HGL Suite

HGL Suite is a super handy open-source software that works as both a compiler and interpreter right from the command line. It’s specially made for developing images and comes with its own simple yet powerful language.

Features of HGL Suite

This application runs smoothly by using plugins to handle all the input. It supports different image outputs like JPEG, PNG, GIF, caca (which is ASCII art), X11 (a simple viewer), and netpbm. You can also use control input plugins for things like command-line and CGI inputs. Plus, you can configure the output format with plugins too!

How Does It Work?

If you're curious about how HGL Suite operates, here's the scoop: it takes input from a source file that needs to be compiled first for quick access by the interpreter. The interpreter then runs these compiled files, grabs any necessary input from custom plugins, and shows you the results.

Network Transparency

A cool feature of HGL Suite is that it's network transparent! This means it can take in data from various protocols. It's powered by LUA scripting and is perfect for converting SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) files into HGL (HP Graphics Language) files quickly and easily.

Installing HGL Suite

Want to give it a try? To install HGL Suite, just head over to Softpedia. You'll download it as a tar.xz archive. Once that's done, save it where you want, extract it, and open up your terminal emulator.

Navigating to where you extracted the folder is next. Type in “./configure && make” (without quotes), then just wait for it to compile. After that, run “make install” as root or system admin—easy peasy!

Programming Languages Used

The cool thing about HGL Suite is that it's written in C++, Lua, and Yacc programming languages. This graphics toolkit runs through the command line and is aimed at advanced users and developers who want more control over their graphics processes.

The developers even provide PPA repositories for Ubuntu, Debian Linux distributions, along with their derivatives!