Tk_AllocBitmapFromObj returns a Pixmap identifier for a bitmap that matches the description in objPtr and is suitable for use in tkwin. It re-uses an existing bitmap, if possible, and creates a new one otherwise. ObjPtr's value must have one of the following forms:
In addition, the following pre-defined names are available only on the Macintosh platform:
Under normal conditions, Tk_AllocBitmapFromObj returns an identifier for the requested bitmap. If an error occurs in creating the bitmap, such as when objPtr refers to a non-existent file, then None is returned and an error message is left in interp's result if interp is not NULL. Tk_AllocBitmapFromObj caches information about the return value in objPtr, which speeds up future calls to procedures such as Tk_AllocBitmapFromObj and Tk_GetBitmapFromObj.
Tk_GetBitmap is identical to Tk_AllocBitmapFromObj except that the description of the bitmap is specified with a string instead of an object. This prevents Tk_GetBitmap from caching the return value, so Tk_GetBitmap is less efficient than Tk_AllocBitmapFromObj.
Tk_GetBitmapFromObj returns the token for an existing bitmap, given the window and description used to create the bitmap. Tk_GetBitmapFromObj does not actually create the bitmap; the bitmap must already have been created with a previous call to Tk_AllocBitmapFromObj or Tk_GetBitmap. The return value is cached in objPtr, which speeds up future calls to Tk_GetBitmapFromObj with the same objPtr and tkwin.
Tk_DefineBitmap associates a name with in-memory bitmap data so that the name can be used in later calls to Tk_AllocBitmapFromObj or Tk_GetBitmap. The nameId argument gives a name for the bitmap; it must not previously have been used in a call to Tk_DefineBitmap. The arguments source, width, and height describe the bitmap. Tk_DefineBitmap normally returns TCL_OK; if an error occurs (e.g. a bitmap named nameId has already been defined) then TCL_ERROR is returned and an error message is left in interpreter interp's result. Note that Tk_DefineBitmap expects the memory pointed to by source to be static: Tk_DefineBitmap does not make a private copy of this memory, but uses the bytes pointed to by source later in calls to Tk_AllocBitmapFromObj or Tk_GetBitmap.
Typically Tk_DefineBitmap is used by #include-ing a bitmap file directly into a C program and then referencing the variables defined by the file. For example, suppose there exists a file stip.bitmap, which was created by the bitmap program and contains a stipple pattern. The following code uses Tk_DefineBitmap to define a new bitmap named foo:
Pixmap bitmap;
#include "stip.bitmap"
Tk_DefineBitmap(interp, "foo", stip_bits,
stip_width, stip_height);
...
bitmap = Tk_GetBitmap(interp, tkwin, "foo");
This code causes the bitmap file to be read
at compile-time and incorporates the bitmap information into
the program's executable image. The same bitmap file could be
read at run-time using Tk_GetBitmap:
Pixmap bitmap; bitmap = Tk_GetBitmap(interp, tkwin, "@stip.bitmap");The second form is a bit more flexible (the file could be modified after the program has been compiled, or a different string could be provided to read a different file), but it is a little slower and requires the bitmap file to exist separately from the program.
Tk maintains a database of all the bitmaps that are currently in use. Whenever possible, it will return an existing bitmap rather than creating a new one. When a bitmap is no longer used, Tk will release it automatically. This approach can substantially reduce server overhead, so Tk_AllocBitmapFromObj and Tk_GetBitmap should generally be used in preference to Xlib procedures like XReadBitmapFile.
The bitmaps returned by Tk_AllocBitmapFromObj and Tk_GetBitmap are shared, so callers should never modify them. If a bitmap must be modified dynamically, then it should be created by calling Xlib procedures such as XReadBitmapFile or XCreatePixmap directly.
The procedure Tk_NameOfBitmap is roughly the inverse of Tk_GetBitmap. Given an X Pixmap argument, it returns the textual description that was passed to Tk_GetBitmap when the bitmap was created. Bitmap must have been the return value from a previous call to Tk_AllocBitmapFromObj or Tk_GetBitmap.
Tk_SizeOfBitmap returns the dimensions of its bitmap argument in the words pointed to by the widthPtr and heightPtr arguments. As with Tk_NameOfBitmap, bitmap must have been created by Tk_AllocBitmapFromObj or Tk_GetBitmap.
When a bitmap is no longer needed, Tk_FreeBitmapFromObj or Tk_FreeBitmap should be called to release it. For Tk_FreeBitmapFromObj the bitmap to release is specified with the same information used to create it; for Tk_FreeBitmap the bitmap to release is specified with its Pixmap token. There should be exactly one call to Tk_FreeBitmapFromObj or Tk_FreeBitmap for each call to Tk_AllocBitmapFromObj or Tk_GetBitmap.