Xara Xtreme

Infobox_Software
name = Xara Xtreme

caption = Xara Xtreme for Linux running on Ubuntu


developer = Xara Group Ltd
latest_release_version = 3.2.1.2159 (Xara Xtreme Pro)
latest_release_date = June 20, 2007
latest_preview_version = 0.7 (Xara Xtreme for Linux)
latest_preview_date = August 11, 2006
operating_system = Windows, Linux
genre = Vector graphics editor
license = Proprietary and GNU General Public License
website = [http://www.xara.com/ www.xara.com]

Xara Xtreme (formerly Xara X) is a 2D vector graphics editor created by the British software company Xara.

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.

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. Corel returned the licensing rights back to Xara in 2000.
* The first version under the name Xara X was released in 2000 directly by its original owner.
* 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.
* In May 2007, Xara Xtreme 3.2 and Xtreme Pro 3.2 was released. 3.2 Pro began inclusion of Xara 3D6 and more robust typography are features in both Xtreme versions
* In April 2008, Xara Xtreme 4.0 was released. Major features include extended text-area handling, tighter integration of bitmap handling and HTML export.

Notability

Xara Xtreme is notable for its usability and fast renderer [ [http://www.xaraxtreme.org/about/performance.html Open Source Xara Xtreme - Performance ] ] . Xara Xtreme is also notable for being among the first vector graphics software products to provide a fully anti-aliased display, advanced gradient fill, and transparency tools, features now common to many vector graphics editors.

Among vector editors, Xara Xtreme is considered to be fairly easy to learn, with similarities to CorelDRAW and Inkscape in terms of interface. 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 is also used in Scottish secondary schools as part of their Graphic Design course.Fact|date=June 2007

Versions

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
* Xara Xtreme and Xtreme PRO 3.2 (Pro includes Xara 3D6) (improved typography) - released May 2007
* Xara Xtreme and Xtreme PRO 4.0 - released April 2008

Versions for Linux

* Xara Xtreme for Linux (open source version) - released 2006

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 [ [http://www.libregraphicsmeeting.org/ Libre Graphics Meeting 2007 - Montréal, Québec, Canada ] ] 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, that is only available in the form of static libraries for a few selected CPU architectures and at that only with support for (a few specific?) versions of the GCC C++ compiler, though reportedly Xara is working on preparing that code for publication as well.refun|Source

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.

A version for Mac OS X is not yet working but is under development, and there is a call for developers on the open source project web site.

The progress of the Linux version has stalled and the program's website has not been updated since August 2006. However, forums continue to be updated, and new builds continue to be released.

Notes

Xara Group Ltd did not intend to release the rendering engine, and never said that it would. [http://www.xaraxtreme.org/maillists/archive/dev/dev_022007/msg00031.html statement] Xara Group Ltd's CEO, Charles Moir, confirmed on 15 Feb 2007 on the Xara developer mailing list why CDraw source code wouldn't be released: "For a number of reasons, one significant reason being commercial risk outlined earlier" where "earlier" refers to discussion on said list. There has since been some (but yet incomplete) progress towards porting the application to use Cairo as the backend, to workaround the problems of non-portability and the obvious GPL incompatibility with the binary-only static link-library CDraw. However that could lose the benefits brought by the CDraw engine, and programmers have so far not even taken up the opportunity to develop what is open source, namely the main program itself.

References

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

External links

* [http://www.xara.com/products/xarax/ Xara Xtreme homepage]
* [http://www.xaraxtreme.org/ Xara Xtreme for Linux homepage of the open source version]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20071018214459/http://www.venividilibri.org/Interviews/XaraXEN Interview with Charles Moir, Xara's CEO]
* [http://www.xaraxone.com/ xaraxone.com: Xara Xtreme tutorials]
* [http://www.talkgraphics.com TalkGraphics] - the forum with the most active Xara Xtreme user base
* [http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/xara/ Articles about Xara X on about.com]
* [http://www.mw-software.com/software/artworks/artworks2.html Artworks 2] - The Artworks codebase is still maintained and extended by the German Martin Wuerthner.