Streamlining Python Development: A Guide to a Modern Project Setup
Techincal glossery
1. Pixel and Resolution
• The image that is displayed on the screen is composed of thousands (or millions) of small
dots; these are called pixels; the word is a contraction of the phrase "picture element". A
pixel represents the smallest piece of the screen that can be controlled individually. Each
one can be set to a different color and intensity (brightness).
• The number of pixels that can be displayed on the screen is referred to as the resolution of
the image; this is normally displayed as a pair of numbers, such as 640x480. The first is the
number of pixels that can be displayed horizontally on the screen, and the second how many
can be displayed vertically. The higher the resolution, the more pixels that can be displayed
and therefore the more that can be shown on the monitor at once, however, pixels are
smaller at high resolution and detail can be hard to make out on smaller screens.
Resolutions generally fall into predefined standard sets; only a few different resolutions are
used by most PCs.
File Format & Uses
• Bmp- The BMP file format, also known as bitmap image file or device independent bitmap
(DIB) file format or simply a bitmap, is a raster graphics image file format used to store
bitmap digital images, independently of the display device (such as a graphics adapter),
especially on Microsoft Windows and OS/2 operating systems
• ɪ
Png- Portable Network Graphics (PNG pron.: /ˈpŋ/PING) is a Raster graphics file format
that supports lossless data compression. PNG was created as an improved, non-patented
replacement for Graphics Interchange Format (GIF), and is the most used lossless image
compression format on the World Wide Web.
• ʒ
Gif-The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF; /ˈdɪf/ or /ˈ ɡɪf/) is a bitmap image format that
was introduced by CompuServe in 1987 and has since come into widespread usage on the
World Wide Web due to its wide support and portability. The format supports up to 8 bits
per pixel thus allowing a single image to reference a palette of up to 256 distinct colours.
2. The colours are chosen from the 24-bit RGB colour space. It also supports animations and
allows a separate palette of 256 colours for each frame. The colour limitation makes the GIF
format unsuitable for reproducing colour photographs and other images with continuous
colour, but it is well-suited for simpler images such as graphics or logos with solid areas of
colour.
• Tiff-TIFF (originally standing for Tagged Image File Format) is a file format for storing images,
popular among graphic artists, the publishing industry, and both amateur and professional
photographers in general. As of 2009, it is under the control of Adobe Systems. Originally
created by the company Aldus for use with "desktop publishing", the TIFF format is widely
supported by image-manipulation applications, by publishing and page layout applications,
by scanning, faxing, word processing, optical character recognition and other applications.
Adobe Systems, which acquired Aldus, now holds the copyright to the TIFF specification. TIFF
has not had a major update since 1992, though several Aldus/Adobe technical notes have
been published with minor extensions to the format, and several specifications, including
TIFF/EP (ISO 12234-2), TIFF/IT (ISO 12639), TIFF-F (RFC 2306) and TIFF-FX (RFC 3949) have
been based on the TIFF 6.0 specification.
• Jpg-In computing, JPEG is a commonly used method of loss compression for digital
photography (image). The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable
trade off between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression
with little perceptible loss in image quality.
• Psd-Photoshop files have default file extension as .PSD, which stands for "Photoshop
Document." A PSD file stores an image with support for most imaging options available in
Photoshop. These include layers with masks, colour spaces, ICC profiles, CMYK Mode (used
for commercial printing), transparency, text, alpha channels and spot colours, clipping paths,
and duotone settings. This is in contrast to many other file formats (e.g. .JPG or .GIF) that
restrict content to provide streamlined, predictable functionality. A PSD file has a maximum
height and width of 30,000 pixels, and a length limit of 3 Gigabytes.
• Pdf-Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format used to represent documents in a
manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. Each PDF
file encapsulates a complete description of a fixed-layout flat document, including the text,
fonts, graphics, and other information needed to display it. In 1991, Adobe Systems co-
founder John Warnock outlined a system called "Camelot" that evolved into PDF.
• Eps-Encapsulated PostScript file. A file format commonly used for photographic and drawn
graphics. An EPS file is created and later placed onto a page layout in a page assembly
program.
• Ai-Adobe Illustrator Artwork (AI) is a proprietary file format developed by Adobe Systems for
representing single-page vector-based drawings in either the EPS or PDF formats. The .ai
filename extension is used by Adobe Illustrator.
3. Compression
Compression is useful because it helps reduce resources usage, such as data storage space or
transmission capacity. Because compressed data must be decompressed to use, this extra
processing imposes computational or other costs through decompression; this situation is far from
being a free lunch. Data compression is subject to a space-time complexity trade-off. For instance, a
compression scheme for video may require expensive hardware for the video to be decompressed
fast enough to be viewed as it is being decompressed, and the option to decompress the video in full
before watching it may be inconvenient or require additional storage. The design of data
compression schemes involves trade-offs among various factors, including the degree of
compression, the amount of distortion introduced (e.g., when using lossy data compression), and
the computational resources required to compress and uncompress the data.
Image Capturing device
Image Capture is an application program from Apple that enables users to upload pictures from
digital cameras or scanners which are either connected directly to the computer or the network. It
provides no organizational tools like iPhoto but is useful for collating pictures from a variety of
sources with no need for drivers.
Image Capture is scriptable with AppleScript, and may be manipulated with Mac OS X v10.4 (Tiger)'s
"Automator" application. As of Mac OS X 10.4, Image Capture's AppleScript dictionary does not open
in Script Editor. As of Mac OS X 10.6 only the Image Capture Web Server opens in Script Editor.
Optimizing
In computer science, program optimization or software optimization is the process of modifying a
software system to make some aspect of it work more efficiently or use fewer resources. In general,
a computer program may be optimized so that it executes more rapidly, or is capable of operating
with less memory storage or other resources, or draw less power.
Storage and Asset Management
Computer data storage, often called storage or memory, is a technology consisting of computer
components and recording media used to retain digital data. It is a core function and fundamental
component of computers. The central processing unit (CPU) of a computer is what manipulates data
by performing computations. In practice, almost all computers use a storage hierarchy, which puts
fast but expensive and small storage options close to the CPU and slower but larger and cheaper
options farther away. Often the fast, volatile technologies (which lose data when powered off) are
referred to as "memory", while slower permanent technologies are referred to as "storage", but
these terms can also be used interchangeably. In the Von Neumann architecture, the CPU consists of
two main parts: control unit and arithmetic logic unit (ALU). The former controls the flow of data
between the CPU and memory; the latter performs arithmetic and logical operations on data.
4. IT asset management (ITAM) is the set of business practices that join financial, contractual and
inventory functions to support life cycle management and strategic decision making for the IT
environment. Assets include all elements of software and hardware that are found in the business
environment.
IT asset management (also called IT inventory management) is an important part of an organization's
strategy. It usually involves gathering detailed hardware and software inventory information which is
then used to make decisions about hardware and software purchases and redistribution. IT
inventory management helps organizations manage their systems more effectively and saves time
and money by eliminating unnecessary purchases and wasted resources.