Topic : The ATARI Compendium
Author : Scott Sanders / JAY Software
Version : 1.25 (20/6/2003)
Subject : Documentation
Nodes : 1117
Index Size : 32614
HCP-Version : 6
Compiled on : Atari
@charset : UTF-8
@lang : en
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@help : %About
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View Ref-FileThe .GEM File FormatFiles ending in '.GEM' are graphic metafiles created by GDOS. They are
usually used to represent vector graphics but may also be used to store
links to bitmap images and textual information.
Two primary versions of GEM files exist. Version 1 files are guaranteed
not to contain bezier curves whereas version 3 files may. Version 3.xx
files are also commonly referred to as GEM/3 files.
The Metafile Header (see META_HEADER structure)
GEM metafiles begin with a header as follows:
WORD Contents
0 Magic number (0xFFFF).
1 Header length in WORDs.
2 Version number (major * 100 + minor).
3 NDC Flag as follows: Value Meaning 0 (0, 0) in lower-left corner
(NDC) 2 (0, 0) in upper-left corner (RC)
4 Minimum X extent.
5 Minimum Y extent.
6 Maximum X extent.
7 Maximum Y extent.
8 Page width in tenths of millimeters.
9 Page height in tenths of millimeters.
10 Lower Left X value of coordinate system.
11 Lower Left Y value of coordinate system.
12 Upper Right X value of coordinate system.
13 Upper Right Y value of coordinate system.
... Other information may appear in the header following which is
currently undefined. Use WORD #1 to skip any unknown information.
The definition of WORDs 4-13 is defined by the creator of the file using
three metafile commands. WORDs 4-7 are set with the v_meta_extents()function. WORDs 8-9 are defined with the vm_pagesize() function. WORDs
10-13 are defined with vm_coords(). If the creator fails to specify
defaults for any of these values, the appropriate values will be set to 0
in the header. If zeros appear for WORDs 10-13, the default NDC coordinate
system should be assumed.
Metafile Records
Following the header will appear a list of records of varying length
which, when translated, can be 'played back' on the destination VDIdevice. Each record is formatted as follows:
WORD Meaning
0 Opcode of VDI function.
1 Number of PTSIN elements.
2 Number of INTIN elements.
3 Function sub-ID.
4... PTSIN elements.
... INTIN elements.
The list of records is terminated with an opcode of 0xFFFF (this record
is written when a v_clswk() call is made by the creator).
When playing back GEM files, the application must translate all
coordinates from the metafile coordinate system to that of the destination
device. In addition, text metrics should be appropriately converted. If an
unknown opcode is discovered it should be played after any elements of the
PTSIN array are translated (making the assumption that they should be).
Metafile Sub-Opcodes
GEM metafiles support the use of special sub-opcodes for implementing
reserved and user-defined functions. GEM metafile translators should
ignore sub-opcodes they don't understand. Each sub-opcode can be
identified with the primary opcode of 5, function ID of 99 and the first
(required) member of INTIN being the sub-opcode ID. The currently defined
sub-opcodes are as follows:
INTIN[0] Meaning
10 Start Group.
11 End Group.
49 Set No Line Style.
50 Set Attribute Shadow On.
51 Set Attribute Shadow Off.
80 Start Draw Area Type Primitive.
81 End Draw Area Type Primitive.
None of the pre-defined sub-opcodes use additional INTIN or PTSINelements though user-defined sub-opcodes may.
Opcodes from 0-100 are reserved for use by Atari. Sub-opcodes from
101-65535 are available for use by developers but should be registered
with Atari to avoid possible conflicts.