1.5.6 GIMP - The GNU Image Manipulation Program

This is an analysis focused on the drawing and layering capabilities of the GNU Image Manipulation Program. GIMP is a full-fledged image editor comparable with photoshop; it has a plethora of features.

Good Features:

• Layering
• Create - Create any number of layers
• Delete - delete a layer
• Order - Reorder layers (front to back)
• Name - Name and rename layers
• Modify Attributes - Change visibility and opacity of layers
• Drawing
• Text - Add text box, change color, change font (size, style, face). Move text box delete it.
• Lines - Supports freestyle and straight
• Color - Specify color and change color of elements

Bad Features:

• Text boxes in gimp are their own layers. Text boxes as layers in EC clutters the layers panel. Text boxes in EC are elements belonging to layers so they are still editable yet don't each take up their own layer.
• In GIMP, drawings are added directly onto the layer. For the Electronic Classroom, drawings (such as lines and shapes) are individual elements so they can be moved and manipulated. Drawing elements belong to an owner layer so they are hidden and their opacity changes when the layer's opacity changes. Drawings in EC are selectable, resizeable, and moveable.
• Colors in GIMP are supported like an image editor needs them to be. Colors in the Electronic Classroom are used in note-taking and in presentation to give additional meaning. A simple pallete is used (possibly configureable), rather than a color wheel with the full range of 32-bit colors

Missing Features:

The following list only addresses features relevant to drawing and layers. GIMP is not an electronic classroom; it is an image manipulation program. As such, it is missing the vast majority of the features of the Electronic classroom.

• Shapes - GIMP does support shapes, but they are cumbersome to use. EC supports basic shapes such as rectangles, triangles, and circles similar to how Microsoft Word implements shapes .
• Drawings in the EC are individually (or collectively) selectable. Drawings belong to a layer. In GIMP drawn elements are direclty part of the layer. Drawn elements lose their individuality after they are drawn. In EC, elements retain their individuality. Drawings are modifiable after they are connected to the layer.