VisualIDs:
scenery for data worlds

a reference implementation

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[DIR]action-shots/2009-04-13 10:52 -  
[tarball]libvisualid-0.2.1.tar.gz2010-02-14 20:29 363Kgzip'd tarball
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[DIR]libvisualid-dev/2012-03-28 22:59 -  
[DIR]nautilus-patches/2013-05-12 01:58 -  
[DIR]releases/2016-02-25 00:35 -  
[DIR]screenshots/2009-11-08 01:54 -  

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libvisualid is a toolkit based on the ideas originally put forth by J. P. Lewis et al. in their essay, ` VisualIDs: Automatic Distinctive Icons for Desktop Interfaces '; the basic idea is for the software to automatically `invent' distinctive & recognisable icons to identify, for example: files when `thumbnailing' is not possible, points of interest on a map, or people in a phonebook or on web-forums when custom avatars are not available.

For a glimpse of VisualIDs technology live and interactive on the web, see Stickfigurator: an automatic avatar-generator.

libvisualid includes a command-line utility to generate VisualIDs and manage glyph-caches (also serving as an example application); FoxtrotGPS version 1.1.1 supports using libvisualid to generate icons for points of interest, and a patch is available to integrate VisualIDs functionality into the Nautilus file-manager.

You can find news, screenshots, and additional information related to this project in my weblog:

https://www.hackerposse.com/~rozzin/journal/VisualIDs

If you'd like to install this code, download one of the above tarballs--they build with a standard GNU-style "./configure && make install" command; or, if you're on a Debian-based system such as Ubuntu, packaging is included so you can build a proper package using dpkg-buildpackage.

If you'd like to hack on this code yourself, then you can make a Bazaar branch, e.g.:

bzr branch https://disambiguate.me/libvisualid/libvisualid-dev

Note that, if you decide to use the code directly from the bzr repository, you'll need to have the GNU Autotools suite installed (Autoconf, Automake, and Libtool), and you'll have to initialise the Autotools infrastructure before you'll be able to build, e.g.:

autoreconf --install --verbose --symlink

Either way, patches, bug-reports, questions, and other feedback are welcomed!

You're also welcome, whether you're a user or developer, to stop by the #libvisualid IRC channel on the freenode network for live conversation.