From: Tim Hunter <cyclists@...>
Date: 2005-01-16T02:56:10+09:00
Subject: [ANN] Ruby Vector Graphics 0.3.0

RVG is a library for drawing 2D graphics with an API based on the SVG
specification. RVG is a pure-Ruby add-on to RMagick, the binding for
ImageMagick and GraphicsMagick. Version 0.3.0 is available, as usual, at
RubyForge: http://rubyforge.org/projects/rvg/

Version 0.3.0 adds support for patterns. A pattern is a collection of
shapes, text, or raster images that can be used as a stroke or fill.

RVG supports the following SVG concepts:

        o Structure: RVG, groups, defs, and use
        o User-coordinate systems
        o Coordinate system transformations (translate, rotate, etc.)
        o Raster images
        o Basic shapes: line, rectangle, circle, ellipse, polygon, polyline
        o Styles: fill, stroke, opacity, font_size, etc.
        o Paths
        o Text
        o Patterns
        o Clipping paths
        o Units conversions (cm, in, etc.)

RVG would be a good library to use if you're writing an application  that
needs to programmatically generate drawings, such as a charting
application. You can see an example RVG program at
http://rvg.rubyforge.org. The tarball includes copious RDoc documentation
and examples.

RVG supports all the parts of SVG that ImageMagick/GraphicsMagick supports.
I've spent the last week or so converting and running 40+ tests from the
W3C SVG 1.1 Test Suite (http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/Test/) to Ruby+RVG.
At this point I'm satisfied that RVG reasonably bug-free and complete.
Therefore this will be the last "alpha" release. 

I'm going to hold back on integrating RVG into the RMagick library just yet.
I want to rewrite the RDoc to match RMagick's documentation, and that'll be
a big job. So there's still plenty of time for changes based on your
feedback before RVG "goes production" so please don't hesitate to give it a
try and let me know what you think!

Tim