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This program is part of Netpbm.
pamx displays a Netpbm image in an X Window System window. It is like a very simple version of the classic X image viewer xloadimage.
If you don't specify the input file netpbm_file, the input is from Standard Input. The input image can be any Netpbm image format. If the input is a multi-image stream, pamx ignores all but the first image.
pamx is not the best choice for general purpose viewing of images, because it is a traditional simple Netpbm building block. It is a good thing to build into other programs and can be useful for debugging more complex systems, but you can get much more powerful viewers that can display Netpbm images. For example, xloadimage, xli, xzgv, and any web browser.
The program xwud (X Window Undump) is part of the X Window System and performs the same basic display function, though with input in the special X Window Dump format (for which Netpbm has converters).
The initial window is at most 90% of the size of the display unless the window manager does not correctly handle window size requests or if you've used the -fullscreen option. You may move the image around in the window by dragging with the first mouse button. The cursor will indicate which directions you may drag, if any. You may exit the window by typing 'q' or control-C when the keyboard focus is on the window.
ppmsvgalib is a similar program that displays an image on a Linux system without the need for the X Window System.
pamx uses the resource class name Xloadimage for window managers which need this resource set. This is, of course, the same resource class that the conventional viewer program xloadimage uses.
By default, the window size exactly matches the image size, except that if you don't specify -fullscreen, the maximum is 90% of the screen dimensions.
pamx is by Bryan Henderson, in March 2006, based on xloadimage by Jim Frost, Centerline Software, jimf@centerline.com, 1989-1993.
Jim's code contained the following copyright notice and license:
Copyright 1989, 1993 Jim Frost
Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation. The author makes no representations about the suitability of this software for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.
THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
Lots of other people contributed to Xloadimage, and they are listed in the file COPYRIGHT in the source code.
pamx was new in Netpbm 10.34 (May 2006).
pamx is essentially based on the classic X displayer program xloadimage by Jim Frost, 1989. Bryan Henderson stripped it down and adapted it to Netpbm in March 2006.
The following features of xloadimage are left out of pamx, to be more compatible with Netpbm's philosophy of simple building blocks. Note that there are other programs in Netpbm that do most of these things:
There is virtually no code from xloadimage actually in pamx, because Bryan rewrote it all to make it easier to understand.