[links] Newbie questions

Kevin D.Quitt <[email protected]> Wed, 19 May 2004 10:23:55 -0700
Newsgroups gmane.comp.web.links.list
Message-ID <[email protected]>
We're trying to use Links as an embedded browser (i.e., a browser on an embedded
system).  The idea is that our application will create URLs to send to the
browser, as there is no direct support for a user (e.g., keyboard or mouse).
We've managed to do so for the most part, but there are two things we need to be
able to do.

Most important is to display text over a background image.  We've had no luck at
all on this, what would seem should be a fairly simple thing.  Using the <BODY
BACKGROUND="URL">, we can load the background image.  I expected the browser to
paint from back to front, and we'd just have to replace the code that provides a
background-color pixel with code that would select the correct pixel from our
graphic.  We haven't been able to track down how text gets painted; there
doesn't seem to be just a single place where this happens.  Reading through the
archive is discouraging and very difficult on this subject, because there are so
many HTML posts.

The other requirement is displaying animated GIFs.  For our application, such
GIFs must be full-screen (320x240) and non-optimized.  We replaced Links' GIF
decoder with our own, already-functional, decoder, and we are able to display an
animated GIF.  The problem is that the browser calls the GIF decoder multiple
times for each image, so every third image is displayed.

We've been running Links under X, primarily because we haven't been able to get
Links running with SVGAlib.  We have our main application that runs Links under
itself, and that uses SVGAlib in those conditions where a browser is not
desired.  We've even figured out how to switch back and forth between X and
SVGAlib controlling the display.  We would like to use SVGAlib for two reasons:
it's *much* smaller and fits into cheaper hardware, and because the routines
that look like they would make fixing our two problems are only found in files
that interface Links to SVGAlib.

Now, I'm sure Links actually works with SVGAlib, because everybody says so.  Is
there some special trick to it?

As to the others, can somebody hit me with a clue-by-four?  We're willing to pay
for code already developed, or time in developing it, or for advice on how we're
being stupid.

Thanks in advance.
-- 
#include <standard.disclaimer>
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Kevin D Quitt  USA 91351-4454           96.37% of all statistics are made up


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