4.9 Plugins: Please remove ImageMagick

[Luke 40140]

The 4.8 server now has three image processors:

• Skia
• libvips
• ImageMagick

ImageMagick is a behemoth and adds a lot of complexity to our server build process, and so we'd like to remove it. This was one of the reasons for adding libvips.

If you are doing image processing with ImageMagick, then the best thing to do is remove all support for it (including nuget packages), and just go Skia only (when Skia is available).

If you really want you can do a libvips implementation using the NetVips nuget package, but since most platforms can use Skia now, it's really not worth the trouble in my opinion.

@chef   @pünktchen  @roaku

[chef 3808]

 

So, using Skia is safe?

I think I'm okay then.

[Luke 40140]

1 hour ago, chef said:

 

So, using Skia is safe?

I think I'm okay then.

Most platforms have skia but you should still check to make sure that it's available:

             var skiaEncoder = ImageProcessor.ImageEncoders.FirstOrDefault(i => i.Name.IndexOf("skia", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) != -1);

            if (skiaEncoder != null)
            {
                // skia is available
            }

 

[chef 3808]

On 3/15/2024 at 9:13 PM, Luke said:

Most platforms have skia but you should still check to make sure that it's available:

             var skiaEncoder = ImageProcessor.ImageEncoders.FirstOrDefault(i => i.Name.IndexOf("skia", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) != -1);

            if (skiaEncoder != null)
            {
                // skia is available
            }

 

Perfect, thank you. 

[roaku 836]

@Luke

Are the 4.8.x builds/versions being updated to remove ImageMagick too?

I'm actively developing on Iconic now, so if possible, I'd like to avoid maintaining two different plugin versions while Emby 4.9 is in beta.

 

[Luke 40140]

1 hour ago, roaku said:

@Luke

Are the 4.8.x builds/versions being updated to remove ImageMagick too?

I'm actively developing on Iconic now, so if possible, I'd like to avoid maintaining two different plugin versions while Emby 4.9 is in beta.

 

No they are not. I would just remove ImageMagick entirely and then you can ship one plugin for both server versions.

[roaku 836]

48 minutes ago, Luke said:

No they are not. I would just remove ImageMagick entirely and then you can ship one plugin for both server versions.

 

Ok, bear with me on this as I want to make sure I understand the consequences of what I would be doing.

 

Scenario 1: I remove IM for both 4.8 and 4.9, no netvips implementation, single plugin version

Yes/No - This results in my users on 4.8 + IM platforms (Freebsd? Others?) having a non-functional plugin until they join the 4.9 beta or it's released as stable.

Yes/No - A small number of 4.9 users on non-Skia platforms will have a non-functional plugin.

 

Scenario 2: I remove IM for both 4.8 and 4.9 but also implement Netvips in the same release, single plugin version

Yes/No - Is Netvips already available as an imageencoder for all 4.8 platforms?

Yes/No - If yes, this results in my users on 4.8 + IM platforms (Freebsd? Others?) continuing to have a working plugin on 4.8.

Yes/No - If yes, all 4.9 users, including non-Skia platforms, will have a working plugin.

Yes/No - If no, then the result is the same as Scenario 1.

 

Scenario 3: I remove IM for 4.9 only,  no netvips implementation, two plugin versions

Yes/No - 4.8 users have uninterrupted plugin functionality.

Yes/No - A small number of 4.9 users on non-Skia platforms have a non-functional plugin.

Edited March 19, 2024 by roaku