Description:

gd is a graphics library. It allows your code to quickly draw
images complete with lines, arcs, text, multiple colors, cut and
paste from other images, and flood fills, and write out the result
as a PNG or JPEG file. This is particularly useful in World Wide
Webapplications, where PNG and JPEG are two of the formats
accepted for inlineimages by most browsers.

gd is not a paint program. If you are looking for a paint program,
you are looking in the wrong place. If you are not a programmer,
you are looking in the wrong place.

gd does not provide for every possible desirable graphics
operation. It is not necessary or desirable for gd to become a
kitchen-sink graphics package, but version 1.7.3 incorporates most
of the commonly requested features for an 8-bit 2D package.

GIF creation will not reappear in gd until the patent expires
world-wide on July 7th, 2004. I realize this situation is
frustrating for many; please direct your anger and complaints
toward the questionable patent system that allows the patenting
of such straightforward algorithms in the first place.