3 mo. ago • 99%

GIMP 3.0 Enters String Freeze, Inching Closer To Release

www.phoronix.com GIMP 3.0 Enters String Freeze, Inching Closer To Release

GIMP 3.0 has been more than one decade in the making as the port from GTK2 to GTK3, also transitioning away from Python 2 to Python 3 support, and a wealth of other improvements from the UI to lower down into enhancing this open-source Photoshop alternative.

The GIMP project announced on X/Twitter today that they have entered the string freeze for this much anticipated release.

Free Software @lemmy.zip GIMP 3.0 Enters String Freeze, Inching Closer To Release

Free and Open Source Software @beehaw.org GIMP 3.0 Enters String Freeze, Inching Closer To Release

72 comments

Just in time!

Preparing for GTK 5

(Trying to be funny here, don't downvote too much!)

94
- Gimp 4.0 is on schedule for a 2040 release at this point
  
  55
  
  Now using gtk4
  
  14
  
  You think you just told a joke when in reality...
  
  9
  
  and thats being optimistic about it..
  
  1
- The Gimp Tool Kit !
  
  14
okay I'll bite, what does "string freeze" mean here?

88
- They've committed to not changing any displayed text ("strings"), so that translators have time to translate everything.
  
  137
- It means the maintainers have frozen their thongs.
  
  44
  
  I knew it
  
  16
- String freeze is when text can't be altered anymore. It's used to facilitate work for translaters and documentation writers before a release.
  
  7
Fuck yeah! Go GIMP! Also announced on Mastodon fwiw:

https://floss.social/@GIMP/112995553132226800

I'm super excited about 3.0 🪇

46
Place your bets, are we getting GIMP 3 before 2025?

45
- If we're in string freeze, it's probably within a few weeks. They're in bug squashing and translations mode now. I'd take that bet.
  
  57
- I'm on Slackware so I won't be getting it this decade 😅
  
  28
  
  Sure, it's just another tarball to compile and install, right? What do you mean lots of dependencies? Oh, well, I guess there is Krita :)
  
  8
port from GTK2 to GTK3

Migrating from an already rooten toolkit to a toolkit that is dead since a few years.

Nice.

42
- They have been migrating to GTK3 since before GTK4 was out.
  
  I am sure they will stay behind but future porting should be easier.
  
  That said, non-GNOME GTK apps seem to be considering sticking with GTK3 anyway ( to avoid libadwaita ).
  
  https://linuxmint-developer-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/xapps.html
  
  20
- It's not as dead as you think, but yeah...
  
  10
  
  Yeah ... I just hope they're now being able to decouple the UI and the core and make it easier to migrate to more recent UI toolkits.
  
  16
- Gimp has been falling behind more and more. Back when 2.0 came out it wasn't as bad yet, but it got worse as years went on.
  
  5
  
  Even better when we remind ourselves that GTK means "Gimp ToolKit" :)
  
  5
- It’s almost like the whole customized apps to fit into the GTK framework concept creates too much added work and needs to be rethought.
  
  I don’t understand why someone should choose any GTK variant when they’ll have to refactor and rewrite their application every few years.
  
  3
can they unfreeze the name?

38
- I know people like it, but I agree.
  
  And as silly as it sounds, I think the name is a big part of why businesses haven't ever wanted to touch the project or invest in it.
  
  Imagine telling your average upper management guy or board member that you want your workers to use software called gimp. They're probably not gonna want to hear you out.
  
  Anecdotally I know of a local NHS practice that refused to use GIMP, and was even sceptical of other subsequent suggestions of other FOSS due to the terrible impression they got from the GIMP name during a pitch to use more FOSS.
  
  I get it's their identity, their project. Nobody has the right to dictate the name but them. But it's also fair to point out that they probably shot themselves in the foot by giving their software a juvenile and weirdly fetishy name.
  
  46
  
  Why doesn't someone just fork it and change the name?
  
  Like, I dunno, "Super Human Image Treatment" or "Consistently Lovely Image Treatment Oriented for Real Imaging Stars"
  
  28
  
  Uh huh. Yet somehow the NHS has no issue plastering its name next to Virgin.
  
  5
  
  Since it is FOSS, couldn't they just take the source code and just re-compile it with different naming? Like how Debian did with Iceweasel naming and branding, though I know in their case it wasn't due to not liking the Firefox name/branding.
  
  2
  
  Businesses around the world, who have no idea what a few people use the term gimp to mean, are no different. The name makes no difference to them. To most people around the world, gimp means that photo editor.
  
  2
- They won't. It's an old topic and they are clear about not changing the name. Anyone having a problem can fork and rename the project. But it seems not to be a big issue that nobody wants to do it.
  
  11
  
  I believe that there is a project that aims to do just this but I can't remember its name.
  
  4
- Why? Everyone knows what gimp is at this point
  
  3
  
  I think you're vastly overestimating how many people know about a random FOSS image editor. Gimp is not a household name.
  
  When most people hear the word "gimp", they likely have something akin to this in mind (not an image editor):
  
  IMO, that hinders adoption and certainly hinders financial support. It's an amusing name, granted, but it's not a good one if you wish to be taken seriously.
  
  18
  
  "everybody" would learn the new name quickly enough. It's a bad name.
  
  7
I just flipped through the introduction of a GIMP book that the authors hoped 3.0 would be out so they could cover it but ultimately based the book on 2.6 due to delays. It's copyright 2012, apparently something (didn't) happen.

34
No better default gui?

31
we really got kde 6 before gimp 3

28
Isn't this the version where they pinky promised there will be CMYK support?

<ducks, runs>

19
- From https://developer.gimp.org/core/roadmap/ for GIMP 3.0:
  
  Space invasion (work in progress):
  
  Various color management improvements, CMYK support (not as core image format, but import/export and picking/choosing/viewing)…
  
  15
  
  That's the one! Didn't bother finding the source myself, thanks for going the extra bit kind stranger!
  
  Looking forward to eventually burying the old "sticking with Adobe because GIMP doesn't support CMYK" argument.
  
  4
- Does anyone know if non destructive editing will be possible with 3.0 or if its a feature for the next ten years?
  
  6
  
  That was answered elsewhere in the comments
  
  1
  
  @lemmysarius @halm
  
  After doing a few Google searches, I found that non-destructive editing is not fully implemented in GIMP 3.0, but that it is something that some of the developers are hoping to work towards over the next few years. GIMP 3.0 appears to primarily focus on moving to GTK+3....
  
  1
Will there be a big party where we can be baked

14
- There will be grilled bell peppers.
  
  10
That's pretty cool

7
- I'm not sure if that was intended, but string "freeze" is really "cool".
  
  2
hope gimp becomes better yeah ik it is not liked that much

4
I'm so excited! Will it not suck completely? Maybe!

1
hope it becomes actually good

1
Still no smart objects/non-destructive editing? :(

-5
- Er, yes. It's one of the main features being introduced in 3.0. I don't know why you would just assume they're not adding it without looking it up. It made quite a bit of noise when it started being in the works.
  
  33
  
  Oh! Well that's awesome then, thanks for the correction. I did look it up but ended up on some "top feature" article which barely mentioned any features beyond layer multi select. I should have looked further.
  
  13
- They introduced layer effects as a surprise to everyone in one of the latest previews. It's a little janky, but it works
  
  1

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