Original Usenet thread from alt.ascii-art, started 21 Jul 1997.
History
alt.ascii-art
· 21 messages · 21 Jul 1997 - 1 Sep 1998
Hi, I hope this is not seen as a bad post but I have about 200MB of old ASCII pictures from back in the 60's and early '70's. I used to keep my collection on paper tape but in '73 I translated it to an '029 card deck, then in '80 collected all I could find from everyone I knew and put it on an IBM mag tape. I have kept this tape for all these years hoping I'd find someone that might want it for historical reasons of the computing stuff of that age. Maybe this group is the right one? The only problem I have now is how to find a 9 track drive to read it? It was written at 6250bpi and 3383 bytes/record. Yes a LOT of them are Snoopies, etc, Start treck stuff, the moon in 36 page multistrike Line printer art, presidents, etc...ect... Anyone with some ideas on what (if anything) I should do with this at this time? liz...@ibm.net
>I hope this is not seen as a bad post but I have about 200MB of old ASCII >pictures >from back in the 60's and early '70's. I used to keep my collection on paper >tape but >in '73 I translated it to an '029 card deck, then in '80 collected all I >could find > from everyone I knew and put it on an IBM mag tape. I have kept this tape >for all >these years hoping I'd find someone that might want it for historical reasons >of the >computing stuff of that age. Maybe this group is the right one? The only >problem I have >now is how to find a 9 track drive to read it? It was written at 6250bpi and >3383 >bytes/record. > > WOW! I hope there is someone around who can read it!! Perhaps even put up a web page of "classic" ASCII art!!! How exciting! -joan -- .==,_ .===,_`\ .====,_ ` \ .====,__ --- .==-,`~. \ `:`.__, --- `~~=-. \ /^^^ ...always on the go! --- `~~=. \ / `~. \ / spu...@juno.com ~. \____./ * joan stark * jgs `.=====) ___.--~~~--.__ ___\.--~~~ ~~~---.._|/ ~~~" / my ascii art gallery: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/7373/
In several ways the last 2 years have seen some interesting
developments in the history of Ascii Art and the newsgroup
alt.ascii-art.
Joan Stark has emerged as a very talented, and by far the most
prolific Ascii Artist, to date, easily surpassing the collections of
Row; Targon; Susie Oviatt; Normand Veilleux and Allen Mullen.
In 1998 Joan earned a prestigious award from Geocities.com for her
Website on Geocities as well as many tributes and accolades from
those who see and enjoy her excellent work.
.{{}}}}}}.
{{{{{}}}}}}}.
{{{{ }}}}}}}}} Joan G Stark
}}}}} _ _ {{{{{ Undisputed queen of ascii art.
}}}} 6 6 {{{{
{{{{{ ^ }}}}}
{{{{{{\ -=- /}}}}}}
{{{{{{{;.___.;}}}}}}}
{{{{{{{) (}}}}}}}'
`""'"': :'"'"'`
jgs `@`
Then we have seen the emergence of Pete Casso with his creation of a
new subgenre of "Stein Characters", second only to the well-known
"Silly Cows" genre in Ascii Art, and by far outstripping the other
known genres of Sheep; Owls; Koala Bears, and Luke the Spook.
The two basic characters were Birdstein and Frogstein...
_==_
( "> oo.
(> )> (- )
^^ " "
Birdstein Frogstein
Followed by an ever growing number of other Steins:
01WW5WWW10WWWW5WWW20WWWW5WWW30WWWW5WWW40WWWW5WWW50WWWW5WWW60WWWW5WWW7072
02 02
03 The 'steins Hall of Fame 03
04 by Pete Casso 970920 04
05 05
06 . + . 06
07 \^|^/ 07
08 .oo 08
09 ( -) Frogstein, King of the Pond 09
10 " " 10
11 11
12 + 12
13 \^^/ 13
14 ( "> 14
15 (> )> Birdstein, Queen of the Sky 15
16 ^^ 16
17 17
18 (\ /) 18
19 (:\oo/:) 19
20 ( -) Pegastein, head in the clouds ... 20
21 " " 21
22 22
23 .oo 23
24 .'''' -) Sphinxstein, feet on the ground ... 24
25 (__)_)__)_) 25
26 26
27 27
28 /( 28
29 /\(oo)/\ Ghostein, a frequent visitor from Heaven 29
30 \ / 30
31 31
32 32
33 ,, 33
34 ( "> w 34
35 ,(> )>| Devilstein, a frequent visitor from Hell 35
36 ( ^^ 36
37 37
38 38
39 /( 39
40 (\( "> Roosterstein, the musician in the barnyard 40
41 `(> )> Often called PeteHovenstein by his fans 41
42 ^^ 42
43 43
44 ,, 44
45 (@@ Owlstein, the wisdom dispenser 45
46 (> )> Often called Onestein by his admirers 46
47 ^^ 47
48 48
49 ,, 49
50 ( "/ Dragonstein, who sired the Loch Ness monster 50
51 )\` 51
52 / 52
53 53
54 _==_ 54
55 ( "> 55
56 (>,)> BrusselsBoystein, who has a cute squirter 56
57 ^^ 57
58 58
59 . . 59
60 .)\ /(. 60
61 .) ,\ @.@ /, (. 61
62 .) - (,-,) - (. Draculstein, appearing as a vampire 62
63 .) '/ \` (. 63
64 .)/ \(. 64
65 ' ' 65
66 66
67 ,()) 67
68 ,( "> Mousestein, who does a great job 68
69 ( " " in scaring evil witches away 69
70 70
71WW5WWW10WWWW5WWW20WWWW5WWW30WWWW5WWW40WWWW5WWW50WWWW5WWW60WWWW5WWW7072
Note: Pete is now marking his Stein cartoon drawings as Copyright (c).
A very recent development has been the emergence in alt.ascii-art of
programmers who have written useful Ascii Tools.
ASC2PIC.EXE - by Martin Atkins converts Ascii pictures back to
photographic style images. Especially useful for
viewing those large multi-screen Ascii pictures.
RESIZE.EXE - By "Stile" which allows simple percentage reduction or
enlargement of Ascii pictures by removing or adding
characters. Very useful for trimming widths of
pictures of 80 or more columns which overlap the
screen or cause line wrapping.
Works best on block-style art ( as illustrated )
Original:
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$uu"""""`` `"$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$u"`` `""u$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$u"` `""u$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$P" .,ed$$$$b. "u$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$' ,d$$$$$$$$$$$b. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$u"` .,ed$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$b `$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$ec ..,ed$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$P"```"4$b `$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$' $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$',d$$$be$$b. `$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$' ,$P'.,,,,.`u$$$$$$$Pd$$$$$$$$$$$b $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$ $$e$$$$$$$b,`u$$$$$$`""""uu$$$$$$ `$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$b $$$$$$$u"` ,d $$$$$$$$$b.,e.`$$$$b $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$ $$$$$',d$ed$$ $$$$$$`u4$$$P',$$$$P .$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$b $$$$$.`u$$$P'd$$$$$$b. ..,e$$$$$$ .$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$ eee,. $$$$$$$e,.,e$$$$$$$$$$e`$$$$$$$$$. $E$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$.`$$$$$ee$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$'d$$$$$b`$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$,`$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$,.`"$$$',$$$$$$$P',$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$e.`"u$$$$$$u$$$$$$$uu"'..., .,eeee$$$P',e$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$,`"u$$$e,`"4$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$P,d$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$be$$$$$$$$b,.,d$$$$$$',$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$e.`"u$$$$$$u"',d$,`$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$be,,,...,ed$$$$$,`u$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$P',db`u$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ `""uu$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$P',$$$$ `"u$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$P' `u$be,.`"uu$$$$$$$$$$P'.e$$$$$P `""uuuuu$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$uu"` `$$$$$$be,..`"uuP',ed$$$$$$$' `"""u
uuuuu"""`` `$$$$$$$$$$$$b, d$$$$$$$$$'
`$$$$$$$$$$P',e.`"u$$$$$P
`4$$$$$$P',`$$$$',.`"uu'
`"uuu"`,$b.$$'.$$$$$$
`$$$$$$$$Pd$b,`$$$$P
`$$$$$$$'$$$$,`$$$'
`$$$$P',$$$$$,`$$
`$$$',d$$$$$$,`$
`P',d$$$$$$$$,`
Reduced to 95% by RESIZE.EXE:
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$uu"""""`` `"$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$u"` `"u$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$u"` `""u$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$P" .,ed$$$$. "u$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$' ,d$$$$$$$$$$b. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$u"` .,ed$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$b `$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$ec .,ed$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$P```"4$b `$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$' $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$',$$$be$$b. `$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$' ,$'.,,,,.`u$$$$$$$Pd$$$$$$$$$$b $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$b,`u$$$$$$`"""uu$$$$$$ `$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$b $$$$$$u"` ,d $$$$$$$$b.,e.`$$$$b $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$ $$$$',d$ed$$ $$$$$$`u$$$P',$$$$P .$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$ eee,. $$$$$$e,.,e$$$$$$$$$$`$$$$$$$$$. $E$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$.`$$$$$ee$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$'d$$$$b`$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$,`$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$,.`"$$',$$$$$$$P',$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$e.`"u$$$$$u$$$$$$$uu"'..., .eeee$$$P',e$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$,`"u$$e,`"4$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$P,d$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$be$$$$$$$$b,.,d$$$$$',$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$e.`"u$$$$$u"',d$,`$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$be,,,...ed$$$$$,`u$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$P',db`u$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ ""uu$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$P',$$$$ `"u$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$P' u$be,.`"uu$$$$$$$$$P'.e$$$$$P `""uuuu$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$uu"` `$$$$$$be,..`"uuP'ed$$$$$$$' `"""u
uuuu"""`` `$$$$$$$$$$$$b, d$$$$$$$$'
`$$$$$$$$$$P',e."u$$$$$P
`4$$$$$$P',`$$$',.`"uu'
`"uuu"`,$b.$$.$$$$$$
`$$$$$$$$Pd$,`$$$$P
`$$$$$$$'$$$,`$$$'
`$$$$P',$$$$,`$$
`P',d$$$$$$$,`
ASCTOOL.EXE - Compiled for MS-DOS by Colin J. Randall from old C
code written circa 1993 by Joshua Bell. It will rotate
a picture through 360 degrees in 90 degree intervals
and is most useful in simple horizontal reversals.
Original:
o o o TOOT TOOT o o O O
,_____ ____ O
| PMD \_|[]|_'__Y
|_______|__|_|__|}
===================oo--oo==oo--OOO\\====================
After ASCTOOL.EXE:
O O o o TOOT TOOT o o o
O ____ _____.
Y__`_|[]|_/ DMP |
{|__|_|__|_______|
====================//OOO--oo==oo--oo===================
These new toolsare all good additions to the old well-known Ascii
tools such as ASCGIF and GIFSCII, the GIF to ASCII convertors.
Last but not least, a new FAQ Writer and Maintainer appeared last
year in the person of Matthew Thomas. He modernised the old Allison
and Barger FAQs, taking into perspective the rapid rise of Windows
and modern web browsers like Netscape and Outlook Express, and the
new generation of Net users - the "Pointers & Clickers" who may not
have much knowledge of how the Net works and possibly no desire to
go to the trouble of learning about it all.
,a@@@@@@@@@m.
,@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@.
J@@P':.. ..:`W@ Matthew Thomas
@@@':;;.. ..;;::@) FAQ Author & Maintainer
\@!:<#OK>::<4O#>.@
|.::"??"; `???.:"\
`._::..:_ee_...::_/
\:..______,::/
\::.. ...:/
`-:____:-'mt-3
Ascii Art and its newsgroups can only benefit from the input of
talented people like those above who have made significant contributions.
Bye,
Matthew Thomas <mpt...@spamfree.land> wrote: >Colin Douthwaite wrote: >> >> In several ways the last 2 years have seen some interesting >> developments in the history of Ascii Art and the newsgroup >> alt.ascii-art. >> >>... >>... >>... >> >> Ascii Art and its newsgroups can only benefit from the input of >> talented people like those above who have made significant >> contributions. > ,. _ > |J /J > ,') n F > |( __J. ,-----------------------------------. > | `- ] | `Let us therefore brace ourselves | > _> .:;J | to our duties, and so bear our- | > | ``"'. | selves that if ASCII art and its | > )_' _,' | Usenet groups last for a thousand | > ,MMMMMMF ,..___,. | years, men and women will still | > MMMMMMM MMMMMMMJ | say, `this was our finest hour'. | > JMMMMMME MMMMMMMML `. ,--------------------------------' > MMMMMMM[ ,aJhmmmmmmmmMMM. |/ >JMMMMMMM[ `"*MMM**H*MMMP*" / >MMMMMMMME (,-=ms:mn-J' ' >MMMMMMMMMn_ mt-2 :._.'_\:.J >YMMMMMMMMMO+n._ `;:`---(.[ > "*MMMMMMMMhh++MMMLhn;;::.J. > "*MMMMMMMMO+O"*OMMM++-"'.Mhm,. > "*MMMMMMMO+++`**MMMP**"'MMMO, > "*MMMMMOO+++OOMhMh YM\OOO > "MMMMMOO++OO`MhOO\/MMM\+/L > |MMMMMOO++OO`MhOO\OMMM\+|| > JOMMMMMMOOOO.MMMO+\**OM\|JL > FOMMMMMMMOO.'MMMOO+A+OMM|OO, > /OOMMMMMMMOO*!MMMMOJ+\+O'|MOL > /++OOMMMMMMo |M\MMO/m==|+O|OMM > '">++OOOMMMMM/MMM"-"O++oAO+|OMOh I'm intrigued. Exactly how did you produce that picture of Winston Churchill? My guess is a scanned photograph from a history book followed by a GIF to ASCII conversion. It isn't too bad...although the facial image is not great it is recognisable for who and what it is. The available GIF to ASCII convertors are crappy in my opinion. :-( Bye,
Colin Douthwaite wrote: > > In several ways the last 2 years have seen some interesting > developments in the history of Ascii Art and the newsgroup > alt.ascii-art. > >... >... >... > > Ascii Art and its newsgroups can only benefit from the input of > talented people like those above who have made significant > contributions. ,. _ |J /J ,') n F |( __J. ,-----------------------------------. | `- ] | `Let us therefore brace ourselves | _> .:;J | to our duties, and so bear our- | | ``"'. | selves that if ASCII art and its | )_' _,' | Usenet groups last for a thousand | ,MMMMMMF ,..___,. | years, men and women will still | MMMMMMM MMMMMMMJ | say, `this was our finest hour'. | JMMMMMME MMMMMMMML `. ,--------------------------------' MMMMMMM[ ,aJhmmmmmmmmMMM. |/ JMMMMMMM[ `"*MMM**H*MMMP*" / MMMMMMMME (,-=ms:mn-J' ' MMMMMMMMMn_ mt-2 :._.'_\:.J YMMMMMMMMMO+n._ `;:`---(.[ "*MMMMMMMMhh++MMMLhn;;::.J. "*MMMMMMMMO+O"*OMMM++-"'.Mhm,. "*MMMMMMMO+++`**MMMP**"'MMMO, "*MMMMMOO+++OOMhMh YM\OOO "MMMMMOO++OO`MhOO\/MMM\+/L |MMMMMOO++OO`MhOO\OMMM\+|| JOMMMMMMOOOO.MMMO+\**OM\|JL FOMMMMMMMOO.'MMMOO+A+OMM|OO, /OOMMMMMMMOO*!MMMMOJ+\+O'|MOL /++OOMMMMMMo |M\MMO/m==|+O|OMM '">++OOOMMMMM/MMM"-"O++oAO+|OMOh -- .._o Matthew Thomas ..://\/ http://cantua.canterbury.ac.nz/~mpt26/ (Site for sore eyes) ..:_/\ <-- If this looks a mess, change your font to Courier ..:/ Linux. Because life is too short to reboot.
Colin Douthwaite wrote: > > Matthew Thomas <mpt...@spamfree.land> wrote: > >... > >---- ,. _ |J /J ,') n F |( __J. ,-----------------------------------. | `- ] | `Let us therefore brace ourselves | _> .:;J | to our duties, and so bear our- | | ``"'. | selves that if ASCII art and its | )_' _,' | Usenet groups last for a thousand | ,MMMMMMF ,..___,. | years, men and women will still | MMMMMMM MMMMMMMJ | say, "this was our finest hour".' | JMMMMMME MMMMMMMML `. ,--------------------------------' MMMMMMM[ ,aJhmmmmmmmmMMM. |/ JMMMMMMM[ `"*MMM**H*MMMP*" / MMMMMMMME (,-=ms:mn-J' ' MMMMMMMMMn_ mt-2 :._.'_\:.J YMMMMMMMMMO+n._ `;:`---(.[ "*MMMMMMMMhh++MMMLhn;;::.J. "*MMMMMMMMO+O"*OMMM++-"'.Mhm,. "*MMMMMMMO+++`**MMMP**"'MMMO, "*MMMMMOO+++OOMhMh YM\OOO "MMMMMOO++OO`MhOO\/MMM\+/L |MMMMMOO++OO`MhOO\OMMM\+|| JOMMMMMMOOOO.MMMO+\**OM\|JL FOMMMMMMMOO.'MMMOO+A+OMM|OO, /OOMMMMMMMOO*!MMMMOJ+\+O'|MOL /++OOMMMMMMo |M\MMO/m==|+O|OMM '">++OOOMMMMM/MMM"-"O++oAO+|OMOh >---- > > I'm intrigued. > > Exactly how did you produce that picture of Winston Churchill? Well, put it this way: that picture is the main reason why I am so tired this morning ... > My guess is a scanned photograph from a history book followed > by a GIF to ASCII conversion. Actually, a GIF from http://www.winstonchurchill.org/ (yes, there is such a Web site -- although many of its graphics are ridiculously large BMPs, yuk), converted by hand (which is why I'm so tired :-). If the conversion had been done by computer, there would have been a greater range of characters used for different grey scales. > It isn't too bad...although the facial image is not great it is > recognisable for who and what it is. Yes, well it's hard to fit that famous podgy grimace into 24 ASCII characters ... rediddles welcome. :-) > The available GIF to ASCII convertors are crappy in my opinion. :-( One day, I promise, when I have enough time to fiddle around with such things, I will write the ultimate GIF-/JPG-/PNG-to-ASCII converter (yeah, right!) (... no, really!). I plan the following features: * optional edge-detection -- drawing of outlines will take precedence over shading the areas inside them * as much or as little weight as you like will be able to be given to the shape of the characters, rather than their darkness or lightness (ie, anti-aliasing at the expense of exact shade, or vice versa). Martin, perhaps you have some code that converts a GIF (or a BMP?) to an array of some sort? That would get me started, at least. Hmm, maybe it's time I learnt Perl ... -- .._o Matthew Thomas (mpt26 @ student . canterbury . ac . nz) ..://\/ http://cantua.canterbury.ac.nz/~mpt26/ (Site for sore eyes) ..:_/\ ASCII ART FAQ: http://cantua.canterbury.ac.nz/~mpt26/art/ascii/ ..:/ Linux. Because life is too short to reboot.
On Thu, 20 Aug 1998 10:59:04 +1200, Matthew Thomas <mpt...@spamfree.land> wrote: >Colin Douthwaite wrote: >> >> Matthew Thomas <mpt...@spamfree.land> wrote: >> >... >> >---- > ,. _ > |J /J > ,') n F > |( __J. ,-----------------------------------. > | `- ] | `Let us therefore brace ourselves | > _> .:;J | to our duties, and so bear our- | > | ``"'. | selves that if ASCII art and its | > )_' _,' | Usenet groups last for a thousand | > ,MMMMMMF ,..___,. | years, men and women will still | > MMMMMMM MMMMMMMJ | say, "this was our finest hour".' | > JMMMMMME MMMMMMMML `. ,--------------------------------' > MMMMMMM[ ,aJhmmmmmmmmMMM. |/ >JMMMMMMM[ `"*MMM**H*MMMP*" / >MMMMMMMME (,-=ms:mn-J' ' >MMMMMMMMMn_ mt-2 :._.'_\:.J >YMMMMMMMMMO+n._ `;:`---(.[ > "*MMMMMMMMhh++MMMLhn;;::.J. > "*MMMMMMMMO+O"*OMMM++-"'.Mhm,. > "*MMMMMMMO+++`**MMMP**"'MMMO, > "*MMMMMOO+++OOMhMh YM\OOO > "MMMMMOO++OO`MhOO\/MMM\+/L > |MMMMMOO++OO`MhOO\OMMM\+|| > JOMMMMMMOOOO.MMMO+\**OM\|JL > FOMMMMMMMOO.'MMMOO+A+OMM|OO, > /OOMMMMMMMOO*!MMMMOJ+\+O'|MOL > /++OOMMMMMMo |M\MMO/m==|+O|OMM > '">++OOOMMMMM/MMM"-"O++oAO+|OMOh >>---- >> >> I'm intrigued. >> >> Exactly how did you produce that picture of Winston Churchill? >Well, put it this way: that picture is the main reason why I am so tired >this morning ... >> My guess is a scanned photograph from a history book followed >> by a GIF to ASCII conversion. >Actually, a GIF from http://www.winstonchurchill.org/ (yes, there is >such a Web site -- although many of its graphics are ridiculously large >BMPs, yuk), converted by hand (which is why I'm so tired :-). If the >conversion had been done by computer, there would have been a greater >range of characters used for different grey scales. Wow...then that is brilliant...and I think how much I used to grizzle about horizontal reversals by hand until ASCTOOL.EXE arrived. Your epic shall go into the upcoming Ascii Art History File due out in September. Actually I would like to see what Allen Mullen could do to enhance your Winston Churchill work...he is an expert with GIF conversions. Bye,
.----- On Thu, 20 Aug 1998 10:59:04 +1200, Matthew Thomas posted: | |Martin, perhaps you have some code that converts a GIF (or a BMP?) to an |array of some sort? That would get me started, at least. | '---------------------------- Er, in my maybesoontobefinished GIF2ASCII converter for line art (which will only be released if I am happy with the outputs) it loads the GIF onto the screen and reads pixels from the screen. I may be able to rewrite it so that it would load into an array, but I don`t think you`d be too happy about the programming language it`s written in. (No, I won`t say it, it`s to embarassing... I`m learning C now I promise :o( ) Martin, the embarassed programmer. |\/| _..__|_o._ /\_|_| o._ _ mart.atkins@-- | |(_|| |_|| | /--\|_|<|| |_> --bigfoot.com
Matthew Thomas <mpt...@spamfree.land> wrote: >Colin Douthwaite wrote: >> Your epic shall go into the upcoming Ascii Art History File due out in >> September. > I'm looking forward to it ... but what was your `History' post, > then? A first draft? My Ascii-art History file is really a collection of people's postings since about 1993...so this latest article of mine will be added to that collection. It is how I personally see the fairly recent past in Ascii Art and particularly this newsgroup alt.ascii- art. Most things on the Net are personal opinions and everyone has their own views so a definitive history of Ascii Art will probably never get written...the Net is constantly changing and a year on the Net can seem like a decade of normal time. Bye,
Colin Douthwaite wrote: > > On Thu, 20 Aug 1998 10:59:04 +1200, Matthew Thomas > <mpt...@spamfree.land> wrote: > > > > Colin Douthwaite wrote: > > > > > > Matthew Thomas <mpt...@spamfree.land> wrote: > > > >... > > > >---- ,. _ |J /J ,') ^ F |( __J. ,-----------------------------------. | `- ] | `Let us therefore brace ourselves | _> .:;J | to our duties, and so bear our- | | ``"'. | selves that if ASCII art and its | )_' _,' | Usenet groups last for a thousand | ,MMMMMMF ,..___,. | years, men and women will still | MMMMMMM MMMMMMMJ | say, "this was our finest hour".' | JMMMMMME MMMMMMMML `. ,--------------------------------' MMMMMMM[ ,aJhmmmmmmmmMMM. |/ JMMMMMMM[ `"*MMM**H*MMMP*" / MMMMMMMME (,-=ms:mn-J' ' MMMMMMMMMn_ mt-2 :._.'_\:.J YMMMMMMMMMO+n._ `;:'---(.[ "*MMMMMMMMhh++MMMLhn;;::.J. "*MMMMMMMMO+O"*OMMM++-"'.Mhm,. "*MMMMMMMO+++`**MMMP**"'MMMO, "*MMMMMOO+++OOMhMh YM\OOO "MMMMMOO++OO`MhOO\/MMM\+/L |MMMMMOO++OO`MhOO\OMMM\+|| JOMMMMMMOOOO,MMMO+\**OM\|JL FOMMMMMMMOO.'MMMOO+A+OMM|OO, /OOMMMMMMMOO*!MMMMOJ+\+O'|MOL /++OOMMMMMMo,|M\MMO/m==|+O|OMM '">++OOOMMMMM/MMM"-"O++oAO+|OMOh > > > >---- >... > Wow...then that is brilliant...and I think how much I used to grizzle > about horizontal reversals by hand until ASCTOOL.EXE arrived. > > Your epic shall go into the upcoming Ascii Art History File due out in > September. I'm looking forward to it ... but what was your `History' post, then? A first draft? > Actually I would like to see what Allen Mullen could do to enhance > your Winston Churchill work...he is an expert with GIF conversions. I've rediddled a few bits on the copy above, and corrected the quotes in the speech bubble. Any other rediddles welcome ... I'm sure the hand could do with some improvement, at least. Bye -- .._o Matthew Thomas (mpt26 @ student . canterbury . ac . nz) ..://\/ http://cantua.canterbury.ac.nz/~mpt26/ (Site for sore eyes) ..:_/\ ASCII ART FAQ: http://cantua.canterbury.ac.nz/~mpt26/art/ascii/ ..:/ Linux. Because life is too short to reboot.
Martin Atkins wrote: >... > Er, in my maybesoontobefinished GIF2ASCII converter for line art > (which will only be released if I am happy with the outputs) it loads > the GIF onto the screen and reads pixels from the screen. Hmmm ... you do realize that that would make it difficult to convert GIFs which were larger than the screen size, don't you? :-) > I may be > able to rewrite it so that it would load into an array, but I don`t > think you`d be too happy about the programming language it`s written > in. (No, I won`t say it, it`s to[o] embarassing... I`m learning C now > I promise :o( ) What ... no, surely not ... QBasic? Or maybe even ... V*sual Basic? Oh, the shame ... -- .._o Matthew Thomas (mpt26 @ student . canterbury . ac . nz) ..://\/ http://cantua.canterbury.ac.nz/~mpt26/ (Site for sore eyes) ..:_/\ <-- If this looks a mess, change your font to Courier ..:/ Linux. Because life is too short to reboot.
In article <35e...@news.vossnet.net>, Martin Atkins <zne...@ovtsbbg.pbz> writes >.----- On Sun, 23 Aug 1998 19:17:59 +1200, Matthew Thomas posted: >|> think you`d be too happy about the programming language it`s written >| > >Er... um.... > > ||||| > | o o | > | > | > | * | > \___/ > | | > > ||||| > |||( -| > ||| > .- Yes, It`s QBasic! > | .-| --' .----+--. > \__/ | | | > | | | | | > / " \ __ |____|__| > |\\ |/.-' _.|______|__| mga > | \\// """"""""""""" > [][ i dont think it matters what language a program is written in ... [][ ... as long as it does the job, doesn't bleat un-inteligibly from [][ incorrect input and allows a method of escape, i'll use it. [][ i've been in industry for many years and i've seen _all_ sorts [][ of stuff ... its the 'ideas' that are usually portable across [][ platforms and languages ... altho' the coding may change the [][ mechanisims are often similar. ----+ +---- [][]|[] []|[][] ----|-|\ /|-|---- | |(O)| | | |(O)| | | |(O)| | ----|-|/ \|-|---- [][]|[] []|[][] ----+ +---- [][][ see yuz [][][ colin -- ( () /_ / /\) _/ /? .\ /\) /) .\ /_ /_ CJRandall http://www.shieldwolf.demon.co.uk
.----- On Sun, 23 Aug 1998 19:17:59 +1200, Matthew Thomas posted:
|> I may be
|> able to rewrite it so that it would load into an array, but I don`t
|> think you`d be too happy about the programming language it`s written
|> in. (No, I won`t say it, it`s to[o] embarassing... I`m learning C now
|> I promise :o( )
|
|What ... no, surely not ... QBasic? Or maybe even ... V*sual Basic? Oh,
|the shame ...
|
'----------------------------
Er... um....
|||||
| o o |
| > |
| * |
\___/
| |
|||||
|||( -|
||| > .- Yes, It`s QBasic!
| .-| --' .----+--.
\__/ | | |
| | | | |
/ " \ __ |____|__|
|\\ |/.-' _.|______|__| mga
| \\// """""""""""""
I bet I`m suddenly not such a 'talented person' any more huh? :o)
And on to that screen size thing (which I accidentally "snipped"), Yes I did
realise that. It always outputs a 40x25 character ascii pic.
Well, that`s the theory anyway! So far this is all I`ve gotten out of it:
(Yes that is a blank space!)
And I suppose I might as well stop making programs now as there`s no way
anyone`s going to take my work seriously any more. :o/
|\/| _..__|_o._ /\_|_| o._ _ mart.atkins@--
| |(_|| |_|| | /--\|_|<|| |_> --bigfoot.com
.----- On Mon, 24 Aug 1998 23:29:16 +0100, CJRandall posted: |i dont think it matters what language a program is written in ... |... as long as it does the job, doesn't bleat un-inteligibly from |incorrect input and allows a method of escape, i'll use it. | |i've been in industry for many years and i've seen _all_ sorts |of stuff ... its the 'ideas' that are usually portable across |platforms and languages ... altho' the coding may change the |mechanisims are often similar. | | ----+ +---- | [][]|[] []|[][] | ----|-|\ /|-|---- | | |(O)| | | | |(O)| | | | |(O)| | | ----|-|/ \|-|---- | [][]|[] []|[][] | ----+ +---- | |see yuz |colin '------------------------- Why thank you, that`s *not* the sort of reply I expected! :o) About the 'method of escape' - I probably should have added on to ASC2PIC, yes, but didn`t think of it... I only ever chucked small pix into it :o) Perhaps I`ll stick a quit function in, if anyone can be bothered to get a new version! It won`t take long, just a line in the main loop and all will be done! Bye, Martin |\/| _..__|_o._ /\_|_| o._ _ mart.atkins@-- | |(_|| |_|| | /--\|_|<|| |_> --bigfoot.com
CJRandall wrote: >... > [][ i dont think it matters what language a program is written in ... > [][ ... as long as it does the job, doesn't bleat un-inteligibly from > [][ incorrect input and allows a method of escape, i'll use it. > > [][ i've been in industry for many years and i've seen _all_ sorts > [][ of stuff ... its the 'ideas' that are usually portable across > [][ platforms and languages ... altho' the coding may change the > [][ mechanisims are often similar. Up to a point. But the simple fact is that some programming languages (including BASIC and, to a lesser extent, C) encourage poor programming practice -- it can be mathematically proven that BASIC's GOTO statement is not necessary in any program, for example, and GOTOs can lead to some horrible bugs, but it is still possible to do them in either of the above languages. Other languages, on the other hand -- Modula-2, C++, Java et al, encourage (if not actually require) good programming practice, but usually at the expense of making it harder to knock up quick programs in the manner which Martin enjoys. Having said that, I do wish that they would teach us some useful languages at the University here. Modula-2, Hugs (a Haskell derivative), and Squeak (a Smalltalk derivative), while they might encourage good programming, aren't exactly widely used in the industry ... But that's enough off-topic posting for a year or two :-) -- .._o Matthew Thomas (mpt26 @ student . canterbury . ac . nz) ..://\/ http://cantua.canterbury.ac.nz/~mpt26/ (Site for sore eyes) ..:_/\ <-- If this looks a mess, change your font to Courier ..:/ Linux. Because life is too short to reboot.
Matthew Thomas <mpt...@spamfree.land> wrote: > Having said that, I do wish that they would teach us some useful > languages at the University here. You'll be lucky if they even teach you why you should not use the Extended Character Set in raw postings on the Net and the need to use the UUencode or other encoding utilities for Net message transmissions. I know several Hons graduates in Computer Science who did not know why those Extended Characters were a No-No. Students at the Universities are still probably not being told even now...or if they are it does not penetrate their overworked brains. <growl> Bye,
On Tue, 25 Aug 1998 22:36:43 GMT, zne...@ovtsbbg.pbz (Martin Atkins) wrote: > >About the 'method of escape' - I probably should have added on to ASC2PIC, >yes, but didn`t think of it... I only ever chucked small pix into it :o) >Perhaps I`ll stick a quit function in, if anyone can be bothered to get a >new version! It won`t take long, just a line in the main loop and all will >be done! Well I for one use ASC2PIC a fair bit and do not like having to reboot my computer every time I forget and try to run a big 90kb file and cannot stop it running. ( Hmm...I wonder if I put it in a batchfile if it would then respond to CTRL C ? I doubt it. ) It also needs either scrolling or full screen page down function to avoid having to split up large picture collections into about 2 pictures per file...that is rather tedious. It's actually very useful for viewing those multi-screen large Gif/solid style pics that the Dutch Dude makes, and those big nudes, big GIF conversions...in fact anything big...even all those Large Full-Frontal Veronicas and "Mereday in the Morning!". *8-) Ideally the conversion should be directed to a file and the file viewed at the user's leisure later and items taken out and refiled. However...top priority is being able to stop/abort the program! I wish I could diddle executables but I do not have enough knowledge so I have to stick to writing batch files which are relatively simple. Bye,
Colin Douthwaite <cfb...@southern.co.nz> wrote: >You'll be lucky if they even teach you why you should not use the >Extended Character Set in raw postings on the Net and the need to >use the UUencode or other encoding utilities for Net message >transmissions. > >I know several Hons graduates in Computer Science who did not know >why those Extended Characters were a No-No. > You are right Colin, those Dang Universities just don't teach proper netiquette nowadays! >Students at the Universities are still probably not being told even >now...or if they are it does not penetrate their overworked brains. <growl> darn tootin' right about overworked brains though! PS. I be a Computer Systems Engineer not Comp. Sci. student (There is a difference!) ____ _____ _. / \ _.-'_.-' ;=',_ _____________________________ \ _\/ _/ S" .--` | Shanaka Dias | ___)/ __< sS \__ | Western Australia | <'-;:\_ _\ __.' ( \--> | sdi...@netlane.com | '; \_\ _=/ _./-\/ |_____________________________| >/-,\ ((\( /-' -'l ""` |_\ ) |/ \\ Old web address (may no longer exist!): snd \\ \ http://www.ece.curtin.edu.au/~shanaka `~ `~
Matthew Thomas (mpt...@spamfree.land) wrote:
: One day, I promise, when I have enough time to fiddle around with such
: things, I will write the ultimate GIF-/JPG-/PNG-to-ASCII converter
: (yeah, right!) (... no, really!).
: I plan the following features:
: * optional edge-detection -- drawing of outlines will take precedence
: over shading the areas inside them
: * as much or as little weight as you like will be able to be given to
: the shape of the characters, rather than their darkness or lightness
: (ie, anti-aliasing at the expense of exact shade, or vice versa).
Hmm. I have several half-finished bitmap->ascii routines lying around.
On uses a statistical method to find the best matching character for
each 3x3 greyscale block, another does a very fast mapping from an
"interleaved" b/w bitmap. Both have significant problems left.
The advice I would give is - if at all possible - to let the bitmap
rectangles determining each character overlap. This is especially
useful with line art, as it can give much smoother curves and gets
rid of the "borderline" problem. (A horizontal line giving ______
looks a lot worse in most converters if shifted down one pixel to
become .)
""""""
The only problem is that this tends to make the number of pixels per
character even larger, making a simple lookup table approach
impractical. I have an idea involving binary trees, and another
using boolean masks, but I haven't had the time to try either.
--
Ilmari Karonen (ilt...@sci.fi)
http://www.sci.fi/~iltzu/
Matthew Thomas (mpt...@spamfree.land) wrote: : CJRandall wrote: : > [][ i dont think it matters what language a program is written in ... : > [][ ... as long as it does the job, doesn't bleat un-inteligibly from : > [][ incorrect input and allows a method of escape, i'll use it. : Up to a point. But the simple fact is that some programming languages : (including BASIC and, to a lesser extent, C) encourage poor programming This is an ancient debate, in some form older than programming itself, and it seems likely that the truth is somewhere in the middle. But for what it's worth, I maintain that well organized code can be written in any language if only the programmer can keep the program organized in his mind instead of messing around without planning, and that extending the possibilities offered by the language can never make this harder. In particular, it is quite possible to write well-organized programs in assembly, and in fact a good programmer can use techniques which, while by no means "messy", can not be easily done in any high-level language. It is sometimes possible to write an efficient and elegant algorith in assembly which, translated to a high-level language, requires bloated and inelegant workarounds of the language's "features". : practice -- it can be mathematically proven that BASIC's GOTO statement : is not necessary in any program, for example, and GOTOs can lead to some : horrible bugs, but it is still possible to do them in either of the : above languages. Yes, it is not required - and there is no need to use it, at least not in modern BASICs. I seldom did, back when I was playing with BASIC. The design reason for including goto in C is clear - you can do it in assembly anyway. There may be cases where using goto would produce more elegant code, and in those cases it is good to have it. (An entirely different matter is that there are a few cases in C where, due to language limitations, not using goto may seriously hurt performance.) : Other languages, on the other hand -- Modula-2, C++, Java et al, : encourage (if not actually require) good programming practice, but : usually at the expense of making it harder to knock up quick programs in : the manner which Martin enjoys. Yes, and that may make them useful teaching tools, but for writing efficient code freedom of choice is always a good thing. Of course, a determined programmer can write ugly code in any language. (Many limitations in Java etc. of course have a purpose, namely making garbage collecting practical - which in itself is considered by many to be the worst possible memory management scheme.) Anyone not believing the above might do well to study D.E.Knuth's _The Art of Computer Programming_ which should contain plenty of illustrative examples. Heck, read them in any case if you haven't. :-) : But that's enough off-topic posting for a year or two :-) Indeed. Let's try to stay on topic from now on. No ObAscii here, this damn lagging editor is driving me crazy. So sue me.. -- __,,,------._ ,-/| `-. Ilmari Karonen (ilt...@sci.fi) ^ All opinions expressed /, '\, `. ,|"-;;.__ http://www.sci.fi/~iltzu/ | in this message are my / ' 4(_,-_,-"_,/.' `'--' ,------------------------' own. If you want me to "`-(_,-"" `-' (,' itz | make some for you too, you should pay for them!
ilt...@sci.fi (Ilmari Karonen) wrote: >Matthew Thomas (mpt...@spamfree.land) wrote: ...snipped comp.lang.*...............8< >Anyone not believing the above might do well to study D.E.Knuth's _The >Art of Computer Programming_ which should contain plenty of >illustrative examples. Heck, read them in any case if you haven't. :-) >: But that's enough off-topic posting for a year or two :-) >Indeed. Let's try to stay on topic from now on. No ObAscii here, this >damn lagging editor is driving me crazy. So sue me.. No problem. Here's your ObScii :) __,-:d88b-,__ ,-'` `.::::::::`\_ / ..--.. `.::::::.' `\ db ::: `.:' `\ ,d8 :::. \ 88 ::::. b d88 ::::. 8b ,888 `:::: .88 d88b :`:::. :88 d88b ::`::: :d8 d88b :::`: :d8 /^\88p ::::`_,d88b,_ _,d8b,_ :d8 | 88'=====,-======-, ,-=====-.:b | .d8 :: : `d8b./ ]_[ \.d8b' : `, < .:: : `' .`-'. `-' : (posted before) \ | :: `:......'. |`:......:' `; ::. ``````'| : ``````'\ d| ::::. ,: \- | ,d8| ::::: _/(_( ._)_) | ,d88b \`:::: / `'" \ | d88888b \`:::. (..,__,_,__,.'\ .:| 8888888b \`::: \`----_---'` `/ 88888888b \_`:. -^ ^- /88b,_ 888888888b_ \_ .88888888 88888888888b_ \_ _ _ /888888888 88miK88888888b_ `----' ^ `---'8888888888 8888888888888888888888888888888888888888 8888888888888888888888888888888888888888 --=o Donald E. Knuth o=-- Guess one has to be halfway insanity to draw a comp guru in ASCII. No idea whether the portrait matches reality, though... Just had one pic of mister Knuth to use as a reference. ciao, mic
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