Gimp 2.9 – A sneak preview of the next major version

Going Forward

© Lead Image © Tono Balaguer, 123RF.com

© Lead Image © Tono Balaguer, 123RF.com

Article from Issue 172/2015
Author(s):

The Gimp revamp is in full swing. We look at developer version 2.9.1 to explain the new components and features that are expected to find their way into the Gimp 2.10 major release.

Ever since 2.8.0 was released in 2012, rumors of the next major version, 2.10, have been rampant on the Internet. Although the project roadmap [1] doesn't name the date that Gimp 2.10 will be released, it will most likely rely completely on the new Generic Graphics Library (GEGL) [2], which supports higher bit depth images than Gimp currently supports and non-destructive editing.

With non-destructive editing, the GEGL function preview is always shown directly in the image window – a huge advantage, considering the tiny partial preview windows offered in current plugins. Editing with the library functions is always graph-based [3]: Although this might seem complicated at first sight, it offers exceptional advantages, as you will see.

In the recently published Gimp 2.8.14, you can already see the first fruits of the developers' labors. However, GEGL integration in this version does not work as well as in the developer version of Gimp 2.9: In version 2.8.14, the functions run far slower than they will in future releases. The GEGL operator under the Tools menu currently groups the features that have already been implemented (Figure 1). An icon for this tool will also appear in the Toolbox if it has been enabled in Preferences (see the box "GEGL in Gimp 2.8").

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