Free image editing Gimp is 25 years old

On November 21, 1995, Spencer Kimball and Peter Mattis released the first public beta version of Gimp for Linux, Solaris and Unix. The program was developed as part of a semester project at Berkeley University in California. Gimp stands for “General Image Manipulation Program” – in the BDSM scene but also for a submissive person. The developers were inspired by the 1994 Tarantino film Pulp Fiction.

The first official version published in January 1996 is numbered 0.54. From now on, Gimp is unstoppable and is embarking on an unprecedented triumph. After a meeting with GNU founder Richard Stallman the following year, Kimball and Mattis change the name of their program to “GNU Image Manipulation Program” with no acronyms. And that’s the name it still bears today.

Own format for Gimp 1.0

It was not until June 1998 that Gimp got the status 1.0 and a memory management system that enables large image files to be opened. In addition, Gimp 1.0 can store files in its own XCF format including layers and execute scripts in the Script-Fu language. The program is now also available for Windows and macOS. However, it is a time that demands a lot from users, for example compiling the installer for their platform themselves and installing the GUI toolkit GTK + manually.

Gimp 2.0 will be released in December 2004, but will not bring any world-shaking innovations. It can import and output SVG files and offers simple functions for the CMYK color model and prepress.

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Gimp 2.4 brings ICC color management system and print simulation. When opening files, the program asks whether it should interpret or reject embedded ICC profiles.

What takes a long time will finally become GEGL

In October 2008, with Gimp 2.6, the developers laid the foundation for the switch to the new GEGL graphics library. It promises complete ICC color management and image processing in 32-bit color depth per channel – optionally in floating point operations. For the time being, Gimp 2.8 continues to work with only 8 bit color depth per channel. Gimp 2.8 also comes with an optional one-window mode that combines the three floating pallets that were common up until then in a dock.

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For the first time, Gimp 2.8 runs in single-window mode if required.

It should take another ten years before the changeover to GEGL with Gimp 2.10, the direct successor to Gimp 2.8, is completed in 2018. The uneven version numbers are reserved for the developer versions. The long-awaited high color depth is finally a reality. In addition, GEGL brings immediate previews in the document window of filters such as Gaussian soft focus or unsharp masking. The current developer version 2.99 promises support for HiDPI monitors, improved support for graphics tablets and a new plug-in API.

Gimp 2.10 fully implements GEGL and shows, among other things, the effect of effects live in the document window.

Compiled installers can now be downloaded from Gimp.org as a matter of course. Countless books, articles and videos explain the operation. Gimp becomes more user-friendly in adulthood. The free image processing has a permanent place on many PCs and has become an integral part of the open source world. We congratulate and look forward to another 25 years.


(akr)

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