Xara Xtreme
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Xara Xtreme | |
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 Xara Xtreme for Linux, with the famous microscope demo image |
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| Developer: | Xara Group Ltd |
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| Latest release: | 3.02 (Xara Xtreme Pro) / January 2007 |
| Preview release: | 0.7 (Xara Xtreme for Linux) / August 11, 2006 |
| OS: | Windows, Linux and Mac OS X |
| Use: | Vector graphics editor |
| License: | Proprietary and GNU General Public License |
| Website: | www.xara.com |
Xara Xtreme (formerly Xara X) is a 2D vector graphics editor created by the British software company Xara.
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[edit] Supported platforms
Xara Xtreme was originally developed for Microsoft Windows and the commercial version currently runs only on Windows.
Xara Xtreme for Linux (formerly Xara Xtreme LX or Xara LX for short) is the open source version for Linux and Mac OS X and is currently under development.
[edit] Development history
- The predecessor of Xara Xtreme, called ArtWorks, was developed on the Acorn Archimedes and Risc PC 32-bit RISC computers running RISC OS.
- The first version developed for Microsoft Windows was initially called Xara Studio, but before widescale public availability it was licensed to Corel Corporation, and from 1995 to 2000 was released as CorelXARA.
- The first version under the name Xara X was released in 2000
- In 2004, the next version Xara X¹ was released.
- Xara Xtreme was released in 2005.
- In October 2005, The Xara Group, Ltd. announced the plans to open the source of Xara Xtreme under the GPL and to seek community help in porting it over to Linux and Mac OS X.
- In November 2006, an enhanced version of Xara Xtreme, Xara Xtreme PRO, was released.
[edit] Characteristic features
Xara Xtreme is notable for its usability and very fast renderer [1]. Xara Xtreme is also notable for being the first vector graphics software product to provide fully anti-aliased display, advanced gradient fill and transparency tools, now available in many competing products.
Among vector editors, Xara Xtreme is considered to be one of the easiest to learn, especially for those who have had some experience with CorelDRAW. In recent versions, attempts have been made to render the application appealing to web designers by adding tools for popular effects such as drop shadows, bevels, and navigation buttons. Xara Xtreme also includes tools for manipulating bitmaps.
Xara Xtreme, while not as well known as some vector drawing applications, has a rapidly growing and very loyal user base, with active forums and many user-created tutorials. Xara Xtreme is also used in Scottish high schools as part of their Graphic Design course.
[edit] Versions
[edit] Versions for Microsoft Windows
- Xara X (commercial version) - released 2000
- Xara X¹ (commercial version) - released 2004
- Xara Xtreme (commercial version with commercial plugins) - released 2005
- Xara Xtreme XS (a light version of Xara Xtreme without plugins and no bevel/shadow/outline tools, commercial version) - released 2006
- Xara Xtreme PRO (commercial version with enhanced functions) - released 2006
[edit] Versions for Linux and Mac OS X
- Xara Xtreme for Linux (open source version) - released 2006
[edit] Open Source Development
Xara Xtreme for Linux (or Xara Xtreme Linux Edition) is the open source version of Xara Xtreme. Formerly, it was called Xara Xtreme LX or just Xara LX; the abbreviation LX stands for Linux. The "LX" name is retained in some places (for example, the executable is still called "xaralx").
The first version was released for Linux in October 2005, and Xara Group Ltd announced it will release the source code of the trimmed down version under a free software licence, the GPL and seek community help in porting it over to Linux and Mac OS X using the wxWidgets toolkit.
At the opening of the Libre Graphics Meeting 2006[2] in Lyon, France, Xara released most of the source code of Xara Xtreme for Linux in an updated website with details on how to access the sources. According to the Xara Xtreme for Linux homepage, the released source code contains "the majority of the Xara Xtreme source code". Currently, the only part of Xara Xtreme for Linux that isn't under GPL is the CDraw rendering engine, though reportedly Xara is working on preparing that code for publication as well.
Xara has also granted write access to their subversion repository for some external developers. The website also carries stable and nightly Linux builds.
The 0.3 beta series for the first time allows use of the new *.xar file format for the open source version. Previous versions only supported opening and playing with bundled demo files. Version 0.5 was the first to also have functional save feature. The current beta version is 0.7.
[edit] References
[edit] See also
- Inkscape is a free vector editor whose interface was influenced by Xara X
- List of vector graphics editors
- Comparison of vector graphics editors
[edit] External links
- Xara Xtreme homepage
- Xara Xtreme for Linux homepage of the open source version
- Interview with Charles Moir, Xara's CEO
- xaraxone.com: Xara Xtreme tutorials
- TalkGraphics - the forum with the most active Xara Xtreme user base
- Articles about Xara X on about.com
- Artworks 2 - The Artworks codebase is still maintained and extended by the German Martin Wuerthner.
