[preformatted text] 

                                                                                                                                                              #                                                                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              #  # #####                         
                                                                                                                                   #                                                                                                                                                                        ###  #   # #                         
                                        #                                                                                  #                                                                                                                                                                                ##       #                           
                                                                                                                                                                            #      #                                                                                                                        ##         #                         
                                                                                                                                                                                   #            #   #                                                                                                        #        # #                        
     #                                                                                          #                                                                                                                                           #                                                               #         #           #              
                                                                                                                      #                                                                                                                                                 #                                              #                         
                                                                                 #                            #        #                                                                                                   #                                                                                #          ##                 #      
#                #                                                                                                                                                                        #                                                                                                                 #          #                         
                             #             #                                                                                                                 #                             #     #         #                                     #####                                                                 #                         
                            #                                                                                                                            #                                                                                        #####                                                                ##    ##               #  
                                                 ##                                                                                                                                                                                            #   ###                                                     ##        #       ####                
    #                                             #                                          #                #                                                  #                                                                                ##                                                       ##       #         ###            # # 
           #                                   ####                                                                              #                        #      ###                                                     #                        # #                                    #                ##                     #               
            #                      #          ###         #          #                                                        #### #             #              ##                                                      #                         ##                   #                  #                ##     ####                     ###   
                       #           ##       ## ##                                                                              ##   #             ##          ###            #                                   ###  #####                                                ###         ##                 # ##   ####            #       ###  #  
                                  # #        # # #                                                                        ######   ##             ###         ###                                                ####   ###                        #                         ##        ####               #  ##  ##                       ##     
                                   # #     ###                                                       ##                   ####       ##             #         # #                                                ### #    #                    #  ###                      ##         ## #               #    ####                 #   #####     
                     #            #       ###                             #                        ### #                  ##         #              # #    # ###     #                                          ## #                              ##                       #          #                         # #                ##  #         
                                  #       ##                                           ##           #  #                  ##        ##               ##     ##                                                    #                               #                          ##       #                  ##                         ##           
                                   ##    #  ##             #                           ##           ##   #               #           ##                # ## #                                                 # # #                                                        ####     # # #                 #                     #    ##          
                                   ###   ##                                             ##         # #                   #      #    #                 ## #                                                   # #                           #      #                           #     #  ##               ##                            #         
                                   ###                                        #  #    ####         ###                   #                              ###                                                   #####                               #                       ## # # #   #                   # ##                #      ##           
                                    ## ##                                             #  ###       ##                    ##  #     # ##                  ##                                                   ## #                               #                        #   # #  ###  #   #           ##                         #             
                                  ##  ##                                              ## ###     # ###                   ##        ###                    #            #                                      ###                              # ###                       #  ### # #    ##             ##                                       
           #  #                   ##   #                                 #                       #   #                            # #                     # #                                                 ####                                ##                       ##   #  #      #                       #                 ##           
        # ####### #               #####                                   #   #       ### #      ##  ##                   ###   ###                      # #                                                #  #                                  #                        ##    # #    #               ###                         #            
      ###### #### #####           ## #                            ## #                  # #      ##                      ####  # ##                      ##                                                    #        #   #  ##                #                               ##     ##                #                        ###           
     ### #      # ##              #####                            ####               #   #      #   #                    # ##   #                        #                                                 # #             ### #                ##                              #      ###             #                          ###           
      # #          #             ### #                              # #               ## ### #   ## ####                # ##                                                                                # # #           # ##                 ###                     ###            # #             ##                         #             
     # # ##        #             ##  #                              #                 ##  ##   #    #                    #                                ##                             #                  #                 ####                 #                      ### #         # #                                         #            
       ####               #       ####                             ##          #        # #          ##                  ##                               ##                                               #      #            ###               ###                      #              #   #          #                          #             
     #    ##                     #  # #                           ###                  #   ##  ##     #                  ###               #             #                                                 ##   # ##           #####             ###                                     ##             ##                          #            
          ### #                     # #            #                ##                          ##   ###                                                  #                                                 #    #  ##        ######       #   #  ###                    #                 ## # #      ###     #                   #             
           # ####                ## ###                          ##                    #    # #  #   #                  ####                             ###                                              ##      ##        # #     #         ###   ## ##  # # #### ####  #             # #  ## #### # ##                           #            
       #     ####                  #  ###                        #                            #      #                    #             #                 ##                                            ###    #    #         #    #   #  ## ### ####### # #### #####     #         #   ##   #  # #### #####            #          ##            
#            # ##                ##                   #       # ##                  # #      # ###    ##                  #                                #                              #              ##         ###    ## #    #######  #   ## ##      #    ##        #                              ##  ####### #              ###          
               #### # #                ##                       ##                      ##  ##   #     #                 ###                              #                                             ###      # #  ## ##  #      #   # ###     ##        ##  # #                                       #  #   ###  #           ##             
                #  #             ##     ##                     ####                    ###  ###                      #              #      #               #                                           ##              ## #          #  #       #                                                             #   # ##### ##  #   ##    #        
                 # #  #          #       ##                    ##                       #                                ##                               ##                              ### ###   #    #              # #                                 #    #                                                  # #   ### #   ##             
                  #  # #        #                              #                               #     #                    ##                             ##                  #      #      ##  ##########     #                                          #   #                                                            ##   ##  # ##   ####   
                     ##         ###        ##                  #                      ##             ##                    #               #    # ##    ####    #    ##   ##### ####  #### #   ##                                           #                                                                               #   #        ### ##  
                      #         ##         ###                #                       ##             #                    ##        # ## ### ##     ###  ### #### ##  ## #### # #        ##      #    #                       #                                                   #                                        #           #      ###
                      # ##                  ## ## ###        ##                        #             ###                  ## #   #   ## #    ####      # #  #  ###    #  ##                    #                                                                                  #           #                                                 #
   #              ##  # ###      #           ## #  #####  # ##                        #                           #  ### #### ####       #      ##                                  #         #                                                         #                                                                                        
     ### # #   # #  ###   ##   # ##          ####  #### ##  # #                       ##              ### #  # ### #### ###  # ##                                                                                                                                                                                                 #              
     #####  ### ##   #      ##  ##            ####   # ### # ### ###                   ##              # #### ####  #           #                                                                                                                                                           #                                                    
     # ###   #  ##   #       #  #             #          #   ## ### #     ## #      ## #               #   ## # ##         #                                                                                     ##                                            #                                                                                 
## ##   #                      # #                         #  # ##  ## ###### ##### # #                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
####  #                                                     #       ## #  ## ######   ##                                                                                              #                                                  #                                                                                                       
   #                                                                           ##

[PNG image]

[Wave audio link]

Skimpy Gimpy Audio/visual Tools Documentation

Skimpy is a tool for generating HTML visual, PNG visual, and WAVE audio representations for strings which people can understand but which web robots and other computer programs will have difficulty understanding. Skimpy is an example of a Captcha: an acronym for "Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart".

The visual HTML and PNG Skimpy generators translate words or phrases into strings containing HTML preformatted text or PNG image files respectively. The preformatted text contains "ASCII art" representing the input phrase, which looks like somewhat sloppy handwriting on a speckled page, when viewed in an HTML browser. The PNG image contains a "pixelized" version of the word or phrase with added noise.

It is intended that it is easy for a human to read the word or phrase when rendered as HTML, but it is difficult for a program to extract the word or phrase automatically. The program uses a number of techniques to make the output difficult for a computer to interpret including the addition of noise. The preformatted text version is probably more secure than the PNG version, but it is also harder to read (not surprisingly).

In order to allow CAPTCHA tests that are usable by people with visual empairment, Skimpy also provides an audio implementation. The audio WAVE Skimpy program uses a compiled audio sample file waveIndex.zip. The input of the program are words or phrases and the output are the words or phrases spelled as individual spoken characters in an audio stream.

It is intended that a human can understand the audio stream but a computer program will not be able to analyse the stream and extract the letters. To make the audio stream more difficult to automatically analyse (without making it unintelligible) the program randomly overlaps and stretches/shrinks the input samples, among other things.

The Skimpy tools are far easier to install, use, and embed than other similar technologies.

The skimpy canvas

Also included with the package is a PNG canvas implementation which allows easy programmatic creation of graphical PNG images. This interface allows for the the construction of PNG images from textual fonts or geometric shapes, with transparent or non-transparent backgrounds. The canvas also can generate Javascript data structures which allow HTML pages to intelligently respond to mouse events over the image.

For example below are examples of a bar chart and a pie chart generated by the skimpy canvas. Mouse over the images to see responses to mouse events (on supported browsers with javascript enabled).
information about the mouse event over either image should appear here.
Click here for the canvas documentation. Described there you will also find tools for constructing Entity-Relationship diagrams and "railroad" diagrams using the canvas interface.

Where do you get it?

Please go to the Skimpy Gimpy sourceforge project page and click on the download link.

How do you install it?

Skimpy is a Python package, so you need a recent version of Python to use it. It has been tested with Python 2.4 and better. To install the package on your machine use the setup.py install script in the root directory. 
prompt> setup.py install

Why is it useful?

A very simple use of Skimpy is to put an email address that a human can read or listen to on a web page without making it easy for programs to automatically extract the email address in order to send spam to the address. To use Skimpy to create an encoded email address you could use command lines like this: 
skimpy.py --pre myAddress@example.com --filename pre/address.html
skimpy.py --wave myAddress@example.com --filename wave/address.wav --indexfile ../wave/waveIndex.zip
skimpy.py --png myAddress@example.com --filename png/address.png
These commands create an HTML page, a Wave audio file, and a PNG image containing the Skimpy encodings for myAddress@example.com. The HTML may be included in web pages, like this one, and the PNG or Wave may be linked from the web page as I've done here:
pre/address.html preformatted text: 

                   #              #                                                                                                      #                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               #                            #                                                                                             #                       
                                                                              #     #                #                                                            #                                                                                                                                                                                #                                                                                                                                 #                                                                                            #         
                                                                              #                                                           #                                                                                      #                                                                                             #                    ##                                                                     #            #    #                                                                                                                           #                  
                                                                                     #                                                           #                  #                                                                                                                                                                               #                                                                                                                             #                                                            #                   #                        
            ##                   #                                                                                                                                                                                                                     #                                                                                            ## #                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
            #        #   ##                                                                                                                                                                                              #                                                                             #                                           #                     #                                                      #                                                                                                                                                           
           #             #                                                                                                                                                                                                #                                                                   #        #                                            ##                                                                                  #                                                                                                    #                                              
           ## #          ##                                                             #            #                                                           #                                             #                                                                                                                                     #                                                                               #                                               #                                                                                                      
           #####       # ###                                                                   ##### #                                                                      #                                                       ##                                        #          #                                                         # #  #              #                                                                                                                                                         #                                         #                
            ##          ###                                                                #  ##        #                                                                # # #                        #                                                                                                                                            #  ###                                                      #                                                                                                                           #                     #           #              
            ###        ###       #                                                           ###   #   ####                                                               #### ###                #                                               #                              #                                                                    ##                         #                        #                                                  #     #         #                                                                                 #                            
          ####        ####       ##                ##        #                                ###     # ###        #                                                     ###    ####    #                                                                                                                                                          ##  ### #                         #     #                ###                                                                                                       #  #                  #     #                                         
             ##      ## # #       ###           ####                 ###         #             #      #  # #          #                                                  ###     ## #                                                                                                                                              #               #    ###                                     #             ## ## ##                                          #                                                    # ## #                 #                                              #
                     ##  ##       ###          ## ## #              ###                       ##           #             #                    #  # ##                     ###     # #  #   #                                                                            #                       #                                                 ##                          #             #            #####      #             #                     ##                                                           ## # # ##                                                              
          #  # #     ##  #        #####       # #                   ####                     ###          ###                                 ##  ## ###              #  ###          # #                                                                                                                                                           #                       # ##                           ##       ##         #                        ## ####                                                        ####           #   #                                     #           
         # # #          ##           ###     ####                   ##        #             ##             # #          #  ##                 ##       #                  #              #          # # ##                                                                                                ##                                      #     ##      #            ###          ##            #   #      #            #    #                   #  # ##  # ##  #                                            ## #   #                    ## ####                  #        #        
          # # #    ###  ##           ## #    #                        ##                    ##            # #         # ## ######             # ##    # ###              # #                         # #####                                                                                              ##                               #       #      ##                 ##         ##             # #  #         #       ####                             ##    ##                   #                  #     # ###   # # #               # ### # ###                                  
           #            ##             # ###                        ### #     #              #            #           ###    ###               #         ##              #                          #    ####                                                                      ##                     ##                      ##                      #                ## ##       #####                        #         ###                        #      ### ##                                             ###                     #  ##  #    # ##                                 
               ## ##    ##              #####            #             #  #                ####           ##          ####    #               #         #               ###                         ## # ####           #                          #                             ####  ##   ##             ### #                 ###    #        # # #  # #    #           ###          ##              ##          ##        ###                #       ##          #                                           ##                     #  #####    #     #        #       #            ##  
        # ##   ####     # #             ## #                       # #                      ##            ##                     ##           ##          #  #          ##  #                         ### # ####                 # #                          # #                ### # # ##  #             ####                 #                ### ##   #                ###         ## ##            #          ##          # #                       #                                  #                    ###                     #####            ###                           #   
        ##   ##  ## #                   ####                        #   #                                 #          ###        ###           ###                        #                          ####     # ###             ###  #                    #### ####               ### #    # ## ###          #### #             # ##                  # #  #               #  #           ###                     ###          ##    #                                                    #   #          #        ##                      #                 ## #           # #          # #  
        # #   ####      #               ###                         #    ###               ###   #                               ###          ##            #           ##                          #####     #####          #  ## # ###               ##### # ######            # #        #    #            # ###           # #                # # ###   ##             #   #        #  #         #   ###     ##           #                           #                                                      ###                      #                    #  #        ###          #### 
               ##        #              #                           ##     ##              ##             # #       ###        #  #          ###           # #          ###                         ## #       # ##          # ###  ### #             ###        ###              ###                             #         ###  #               #         #  #               ###     ### #                ## # ##            # #                         #                         #                              #                    # #                    ###         ##          #### 
       # #     ###    #  ##             #                         #####  ####              ##             #         #  #         ###          #            ##            #                            ####       # ##        #  #  #####  #          #####       ####                    #                    #   ##        ###          #        #        #             ### ##    ##                  ## ###  ##              #                        ##                                                       ## #                  ####                    ### #       #          ## #  
     # ##     ## #     #                #                         ##  #  #####             ##            #          ##           # ##                     ### #         #####  #                      ###        #  #       ###### # ## ###                ##       #              #                          ##  ##     #                      ## #                      #  ##     # # ###             #  ## # ##            #                                                                                ####                     ##         #          ###         #  #      # ##    
      #       ##                        ##                   #      #   ##  ##            ##            ###         ##                       ## #  #########               # #### #                   ####        #        ######      # #          #      ##       ##            #  #                       #    # ### ####                     ##         ##     #               #    #              ##    #               #                          #                                                     ##                                              # #           ###     ##  #   
              #       #                 # #                                 #            ##               #        ###            #           ######## # ##             #   ## #####   #               ### #              ## ##                    #        #       # #                     #                ##   #   ######                      #      #  ###                # #                    #                      ##                         ### ## ##                                              #                        #                     #           #  ##    ##   ##  
       ##               #                                    #    ##        #    #        #             ##                        ##          ####     #                ##       ##                    #####               ### #                  ####     ## #     ##             #      #                  # #     #####                      ###          #          #     #####    ###           #  #                   #                           ## ###  #####                                         ###                        # ##            #    #          #         ##       
        #             ##                ##                        #          #    #  #   #              ##                    #  #            ###                       #                                # ##              ## ##                   #     #### ##    ###                                      #       # # ##                     ###         ##           #     ##     #                 ##                  ##                          #   ###    #                                           ##                        # #       #         #           ##    #  #   ###   
      #                #                ###                                  ##           #                        #              ##         #    #                    ##                               ####             # ######                 #      # #  #      #             ##  ##  #                ##       ####                        #            #        ##     #####    #               ###                ####                                     #                                         #  ##                       ##                   #          ##  ##  # #  ###   
      ##               #                ##                        ##          ##         ##           #          # ## #          #                ##                   ##                                ###                  ######             ##       #    #     #      #     ########   ###             ##      # ##                       #            # #       ##      ###     ##               ##               ## #                                                                                #                             ##      #         #               #   #          
##     ##            ##                  #             ##          #          ##         #     #      ##         #              ###          #   #  #                                                     ##     #             #####             ###      #    #     #             #  # #                  ##       #### #                     #              #         #       #   ## ##               #                ## #  #   #                   # ##                                                  ##  #                         ##               ###         #      ####   ###   
  ##  # #            ##                  ##                      ###          # ###        #          ###                       ##            ####  #                                  #                  ###                   #  #          #    #     #######     ##           # #   #                   #       ## ## #                                  ###      # #            # ##       #                       ### #                          # # #        #                                         #  ###                        #               #           ##   ####           
 # # ##  #           ##                 ##            #          ###          # ## #    ##         ###           ##             ##          ##  # #  #                 #                                    ##                  ######             #   ##### #####    # #          #                        #      ###     #                    #            #  ##     #              ##               ##               ### ##            ##                                                                #    ###                        ## #            #          ###    ###     # #   
                     ## ### ##            #                                #      ## #######     # ###           ##            ##            #     # ##                ##                                 # ###                   # #           ## #   ###  #    #   #             #                      ##     #####   #                    #  #      #     ### #######            #                 #               #    #  # # ##  # ####          #       #                                            ###   ##                         ##          # #    #      ###    #      ## #   
                     ##### # #  ### ## # #          #           ##                     ### #####  ##              #     #       #            #        ##                #                                  ### #                    # #           ##    ###  #                      #                      #     #####  #                      #               ###   ###              #                               ######### ###### ## ##  #        ###                                                  #     #            ###          # ##         ##           #          #          
         #                   ##  ##   # ###### ##  # ##  ##     ##                     ##     ###  # # ##       ##            # #              #       # #              ##                                 #####                    #####               #        #  # # #           #    #               #      ###      ####                 ##               # #    #             ###                #           # ##  # ########## # ## ## #         #                                                  ##     #            ###                      ###                           #     
         #                        #      # ### # ###  ##  #### ##                              ### ##  ###  # ####               ##          #            ##           #             ###                      ###                   #####          ######        ## ###             ##                   ## # ##        #     ##              ##                #                   ### #    ## ##########  ## # #####           ##  #  ### ##         ###           #                                    #        #    #     ###   #           # ## # ##             #                     
                         #               ##  #   #    ###     ##                      #          #  # #  ### #### ## #      ####             ##          # #                   ## ##   #     #                 ##                      #           ## ##         ##### #           # #           ##     #    ###  #            #    #     # ###                                       # ## #### # ## ###  #    ### #              ##    ###  ###       ## ## # ######                                     ####       ### #    #  ###   # # ## #   ########   #  # #  ####            #      
                                                               #                                           #    # ##  ### #### #            ##           ####       #  ##  ##   ########   # #              ##  ##                     ##              #         # ###             ##        ## #      ### # ### #            #  ### ### ## # #                                          ###  #    #  # # #      #  #                       ##    ##  ##### ### ####                                       ##         ########    ## ## ### #####  ###  #### ##   #### #            ##      
                      #              #                #                                                            ##  ## ## #  ## ##  ## ## ##            # ######## #  # ####   # # #    #  #             # #####                     ##          #####            ##             ##   ###  ##### ###      ##                   ## ###  ##   #                                #          ##           #                                    #    ## ## ###    ####### # #   ## ### #   ###   #   ###  ### ##       # # # ## #      ######     ##   ##    ###      #                     # #
                                                                                                                   #     # ## #  # ### #### ##                   # ##  ### #####   #       ### ##           #  #                      ### ##        #####        #### ####           #  #  ##### ##                              #   # #                                  #                                                                       ##            # # # #### ### #  #  # ##  # #   ## ## ######              #    #       #                 #                          ##   ##
 #                    #                                                                                                              #      ##                          # #  # # ####  ## ##  # ###     ### # ###                      # ###         # ###     ## #### #### ### ### ## ### ######                      #       #                                                                                                                     #              ##   ### # ##    # #   ### ##   ####  #                                                                           ###   
            #                                       #                                                                               #                                     #   ##   ##  ###  #  #  ## ##### ##  #       # ###         ##     #       # # ##    ##          # # ### ##  ## # ##                                                             #                                                                                            #        #                        # ##                                     #                                      #                  
                        #                                                                 #                                #                                                            ## ##### # ######        #       ## #      ###       ##  ####   # # ###                #                      #                                                                                                                                                                                     #   #       #                                                                                   
                                                                                                               #                                                                               #   # ##    #   ###      # ## ##               #####        # #                                                                                                                                                                                                    #                                                                                                               #         
                                                                                                                                                                                                 ### ####       #   ###    ##  #####                       ##                                                                                                                                                       #                                                                                                                                                                       
                                                                             #                                             #                                                                             #            # ##  ##  ###                                                                                                                                                                                  #                                                       #                                                                                                              
                                  #                                                                                                             #                                                         #     ###  #    #     #                                                                                                                     #                                                                                                                  #                                                                                          #                       
                                                                                                                                                                                                                ## #  #
png/address.png PNG image:

Click to play wave/address.wav audio encoding..

With any luck human readers of the web page will be able to read the HTML or image or hear and understand the audio and use the email address but evil spammer programs will fail to recognize and understand the address.

Web applications also frequently use Captcha tools like Skimpy to verify that the agent interacting with a web application is a human and not an automated program or "robot". To use Skimpy to foil robots include a Skimpy encoded text (obtained either by using the Python API or by capturing the output from the Skimpy command line program) near a web form and ask the "user" to type in the text on the form. When the user submits the form verify that the text entered by the user matches the text used to generate the Skimpy preformatted text.

A Python CGI script which implements a challenge like this is included in the distribution: guess.cgi. The http://www.xfeedme.com/skimpyGimpy/guess.py/go demo page provides a live demo of this kind of use. Below is a screen shot of the page:

Note that this simple minded demo is not "secure" in the sense that it is subject to "replay attacks" -- if you repeat a URL that succeeded it will succeed again. For true CAPTCHA security you need to store the CAPTCHA match string in a temporary opaque session object that the client cannot access in any way. The hiding of the CAPTCHA string is beyond the scope of this module and left to the user/programmer's creativity.

How do you use it?

You may generate skimpy text representations either using shell commands or from within a python program.

Command line summary

Below is a summary listing the three command line options for generating HTML preformatted text, PNG images, or Wave audio files respectively, including optional and required parameters. In all cases at least one of --filename or --stdout must be specified.
command option explanation
skimpy.py --pre WORD Generate preformatted text HTML for WORD
--filename FILENAME Direct output to FILENAME (eg, word.html).
--stdout Direct output to standard output.
--speckle RATIO Use speckle noise ratio RATIO (eg 0.1)
--scale NUMBER Scale font by NUMBER (eg 0.7 or 2.3)
--color HEX6DIGITS Use color HEX6DIGITS in format RRGGBB
(eg, 77ff77 for light green or 0000aa for dark blue)
skimpy.py --png WORD Generate PNG image for WORD
--filename FILENAME Direct output to FILENAME (eg, word.png)
--stdout Direct output to standard output.
--speckle RATIO Use speckle noise ratio RATIO (eg 0.1)
--scale NUMBER Scale font by NUMBER (eg 0.7 or 2.3)
--color HEX6DIGITS Use color HEX6DIGITS in format RRGGBB
(eg, 77ff77 for light green or 0000aa for dark blue)
--fontpath PATH_TO_BDF_FONT_FILE Use the BDF font specification located in PATH_TO_BDF_FONT_FILE
(eg, /usr/local/fonts/timesRoman.bdf)
skimpy.py --wave WORD Generate Wave audio file for WORD
--filename FILENAME Direct output to FILENAME (eg, word.wav)
--stdout Direct output to standard output.
--indexfile PATH_TO_WAVE_INDEX Required for Wave generation.
Use the zipped wave index located at PATH_TO_WAVE_INDEX,
usually the location of the wave index file provided in the distribution.
(eg, ../wave/waveIndex.zip)

Python API summary

The Application Program Interface to use from a Python program to generate HTML, PNG or Wave representations for a word is very similar to the command line interface. In general, first you specify the parameters for the word and representation and then you generate the output as shown in the following working example. 
"example of skimpyAPI usage"

# import the API interface module
from skimpyGimpy import skimpyAPI

# this is the text we want to encode
WORD = "example text"

#HTML GENERATION:
# these are the parameters we want to use
# for preformatted text
HTMLSPECKLE = 0.1
HTMLSCALE = 0.7
HTMLCOLOR = "001199"
HTMLFILE = "pre/WORD.html"

# create an HTML generator
htmlGenerator = skimpyAPI.Pre(WORD,
                              speckle=HTMLSPECKLE, # optional
                              scale=HTMLSCALE, # optional
                              color=HTMLCOLOR, # optional
                              )
# store the preformatted text as htmlText
htmlText = htmlGenerator.data()

# store the preformatted text as htmlText
# and also write text to file
htmlText = htmlGenerator.data(HTMLFILE)

#PNG GENERATION:
# these are the parameters we want to use
# for PNG image output
PNGSPECKLE = 0.11
PNGSCALE = 2.1
PNGCOLOR = "00EEAA"
PNGFONTPATH = "../fonts/radon-wide.bdf"
PNGFILE = "png/WORD.png"

# create an PNG generator
pngGenerator = skimpyAPI.Png(WORD,
                              speckle=PNGSPECKLE, # optional
                              scale=PNGSCALE, # optional
                              color=PNGCOLOR, # optional
                              fontpath=PNGFONTPATH # optional
                              )

# store the PNG data as pngText
pngText = pngGenerator.data()

# store the PNG data as pngText
# and also write PNG to file
pngGenerator.data(PNGFILE)

#WAVE GENERATION:
# these are the parameters we want to use
# for WAVE audio output
INDEXFILEPATH = "../wave/waveIndex.zip"
WAVEFILE = "wave/WORD.wav"

# create a wave generator
waveGenerator = skimpyAPI.Wave(WORD,
                              indexFile=INDEXFILEPATH # required!
                              )
# generate the wave data as waveText
waveText = waveGenerator.data()

# generate the wave data as waveText
# and also save to file
waveText = waveGenerator.data(WAVEFILE)
In the sample code given above the data() methods are called twice each for illustrative purposes where only one call is needed.

Example code

The distribution includes CGI script example uses that test and demonstrate Skimpy. To use these CGI scripts you will need a web browser such as Apache with cgi-scripts enabled. You will also need to edit the files to change filesystem paths in their content.

guess.cgi implements a simple challenge/response which tests whether the web client agent can understand a word encoded by Skimpy.

skimpytest.cgi provides a web interface for generating Skimpy representations for strings where the user can type in a string and see or hear a Skimpy representation for the string.

Advanced usage

Internally Skimpy encodes visual characters using sequences of spline curve control points. The interpolate.cgi CGI script aides in construction of these control point representations. It is possible to modify the default choice of character mappings or to use several alternative character mappings. Since it's hard to explain, suffice it to say that if you want to change the character glyphs and can't figure out how to do it for yourself send questions via email using the address below.

Audio character pronunciations are stored as piecewise linear approximations of input samples. It is possible to build and use alternative indices of alternative sample sets, but this document does not explain that procedure either at this time, sorry.

Author and copyright

This software and documentation was written by Aaron Watters, 2006, and is distributed under the BSD open source license. If you have questions or comments please contact me using the email address below.
[preformatted text] 

       #                                                                                         #                                                                             #                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     #  #                                
                                                                                        #                                                                                   #                                                              #                                                                                                             #                                                                                                        # # #                                  
                        #                           #                                                #                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         #                                                                        #                    #                 ###### ##               #                 
                                              #                        #                               #                 #                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      #                                                                                               ###  # ###                               
           #                                                                                                     #                     #                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    # # ##    ###      #                         
                           #                                                                                        #                                                  #                                                                                                                                                #                                                                                                                                   ## #        #               #           ##   
                   #  #                        #              #                        #                                                         #                                                                                                                              #                                                                                 # # ##                                                                   #               ##           ###             #          ###   
                                      #                                                                 #                                                                                                                               #                                                                                                #                      # ###  ##                                     #                    ##                       #            ##            ##           #    
                                                                   #                              #                                                                                                                                   #                                                                          ##                                          ## #####   ###                                  #                     ##                    ##             ###            #            # #  
             #                         #                  #                                                                                                                       #                                                    #                          # #                                            ###                    #                  #  # #    #   ###                         #                            ## ####               ###             # #            ##         ###    
                                #                                                                                                                                #                                                                                                                                   #          ## #                                       ##             ###                                                    ###  ## #              ##                 #          #     #      ###   
                                                                            #                              #                                                   # # ###                                                                                                                                           ##                   #   #                ##             ####                                                  ## ## ##               # ##                           #          ##  # # 
                                                                                                                                                            # # ####   #                                                                               ###                    #                       ##        ####                       #             #   #                ##                                               # #                                        #           # ##      ### #    
                                                                                                           #                    # #########               ######   #                                                                                   ##                                           ## #        # ##                                     # #                   #                                             ###                        #                              ##       ####  #  
    #                                                                #                                                          #  ####  ### #          ##   #                                                                                 #      ###                                           ##   #       # ##                                    # ##                 ### #                     #                     ##                       ####                #           ###         #     
                                                                                                                             #  ##         ## #         #####                             #                         #                                   #                                            #           #          #                            #  #                   #                                             ##                                           ##         ####    ##    #    
             #                                                                              #                               ### ## #      ###             # #                             ##                                                           # #   #           #                          ##           ####                #                  #                      #                                             ####                     ##                  ##         ##  #    #    ###   
             #                                                                    #                                    #     #             #           # ##                             # ## #            #                             ###                                                         #             #                                    #                 #      #                                             # #                     ##                  #          #    #  ####  #     
              #   #                                               # #             # #                     ##               ## #         ## ##          ## #                             ## #             #     #                        ##          ###                         #                   ##                             ### ##               #                       ##                          #              ## ###                      #                   #         ##  # # ###    #    
            #####                    ###                          ###             ###                 ### ##                 #             #           ##                              ##  ## #                  # ## #                 ## ##     # ##    #        #            #                    #          #  #           # ###  # ###             ##              #      ##    #                                     #  ##                      #                    #        # #      #           
            ## #                        ####  #                   ###     #      # #                 ## ###                ####         #   #          # #                            ##   ## #              ###    #### ##             #  ###                                 # #                 ###           #    #        ### #      ####                               #  ##                                        ### ##                      ##                   #             # #  #   ###    
      #      #         #             #   ## # ###                 ##      ##       # #                #  ##                 # #      #   ##              #                            # #  #                 # #   # ## ###                 # ##  ###                          ##                   ##          #   # #       # # #          ##         # #                                                 #                                          ##                #         #     ####      #     
             #  #                    ###   ###                    ##       ###    ###                     ##                   # #  #  # ##        #                                  #   #                  ##     ##  ## #                   ##  ##                          ####                 ##        # ##   ##     #### #           ## #        # #                   #                                          #   #                       #                  ####   #   #     ##             
  #              #                  # ##     #  #                 ###     ###      ###       #           ##                     #### ##  ##       #     ##         #                      ##                #        #                         #####                          #####                  #      # ####   ###   #                     ##      # #                   ###                                       ##   ##                       #                  #  #      ##    ##      ##     
            #   ##                   ##          ##               ###               ###                  ###                      ##  # ##              ##        #                        #                 #  #   ###       ##                ###                           ##  ##                ## ##  #######    # #  # ##                # # ##     ###                  #                                         ###  #   #            #      ##                # ##         #    ###    ###     
           ##   ###             #               ###               # #    ###       ## ##                   #                            ##      #      ###          #                      #               # ##     ###     ####                 #                             #  ##                 ####  #    #     #    # ##                  # ##      ##                  ##                   #                    # #  ###            #  #      ## #             #         #              #       
            #                         #           ##  #           # #    ######      ##                  ###                                           #                                   #          #    #      # #         ##                   #                       #  #    ##               # ##         #       # ##          #           ##       #                                                                 #####            #       ######           ##        ##             #       
#           ##    # #              #   #           #      #      ##        ## ## #  ###                   # #                          ##               #                                  #            # ###     #   #        ##               # #                           #    #               # #         ##     #    ###                      #      ###               ###                                       #       # #        ### ### # # ##   # ### #    ###         #              #       
             ##    #                  #           ###            ###       ##        ###                  ##                     #      #               ##  # ####                                                #   # ##                        ##                        #                                  # #    #     #                    ###        #               # #                                        ###     ##         ###  ######## ### ##  ## # #### #      # #             ##      
        #  #     ###            #    # #     # ### ##             #         #   #    ##                   ##                          ##                ##### # # ###                      ## #           ##     #             # ##                                        ##       #              #            ##    ##   ##                                ##             ###                                       #  ##    #    ####  #  #  #    #   #  # #  ## ###### ##### ##              ##      
          # #     # ##               #  #  #### # ##             ##       # ##       ##                   ##     #                    ##                ##  #      ## ##                    ##            ##      #   ##        #                ####                      # ##### ###       #     ##           ##      #  #                      #          #              # ##                                     ###         ####  ##                          # #   #   # ###                #      
          #### #  ## #                # #  # #     # #           ##         ##       #                     #                         # #                 ##         ## #                    #                   #      #      ##                 ####                      #  ### ###                # #       ###     ###   #                   #            ##           ##                                      # #           ### #                 #                    #   ##              ####  ###
            ## ##### #         #     ###  ##                     ###       #          ##                  ##         #                 ##                 ##        #  #                    ##             #    ##     #      #                   ##                       #   #  # ##  #         #             #        #    #            #     ##            #           ##                                     ## ##         #                                                                #####   
          # ## ##                     #####                             # ###                             ##                        # ##                 ####       # ##                   # #             ##  # ## #####     ##                                         ###       #    #         #            ###      ##    #                ### #           #          ####                               ## ## ##                                                                             #    # 
         #         #      #         #    #                                #####     # ##                   ##                       # ##                 ##            #                  ###             ##   #  #  #####   # #                   #                     ####       ##              #     #     ##      #     # #              # #               #         ##                       # ### ## ## ##           #                                                                         # 
         #          #               #   ####                    ###       ####      # #          #          ##                       ####                # #            #                  ##             ###  #          #                        #                     ###         #              #          ##        ###  # ##           ##                   ###    #  #        #  ### ####### ##     #                    #                                                                        
          #                              #                      ####      ####      # ###                 ##                       ####                    ##          #                   #               #  #         ###   #                    #                    ###           #           ##            ##       ###       #         #                   #      ###    ####   ## #  ##      ######  #    #          #                                                                            
         #   #      #                      ##                    ##      # ##       ## # #                 ##                      ###  #  ##   #  #       # #      # ###                                  ## ##         #   #                     ##                   #                          #           ###         ##     ## #       #                 #     ## ### ## ###### # # #          ####                                                                                                
       # ##          ##              ##    ####                 # ##       ### ### #    #####             #     # # ## ###### #   # ### # #  #  ### ## ##    ####     #           #        ##             ##  ##                                  ####                   #            ##          ##           #          #####     ## ## ###                      ### #  ###  ##  ##    #           ###                                                           #                                     
         #            ##              #        #                ## ####       #####    ##  ####   #### ######  ## #### ## ##   ## #  ## ##    # # #   # #    # #   #                       ##              # ###         #  ##                    ##                ####             #  #                      ##         ##  # #  # ###### #### ##  #  #  ###   ## # ###           #                                                                                                                #   
        ##              #            #     #                      #  # ###      ##  ##   # ### ##  ###   ######  # #    # #     #     ##             ##  ########## #                     ###              ####              #                      #          ##### # #              #            ##          #               #  ## # #####   ###  ###  ## ## # ##                                                                     #                  #                                             
       ###            #               #         ##            # ##     ##     ###           ##        ###  ##### ###   #               #     #           # #####  ### ##      #           ##                #             ###                       # #  ###  ## ##  ##              ####         ####          #            #   ###     # ##  #      # #    ##   #                      #                                                  #   #                                                        
                     ##              ##           # # # # # ## #                                      # #  ###   # #                                        #  #  # #   #                 #               #####          # ###                   # #  ##  ### ## ##                  #  ######     #  #                       #         #             ### #                                                          #                                                                                   
      ####            #              #            #### ####### #  #                                     #                       #                       #            #  ### ##   ##   ####            ##    ####  # # ##### ### #           # ## #####  #  ##  #  #                      #  ## ##                                                     #                                                                      #                                                                   #       
       ##               #   # ## ## ##             ### #  #  # # #                                                                                                        # #####   ## ## ##  #    ######    ####     ##    #  ####  # #   ###    ###  # #    #                           #     #                                                                #                                                                                                                                       
    #  ##   #         #### #####  ## ##             #       #                                                                  #                                               #  ##  ##  ### ##### #   # #     #  # ###        ## #### ### #     ##                                                                                   #                        #           #                  #                                        #                                                             #  
 #  # ##              # # ##         # #                                                                          #                                                             #  #  #  ##### #  ##                                  #  ## #              #                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
 #####                     #      #                                                          #                                                                                        # ### #####  #                                                                                                                                                       #                                                                                                                                             
 ## ##                                                                                      #                                                                                          #  #####                          #                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     #                                         
    #

[PNG image]

[Wave audio link]