Seamstress: Intelligent Image Scaling
The Seamstress image manipulation library promises smaller images without compromising detail. Version 1.0.0 of the software, which was released recently, uses an "energy function" to analyze various areas of the image before compressing and does not change eye-catching areas.
Content-aware image scaling is how the inventors Ariel Shamir (Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya) and Shai Avidan (Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories) refer to their method, which only modifies the "boring" parts of a graphic. The GPL'd Seamstress C library implements the approach shown in the figure: when the original image (top) is resized, the marbles simply move closer together without changing shape (bottom left). The version bottom right shows a conventionally scaled version that clearly demonstrates the differences.
Compressed: Seamstress simply compresses the free areas between the marbles (bottom left). In contrast to a simple width rescale (bottom right) the marbles keep their shape.
Besides the library, the Sourceforge project includes the GTK application Arachne, which demonstrates the functionality of Seamstress without requiring programming skills on the part of the user. The application modifies Tiff images dynamically to reflect the window size. Besides automatic analysis of the screen area by the software, users can manually select objects they do not wish to scale. As the screenshots show, you can even remove undesirable elements from images without compromising the realistic character of the image.
(Peter Kreußel)
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Linux Mint 20 Reaches EOL
With Linux Mint 20 at its end of life, the time has arrived to upgrade to Linux Mint 22.
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.
-
KaOS 2025.05 Officially Qt5 Free
If you're a fan of independent Linux distributions, the team behind KaOS is proud to announce the latest iteration that includes kernel 6.14 and KDE's Plasma 6.3.5.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 Now Available
The latest Linux kernel is now available with several new features/improvements and the usual bug fixes.
-
Microsoft Makes Surprising WSL Announcement
In a move that might surprise some users, Microsoft has made Windows Subsystem for Linux open source.
-
Red Hat Releases RHEL 10 Early
Red Hat quietly rolled out the official release of RHEL 10.0 a bit early.
-
openSUSE Joins End of 10
openSUSE has decided to not only join the End of 10 movement but it also will no longer support the Deepin Desktop Environment.
-
New Version of Flatpak Released
Flatpak 1.16.1 is now available as the latest, stable version with various improvements.