[vtkusers] libtiff version update in VTK

[Andinet Enquobahrie]

Dear all,

We are planning to update the version of libtiff  in VTK to the
stable version of 3.8.2. The current libtiff version in VTK is
3.5.7. There have been several key bug fixes since 3.5.7.
A summary of the the main changes is provided at
the bottom.

Furthermore, we will be updating the vtk TIFF reader to support
multiple page tiff file.
 
Let us know if you have any concerns or questions.

Thanks,
-Andinet

P.S Summary of changes since 3.5.7

-------------------------

The main changes in 3.6.0

   1. New utility raw2tiff for converting raw rasters into TIFF files.
   2. Lots of new tiff2ps options.
   3. Lots of new fax2tiff options.
   4. Lots of bug fixes for LZW, JPEG and OJPEG compression.
   5. LZW compression kit synchronized with actual libtiff version.

The main changes in 3.6.1

   1. New utility tiff2pdf for converting TIFF images directly into PDF.
   2. New color conversion module.
   3. Full support for Orientation tag in TIFFRGBAImage interface.
   4. Many bugs fixed.

The main changes in 3.7.0

   1. Significant changes in software configuration: we are switched to
      GNU autotools now.
   2. tiffset: tiffset now can set any libtiff supported tags. Tags can
      be supplied by the mnemonic name or number.
   3. The code has been reviewed by Dmitry Levin: added checks for
      values, returned by the space allocation functions, fixed problems
      with the possible integer overflows.

The main changes in 3.7.1

   1. This is mostly bugfix release. Most important fix is the one
      related to wrong custom tag read/write code.

The main changes in 3.7.2

   1. Maintenance release. Many bugfixes in the build environment and
      compatibility improvements

The main changes in

   1. Replace runtime endianess check with the compile time one.
   2. Added support for the new predictor type (floating point
      predictor), defined at the TIFF Technical Note 3.
   3. Added Support for custom tags, passed by value. Added support for
      all DNG tags.

The main changes in 3.7.4

   1. Fixed important bug in custom tags handling code..

The main changes in 3.8.0

   1. Read-only support for custom directories (e.g. EXIF directory).
   2. Preliminary support for MS MDI format.

The main changes in 3.8.1

   1. Bug fix release

The main changes in 3.8.2

   1. Bug-fix release.

--------------------

-- 
==========================================================
Andinet A. Enquobahrie, PhD
R&D Engineer
Kitware Inc.

28 Corporate Drive
Clifton Park, NY 12065-8662
Phone: 518-371-3971 x124
www.kitware.com