<chapter id="intro-history" xreflabel="History">
<title>History</title>
<para>
The CentOS Artwork Repository started during a discussion
about how to automate the slide images of Anaconda, at CentOS
Developers mailing list (<ulink
url="mailto:centos-devel@centos.org">centos-devel@centos.org</ulink>)
around 2008. In such discussion, Ralph Angenendt rose up his
hand to ask —Do you have something to show?—.
</para>
<para>
To answer the question, Alain Reguera Delgado suggested a bash
script which combined SVG and SED files in order to produce
PNG images in different languages —in conjunction with
the proposition of creating a Subversion repository where
translations and image production could be distributed inside
The CentOS Community—.
</para>
<para>
Karanbirn Sighn considered the idea intresting and provided
the infrastructure necessary to support the effort. This way
the <ulink
url="https://projects.centos.org/trac/artwork/">CentOS Artwork
SIG</ulink> and the <ulink
url="https://projects.centos.org/svn/artwork/">CentOS Artwork
Repository</ulink> were officially created.
</para>
<para>
Once the CentOS Artwork Repository was available, Alain
Reguera Delgado uploaded the bash script for rendering
Anaconda slides; Ralph Angenendt documented it very well; and
people started to download working copies of CentOS Artwork
Repository to produce slide images in their own languages.
</para>
<sect1>
<title>2009's</title>
<para>
Around 2009, the rendition script was at a very rustic state
where only slide images could be produced, so it was
redesigned to extend the image production to other areas,
different from slide images. In this configuration, one SVG
file was used as input to produce a translated instance of it
which, in turn, was used to produce one translated PNG image
as output. The SVG translated instance was created through SED
replacement commands. The translated PNG image was created
from the SVG translated instance using Inkscape command-line
interface.
</para>
<para>
The repository directory structure was prepared to receive the
rendition script using design templates and translation files
in the same location. There was one directory structure for
each artwork that needed to be produced. In this
configuration, if you would want to produce the same artwork
with a different visual style or structure, it was needed to
create a new directory structure for it because both the image
structure and the image visual style were together in the
design template.
</para>
<para>
The rendition script was moved to a common place and linked
from different directory structures. There was no need to have
the same code in different directory structures if it could be
in just one place and then be linked from different locations.
</para>
<para>
Corporate identity concepts began to be considered. As
referece, it was used the book "Corporate Identity" by Wally
Olins (1989) and <ulink
url="http://en.wikipedia.org/Corporate_identity">Wikipedia</ulink>
related links. This way, the rendition script main's goal
becomes to: <emphasis>automate the production process of a
monolithic corporate visual identity structure, based on the
mission and the release schema of The CentOS
Project</emphasis>.
</para>
<para>
The repository directory structures began to be documented by
mean of flat text files. Later, documentation in flat text
files was moved onto LaTeX format and this way the "The CentOS
Artwork Repository" documentation manual is initiated.
</para>
</sect1>
<sect1>
<title>2010's</title>
<para>
Around 2010, the rendition script changed its name from
<command>render.sh</command> to
<command>centos-art.sh</command> and became a collection of
functionalities where rendition was just one among others
(e.g., documentation and localization).
</para>
<para>
The <command>centos-art.sh</command> was initially conceived
to automate frequent tasks inside the repository based in the
idea of Unix toolbox: to create small and specialized tools
that do one thing well. This way, functionalities inside
<command>centos-art.sh</command> began to be identified and
separated one another. For example, when images were rendered,
there was no need to load functionalities related to
documentation manual. This layout moved us onto <quote>common
functionalities</quote> and <quote>specific
functionalities</quote> inside
<command>centos-art.sh</command> script. Common
functionalities are loaded when
<command>centos-art.sh</command> script is initiated and are
available to specific functionalities.
</para>
<para>
Suddenly, no need was found to keep all the links spreaded
around the repository in order to execute the
<command>centos-art.sh</command> script from different
locations. The centos-art command-line interface was used
instead. The centos-art command-line interface is a symbolic
link stored inside the <filename
class="directory">~/bin</filename> directory that point to
<command>centos-art.sh</command> script. As default
configuration, inside The CentOS Distribution, the path to
<filename class="directory">~/bin</filename> is included in
the search path for commands (see PATH environment variable).
This way, using the centos-art command-line interface, it is
possible for us to execute the
<command>centos-art.sh</command> script from virtually
anywhere inside the workstation, just as we frequently do with
regular commands.
</para>
<para>
Start using GNU getopt as default option parser inside the
<command>centos-art.sh</command> script.
</para>
<para>
The repository directory structure was updated to improve the
implementation of corporate visual identity concepts.
Specially in the area related to themes. Having both structure
and style in the same file introduced content duplication when
producing art works. Because of this reason, they were
divided out to separate directory structures: the design
models and artistic motifs directory structures. From this
point on, the <command>centos-art.sh</command> is able to
produce themes as result of arbitrary combinations between
design models (structures) and artistic motifs (visual
styles).
</para>
<para>
In the documentation area, the documents in LaTeX format were
migrated to Texinfo format. In this configuration, each
directory structure in the repository has a documentation
entry associated in a Texinfo structure which can be read,
edited and administered (e.g., renamed, deleted and copied)
interactively through <command>centos-art.sh</command> script.
Additionally, the texi2html program was used to produced
customized XHTML output in conjunction with CSS from The
CentOS Webenv.
</para>
</sect1>
<sect1>
<title>2011's</title>
<para>
Around 2011, the <command>centos-art.sh</command> script was
redesigned to start translating XML-based files (e.g., SVG and
Docbook files) through <command>xml2po</command> program and
shell scripts (e.g., Bash scripts) through GNU gettext tools.
This configuration provided a stronger localization interface
for graphic designers, translators and programmers. The SED
replacement files are no longer used to handle localization.
</para>
<para>
The <code>render</code>, <code>help</code> and
<code>locale</code> functionalities were consolidated as the
most frequent tasks performed inside the repository.
Additionally, the prepare and tuneup functionalities are also
maintained as useful tasks.
</para>
<para>
In the documentation area, support for producing localized
transformations of DocBook XML DTD instances was added through
the <code>render</code> and locale functionalities. The
<code>render</code> functionality uses the xsltproc
command-line <acronym>XSLT</acronym> parser in conjunction
with the styles provided by the
<package>docbook-style-xsl</package> package, both of them
included inside The CentOS Distribution. The locale
functionality creates the localized portable object
(<acronym>PO</acronym>) the <code>render</code> functionality
needs to produce localized transformations of DocBook XML DTD
instances.
</para>
<para>
To build DocBook documentation, it was considered the idea of
using concepts behind repository directory structure as base,
not the opposite (as I've been doing with Texinfo backend, so
far).
</para>
<para>
Producing documentation through DocBook XML as default
documentation backend consolidates <code>render</code> and
<code>locale</code> even more. In this configuration, once
the DocBook files are written, you use <code>locale</code>
functionality to localize the DocBook files in your prefered
language and later, using <code>render</code> functionality,
you produce the XTHML and PDF outputs as specified in a XSLT
or DSL customization layer.
</para>
</sect1>
</chapter>