper over ImageMagick's
+identify functionality, but the key idea is to provide an OOP query
+to these features (when they seem relevant), and use that abstraction
+for other classes to make use of.
+
+This class has to remain flexible, because I intend to keep it as
+a base-class for whenever I need information about an image
+programmatically.
+
+## cfdg cheat sheet
+
+I am forgetting specifications used in cfdg, and I can not always
+find them when I want to look them up. So I decided to also add
+a few hints here; mostly for my own use case, but perhaps it may
+also help other folks learn cfdg more quickly.
+
+    # Transparent background:
+    background { a -1 }
+
+    # Rotate a shape:
+    r 5 # rotate by +5 %
+
+## Adding a comment to an image file, via metadata
+
+**ImageMagick** allows you to add a comment to an image file.
+
+The ImageParadise gem added support for this as well,
+just as a wrapper over Imagemagick.
+
+API use:
+
+    ImageParadise.add_this_comment_to_that_image()
+    ImageParadise.add_this_comment_to_that_image('This is the comment')
+    ImageParadise.add_this_comment_to_that_image('This is the comment','existing_file.png')
+
+## ImageMagick tricks
+
+This subsection just is a little random trick-collection.
+
+  To decrypt a .pdf document and extract the images, use
+  the authenticate command-line option:
+
+    convert -authenticate password input.pdf output%d.png
+
+## Morphing two images together
+
+You can morph two images together via ImageMagick.
+
+ImageParadise makes this available via this API:
+
+    ImageParadise.morph_these_images
+    ImageParadise.morph_these_images('foo.png','bar.png')
+    ImageParadise.morph_these_images('foo.png','bar.png','output_file.png)
+
+Pass in the two images; the third argument may be the filename that
+you wish to use for the output-file.
+
+## Graphical User Interface for the ImageParadise project (GUI)
+
+Since as of February 2021 I am slowly working on a set of ruby-gtk3
+code that integrates the functionality detailed above. Note that I
+will only add support in the GUI **if** I also have documented - or
+will document - the commandline behaviour shown above. The reason
+as to why is that I want to sync commandline and GUI, but the
+commandline is the main driver, whereas the GUI is merely a reflection
+of the commandline tools of this project.
+
+This should help keep things up-to-date, as more changes come at a
+later time. The GUI bindings will not replace something like GIMP,
+for instance.
+
+The gtk-widget here will operate on images via an "image-chain".
+This is simply an array of images that are stored subsequently.
+It's not as elegant as real layers and undo-operations in, say,
+GIMP, but it is easy to implement and work-with. See the **undo**
+button for an example of this.
+
+To start the ruby-gtk3 bindings, try:
+
+    image_paradise --gui
+
+    image_paradise --gtk  # or this variant
+    image_paradise --gtk3 # or this variant; this will start the gtk-cfdg widget actually
+    image_paradise --gtk-image # or this variant
+
+Note that in **February 2022** the ruby-gtk2 bindings of the
+gkt-image widget were removed. Perhaps at a later time they
+may be re-added, but for the time being I focus solely on
+ruby-gtk3 instead.
+
+Which features are available?
+
+Well, as explained above, only features are made available via
+the GUI that are documented here on this page.
+
+So far the following features have been implemented via
+the ruby-gtk3 bindings and ImageMagick (March 2021):
+
+- Flip horizontally
+- Greyscale the image
+- Add a coloured border around an image
+- Negate the image (180° colour-flip)
+- Resize the image
+- Apply a **gaussian blur** onto the image
+- Add a roundish-circle as the main center view onto the main image
+- Draw text onto the image (currently limited, only one font; will
+have to add support for more fonts there)
+- Basic shape drawing: drawing a line is possible. Drawing a rectangle
+is possible.
+- Crop the image (currently only via gtk-entries, but one day 
+we should be able to overlay a crop-mask to calculate the
+crop area properly)
+- Upon pressing the middle-mouse-button on the gtk-entry displaying
+  the colour in use for the border, randomly assign a new
+  colour from the available HTML colours
+- Able to create a new image (currently background is white)
+  
+Todo List:
+
+- The drawing lines and rectangle should occur on a new image,
+rather than this creates a new image as it currently does.
+- Show info-box displaying information about the current image,
+ideally on the right-hand side. This should include size, and
+perhaps additional information about the image-type as well,
+alpha value and so forth. This has been partially added; needs
+more information still and be made prettier as well.
+- Provide an "undo" button (can be lazy, aka store incomplete images)
+- Add a file-open button. Probably place it on the right side somewhere.
+- Add colour-gradients.
+- Add filters.
+- Add de-novo creation of images; possibly via a small widget
+  that allows us to do so. That could be a separate widget
+  that can then be integrated into the parent widget.
+  
+- Add way to query the x and y position accurately on a mouse-button
+event, for the main image.
+- Add a resizable pane widget to the bottom area of the
+main image so that the user can change the size.
+
+- Basic shape drawing: we need to be able to combine it into the
+currently loading image, aka "draw on screen" as-is.
+
+- Upon mouse-scroll-wheel press-events on the entry with the
+percentage value, change accordingly up or down, so that the
+user may just use the mouse for changes.
+
+- Basic shape drawing: we need to add the remaining functionality
+such as drawing a circle, a line and what not.
+
+- Add a direct way for the user to do a resize operation.
+  Perhaps a general input-entry that gets highlighted or
+  something.
+  The idea is to support this:
+
+    convert -resize 42x148 input.jpg output.jpg
+
+  But to not have the user enter the output name (or perhaps
+  still do hmm).
+
+- Add a way to specify which lines are to be drawn via a
+script. That way we can use it to automatically draw or
+re-draw specific images as-is. The idea would be that we
+could programmatically generate any image possible, but
+this will probably require changes to the commandline
+version first, before expanding this onto the GUI.
+
+## Blur effects via ImageParadise.blur()
+
+You can use the following API for blur-effects:
+
+    ImageParadise.blur
+    ImageParadise.blur('foo.png')
+    ImageParadise.blur('foo.png', 5)
+    ImageParadise.blur('foo.png', 50)
+
+These will modify an image, aka **blur** it. The second argument
+is the radius for the blur operation to use. This functionality
+depends on ImageMagick being installed on the host computer
+system in use.
+
+## Changing the quality of an image
+
+Via **ImageMagick** you can use this command to change the quality
+of an image:
+
+    convert -quality 10% input.jpg output.jpg
+
+Via ruby and the image_paradise project, you can use this API:
+
+    ImageParadise.quality('input.jpg',10,'output.jpg'
+
+Be careful when you have .jpg files; from experience I see **a
+lot of deterioration** in regards to quality if you have to do
+many operations again and again. In this case, you may be
+better off converting into .png, then modifying the .png,
+before then converting it back into .jpg again. Note that
+this also causes loss in quality usually, but you have only
+two conversion steps, whereas if you, say, have to do 10
+operations on the .jpg, drawing stuff on the canvas, this
+may lead to worse image quality if you started with a .jpg
+file and keep on working with it.
+
+Even a one-time saving to .jpg may impact its quality 
+negatively, depending on the chosen quality. As a rule of
+thumb, if I want to maintain some useful quality in a
+given image, I don't go below the 84% quality threshold
+for .jpg files. In the long run, though, I will probably
+switch to a better format when it comes to lossy
+encoding, perhaps WebP - we'll see.
+
+## Rotating an image
+
+(Technically this is similar to flip-flop, but I added this functionality
+at a later point, so the flip-flop subsection here shall remain for the
+time being.)
+
+The commandline API for rotating an image called **FOOBAR.png**, in 
+regards to image_paradise, may go so:
+
+    imgparadise FOOBAR.png --rotate=33%
+    imgparadise foo.png --rotate=90%
+    imgparadise *.png --rotate=90%
+
+Simply pass the rotation-value that you wish to use into --rotate.
+
+Be careful, though - this command will overwrite the image, so **make
+sure to backup your old image** before applying this command.
+
+Sometimes you may dislike the background colour used, after having
+applied a rotate-effect. In this case, recall that you can specify
+the background color via **-background red** or another name.
+(This may be integrated into the ruby-gtk3 wrapper, but it is
+currently, in May 2021, not added.)
+
+## The difference between the fill colour and the stroke colour
+
+<b>Fill colour</b>:
+
+- It fills objects with that colour. So a fill colour of red,
+will paint the object's content, such as a circle in red too.
+You thus get a red circle.
+
+<b>Stroke colour</b>:
+
+- This colour draws the outline of an object. In other words,
+it will specify a border.
+
+## Table of some ImageMagick commands
+
+I did not want to google all the time, so here is just a short
+memo for me which options exist in ImageMagick. This is currently
+very incomplete; in the future I may extend this list.
+
+    -pointsize 24        # specify the width of the drawling
+    -stroke red          # use red as the colour for the paint-stroke to be done
+    -fill red            # this is the fill colour, aka the content of an object
+    -strokewidth 3       # set the width, in px, of the paint-stroke action
+    -linewidth 5         # the width of the line, when drawing a line
+    -font Arbuckle.ttf   # use this font; you can specify a local file path too, to a .ttf file
+    -annotate 45x0+10+30 # Annotate via 45° angle
+
+Because I may re-use the -font option in particular, here is a variant
+that I use:
+
+    convert -pointsize 24 -font /home/x/src/fonts/Hack-Regular.ttf -stroke red -fill red -annotate 0x0+10+30 testing.com /Depot/NJOY/WaterGirl.png output.png
+
+ImageMagick itself supports at the very least **TrueType fonts**,
+**PostScript** and **OPTION1** fonts.
+
+## Borders
+
+This subsection explains some general stuff about borders. In this
+context a **border** means an area around an image, such as a
+black border around an image that has a width of 3 pixels (px).
+
+You can add some borders to images thanks to **ImageMagick**. The
+**image_paradise** gem supports this as well, to some extent.
+
+The toplevel method **ImageParadise.add_black_border_to_this_image()**
+can be used to add a black border to an image. It is a very simple
+method. The first argument to this method is the path to the image
+at hand. The second argument specifies the size of the border,
+in **pixels**. So, if you pass the number **3** as second argument
+then this would mean to draw a border 3 pixel wide around the
+image at hand.
+
+Invocation example for the local image file called **foobar.png**
+follows next - adapt this to your own needs as-is:
+
+    require 'image_paradise/toplevel_methods/add_black_border_to_this_image.rb'
+    ImageParadise.add_black_border_to_this_image('foobar.png', 3) # we want the border to have 3 pixels
+
+Obviously for this to work, the file must exist locally.
+
+It is also possible to add a rounded black border. This can be
+seen in traditional card games, such as **magic the gathering**.
+
+If you want to use that, consider making use of the following
+class/file and API:
+
+    require 'image_paradise/utility_scripts/magic_card_border.rb'
+    ImageParadise.:MagicCardBorder.new(ARGV)
+    # such as in:
+    # ImageParadise.:MagicCardBorder.new('foobar.png')
+
+See the --help options for what the class will support.
+
+You can alias it to e. g. **magic-rounded** and then
+invoke it via:
+ 
+    magic-rounded --size=5
+    magic-rounded --size=5 foobar.png
+    magic-rounded --size=12 foobar.png
+    magic-rounded --size=25 foobar.png
+
+The --size parameter determines which size to use, via
+the commandline. I recommend keeping the --size parameter
+fairly small; more than **--size=12** is rarely necessary,
+in my opinion. Better to have a slight black border than
+a huge one - but, either way, this is entirely up to the
+user.
+
+## Some toplevel methods explained
+
+The method **ImageParadise.default_colour?** will give back
+the default colour for the project, if it has been assigned.
+I needed this because some image-related operations require
+a colour, and being able to omit this for subsequent use
+can be convenient, aka set the colour once, and then 
+continue to work from there.
+
+## API consideration
+
+This subsection shows a few syntax examples how I plan to
+rewrite the project in **2022**.
+
+Write the text "Hello world" on the image **FOOBAR.png**:
+
+    textonimage FOOBAR.png --text="Hello world" --colour=darkgreen --font-size=22 --position=3,4
+
+This will be passed to class **ImageParadise::TextOnImage**,
+where **ipa** is an alias I use towards 
+**bin/image_paradise**. I intend to improve this
+class over the coming weeks.
+
+An even simpler variant follows for a closely related
+script, at **bin/img_text**:
+
+    imgtext what the heck some_file.png --darkblue
+    imgtext what the heck some_file.png --tomato # you can pass HTML colours here
+
+Why is the example shown above via **imgtext** nice to have?
+
+Well - the idea here is that you first think what kind of
+text you want to display on the image. Then, you pass the
+image filename, such as foobar.png. And then you append
+extra commandline flags via -- such as --darkblue.
+
+It may be hard to explain why this is useful, but just give
+it a try on some existing image, and play around a bit with
+it. Further options to customise this even more may be
+added in the future.
+
+## Which fonts are available for ImageMagick?
+
+The answer to this question depends on your computer system.
+
+If you are, however had, like me and often forget then
+the following list will contain some font names that
+**may** be available on your linux system too. On Windows
+I do not know whether these are available or not, but 
+since Linux is my main operating system I focus primarily
+on Linux.
+
+The following list is **not** complete - it just gives a
+few helpful pointers to available names that **may** be
+usable by you.
+
+Here we go:
+
+    AvantGarde, Bookman, Courier, Helvetica, NewCenturySchlbk,
+    Palatino, Symbol, Times, Bitstream-Charter, Century-Schoolbook,
+    Chandas, Courier, DejaVu-Sans, DejaVu-Serif, Garuda, Hack-Regular,
+    Kedage-Normal, Kinnari, Liberation-Mono, Liberation-Sans,
+    Liberation-Serif, Loma, Luxi-Mono, Luxi-Sans, Luxi-Serif,
+    Mallige-Normal, Nimbus-Mono-L, Nimbus-Roman-No9-L,
+    Nimbus-Sans-L, NimbusMonoPS-Regular, NimbusSans-Bold,
+    Norasi-Bold, Noto-Mono, Noto-Serif-Bold, Oxygen-Mono,
+    Terminus-Regular, Umpush, URW-Gothic-L-Book, Utopia.
+
+## Embedding the filename into an image file
+
+You can embed the filename (or any other text) into images
+via **imagemagick**. In <b>April 2022</b>, I had a use
+case where I needed to put down the name of the image 
+file into the image itself.
+
+The syntax from the commandline looks as follows:
+
+    convert name_of_the_image_file_goes_here.jpg -font Luxi-Mono -pointsize 32 -draw "gravity northwest fill white text 0,15 'Filename' " output.jpg
+    convert TANA* -font Luxi-Mono -pointsize 32 -draw "gravity northwest fill white text 0,15 'Filename' " output.jpg
+
+I wanted to automate this, though, so the following API
+was added to the ImageParadise gem:
+
+    ImageParadise.embed_the_filename_into_this_image()
+    ImageParadise.embed_the_filename_into_this_image('name_of_the_image_file_goes_here.jpg')
+
+This is not very customizable though as I just use it
+for hardcoded values mostly. You may have to adjust it
+to your own use case; at the least the method exists,
+so you can modify it as-is. The second argument is a
+Hash which allows for some modifications.
+
+For instance, a larger text size can be done via:
+
+    ImageParadise.embed_the_filename_into_this_image('foobar.jpg', { font_size: 50 })
+
+To combine this with a different colour use:
+
+    ImageParadise.embed_the_filename_into_this_image('foobar.jpg', { font_size: 50, colour_to_use: :tomato }) # You can use the HTML colours here.
+
+Note that you can also pass a directory as the first
+argument. So, rather than pass 'foobar.jpg', you 
+could pass '/foo/bar/' and the method will gather all
+.gif, .jpg and .png files there, then work on these
+one after the other. This allows us to batch-process
+whole directories containing images. Don't forget
+to keep a backup of these images **before** calling
+this method, though!
+
+Usage example:
+
+    ImageParadise.embed_the_filename_into_this_image('/foo/bar/')
+
+## Determining whether a given file is an animated image
+
+The following functionality depends on ImageMagick.
+
+To determine whether an image is animated you can use the following
+API:
+
+    ImageParadise.is_this_image_animated?('/foobar.gif') # => true
+    ImageParadise.is_this_image_animated?("TANAKA.jpg")  # => false
+
+## Determining whether a given file is an image file or whether it is not
+
+You can use the following API to determine whether the given file is an
+image file or whether it is not.
+
+    ImageParadise.is_an_image_file?()
+    ImageParadise.is_an_image?()
+
+Both variants work fine. The second is a bit shorter, so let's look at a
+specific example:
+
+    ImageParadise.is_an_image?('/tmp/cat.png')
+    ImageParadise.is_an_image?('/tmp/dog.gif')
+    ImageParadise.is_an_image?('/tmp/deer.bmp')
+
+This will return true if it is an image, and false otherwise. Presently
+(in 2022) this works via a constant where the file types are registered,
+e. g. ".png" or ".jpg" all are files. In the future another method may
+be added that uses either "file" to identify the file at hand, or another
+variant by probing the content to determine whether this is really a file
+or not. But currently no such API exists. If it will be added then it
+will probably have another name, so for the time being
+<b>ImageParadise.is_an_image?()</b> should suffice.
+
+## Support for chunky_png and examples using chunky_png
+
+ChunkyPNG is a ruby-only library that helps the user create
+.png files or read from existing .png files. It is super-convenient
+to use, in many ways even easier to use than ImageMagick. On the
+other hand, a lot of the functionality that ChunkPNG offers can
+be used via ImageMagick. So perhaps ImageMagick is better.
+
+Still - as ChunkyPNG exists, I decided to add support to it within
+the namespace called <b>ImageParadise::ChunkyPNG</b>. This may
+be a bit hackish, and support will not be complete, but just more
+of an example what can be done via ChunkyPNG.
+
+This subsection will list some examples.
+
+To combine two .png files, and overlay one onto the other,
+use:
+
+    ImageParadise::ChunkyPNG.overlay('Leeann_Tweeden.png','Cute_Biker.png', :center)
+
+## Support via Pango
+
+ImageMagick knows how to use Pango.
+
+Consider the following commandline examples:
+
+    convert -size 600x100 -gravity center -pointsize 48  pango:"The <span foreground='blue'>blue</span> word." output.png
+    convert -size 400x200 -gravity center -background khaki -pointsize 30 pango:"<i>A</i> &#x229B; <i>B</i> &#x21D2; <i>C</i>" chars.png
+    convert -size 400x200 -gravity northeast  -background khaki  -pointsize 30 pango:"<span foreground='green' size=\"55555\">A</span><span foreground='green' size=\"30000\">A</span><span size=\"30000\">B</span>C" chars.png
+
+## Resizing an image
+
+<b>Images</b> (in 2D) typically have a width and a height setting,
+such as 400px width and 300 px height. This is typically denoted
+like this, via a shorthand notation: <b>400x300</b>.
+
+Naturally you may want <b>to resize an image</b> eventually, for instance,
+for displaying it on a webpage. Size often matters here, due to the
+data volume passed to the recipient (the visitor).
+
+<b>ImageMagick</b> allows you to resize an image, via the following 
+commandline invocation:
+
+    convert -resize 40% foobar.jpg output.jpg
+
+This worked if you then use <b>identify</b> to check the width and
+height:
+
+    identify foobar.jpg
+
+    Result: foobar.jpg JPEG 280x499 280x499+0+0 8-bit sRGB 32644B 0.000u 0:00.000
+    
+    identify output.jpg
+
+    Result output.jpg JPEG 112x200 112x200+0+0 8-bit sRGB 8141B 0.000u 0:00.000
+
+So, if you multiply 280.0 * 0.4 you get 112.0, which is precisely the width
+value that the file <b>output.jpg</b> has.
+
+I wanted <b>an API in ruby</b> that would allow me to do the same:
+
+    shrink foobar.jpg 40%
+
+on the commandline. However had, I realised that I may want to omit
+the <b>trailing %</b> specifically, or even omit the last part
+altogether, thus only using the following commandline variant:
+
+    shrink foobar.jpg # the first argument is the locally existing file
+
+In that case, <b>shrink</b> will shrink the image down to <b>75%</b>,
+thus, width and height will be multiplied by a factor of 0.25 to obtain
+the new width and height (rounded down, always, to get <b>integer pixel
+values</b>).
+
+If you want to do this from within ruby, you can, after requiring
+the <b>image_paradise gem</b>, use any of the following:
+
+    ImageParadise.resize_by_percent('foobar.jpg')
+    ImageParadise.resize_by_percentage('foobar.jpg')
+    ImageParadise.resize_percent('foobar.jpg')
+    ImageParadise.percent('foobar.jpg', 20)
+    ImageParadise.percent('foobar.jpg', '30')
+    ImageParadise.percent('foobar.jpg', '40%')
+    ImageParadise.resize('foobar.jpg', '20%')
+    ImageParadise.resize('foobar.jpg', '30%')
+    ImageParadise.resize('foobar.jpg', '40%')
+
+Use whatever variant you prefer here. The first one is the official name;
+I think it is the best to remember. <b>ImageParadise.percent()</b>
+exists mostly in the event that you quickly want to use it
+from within <b>irb</b>, but you can also use the shorthand API
+<b>ImageParadise.resize()</b> - it is all up to you.
+
+The executable that bundles this functionality into a standalone
+file can be found at <b>bin/resize_by_percent</b>.
+
+## Query the width and the height of an image
+
+You can use the following method to determine (return) the
+width of an image (in n px, aka n pixels):
+
+    ImageParadise.width_of_this_image?
+    ImageParadise.width_of_this_image?('foobar.png')
+    ImageParadise.width_of_this_image? "red_six_sided_die.png"
+
+A similar method exists for the height of an image:
+
+    ImageParadise.height_of_this_image?
+    ImageParadise.height_of_this_image?('foobar.png')
+    ImageParadise.height_of_this_image? "red_six_sided_die.png"
+
+## Compression of images in general
+
+This subsection just very briefly mentions a few interesting
+knowledge bits about compressing images in general. It is just
+a reminder, not an extensive article entry.
+
+<b>Higher quality</b> in regards to images usually
+means that there is <b>less compression</b> of the image
+at hand.
+
+Photographs tend to compress better with JPEG than with PNG.
+
+The idea in all forms of compression is to reduce or eliminate 
+bits that do not convey their full potential information 
+content.
+
+## ImageParadise.monochrome
+
+The ImageParadise.monochrome() API can be used to make an image
+monochrome - aka only black and white.
+
+Usage example:
+
+    x = ImageParadise.monochrome('/Depot/j/NJOY/VidaGuerra.jpg')()
+
+## ImageParadise.charcoal
+
+Another way to get a black-white image is via
+ImageParadise.charcoal.
+
+Usage example:
+
+    result = ImageParadise.charcoal('Water.jpg')
+    result = ImageParadise.charcoal('/Depot/j/girl.jpg')
+
+## ImageParadise.canny
+
+First, let's look at an image to see what <b>ImageParadise.canny()</b> does:
+
+<img src="https://i.imgur.com/bAyhlmx.jpg" style="margin: 1em">
+
+The result can be seen on the right side.
+
+To use this for your own images, use the following API:
+
+    x = ImageParadise.canny('/Depot/j/NJOY/VidaGuerra.jpg')
+
+## Venetian gradient background
+
+First, the image:
+
+<img src="https://i.imgur.com/HHlU0hs.png" style="margin: 1em">
+
+The API to use is:
+
+    ImageParadise.create_gradient(:venetian, '500x500', 'gray50')
+
+The second argument specifies the width x height of the image
+to be created anew.
+
+
+## Licence
+
+The licence for this gem is the MIT licence.
+
+Basically the most important part of the MIT licence is that, aside
+from you being able to use the project as you see fit, is the no
+warranty disclaimer to avoid any potential misuse from the use
+of the software at hand.
+
+You can read up on this licence here:
+
+https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT
+
+The usual copyright assignment is:
+
+Copyright 2023 Robert Heiler
+
+
+
+## Contact information and mandatory 2FA coming up in 2022
+
+If your creative mind has ideas and specific suggestions to make this gem
+more useful in general, feel free to drop me an email at any time, via:
+
+    shevy@inbox.lt
+
+Before that email I used an email account at Google gmail, but in **2021** I
+decided to slowly abandon gmail, for various reasons. In order to limit the
+explanation here, allow me to just briefly state that I do not feel as if I
+want to promote any Google service anymore when the user becomes the end
+product (such as via data collection by upstream services, including other
+proxy-services). My feeling is that this is a hugely flawed business model
+to begin with, and I no longer wish to support this in any way, even if
+only indirectly so, such as by using services of companies that try to
+promote this flawed model.
+
+In regards to responding to emails: please keep in mind that responding 
+may take some time, depending on the amount of work I may have at that
+moment. So it is not that emails are ignored; it is more that I have not
+(yet) found the time to read and reply. This means there may be a delay
+of days, weeks and in some instances also months. There is, unfortunately,
+not much I can do when I need to prioritise my time investment, but I try
+to consider <b>all</b> feedback as an opportunity to improve my projects
+nonetheless.
+
+In <b>2022</b> rubygems.org decided to make 2FA mandatory for every
+gem owner eventually:
+
+see
+https://blog.rubygems.org/2022/06/13/making-packages-more-secure.html
+
+Mandatory 2FA will eventually be extended to all rubygems.org developers and
+maintainers. As I can not use 2FA, for reasons I will skip explaining here,
+this means that my projects will eventually be removed, as I no longer
+have any control over my projects hosted on rubygems.org (because I
+can not use 2FA).
+
+At that point, I no longer have any control what is done to my projects
+since whoever is controlling the gems ecosystem took away our control
+here. I am not sure at which point ruby became corporate-controlled -
+that was not the case several years ago, so something has
+changed.
+
+Ruby also only allows 2FA users to participate on the issue tracker these
+days:
+
+  https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/issues/18800
+
+But this has been reverted some months ago, so it is no longer applicable.
+Suffice to say that I do not think that we should only be allowed to
+interact on the world wide web when some 'authority' authenticated us,
+such as via mandatory 2FA, so I hope this won't come back again.
+
+Fighting spam is a noble goal, but when it also means you lock out
+real human people then this is definitely NOT a good situation
+to be had.
+