The InsetFigure in LyX 1.0.x, with the use of a gs (ghostscript)
process writing directly on the X window has shown to complicated and
hard to debug. It has been ridden by stuck processes.
Because of this we will need a rewrite of the graphics support in LyX
1.1.x.
As we know LaTeX can only use eps files (ok, not completely true) and
LyX can only show pixmaps on screen, but still we would really like
users to be able to use a lot of different formats. There exists a lot
of progs and libs that can help in doing conversions between different
graphics formats, and LyX should take advantage of that.
What does LyX need:
- some kind of graphics cache
In memory or on disk
- A new InsetGraphics
this should request a file from the cache and draw it
on screen.
All format conversions should either be done by external programs or
through library calls. IMHO external programs with a cache of graphic
files on disk is the most foolproof solution and the easiest to
implement.
There should perhaps be two caches one "on file" and another "in
memory" to keep memory usage low. Still some more memory that 1.0 will
most likely be needed.
Thougths, designs and the like are welcome.
Lgb
