gxs

README

g(o) x(cross) s(stitch)

Tools/utilities for cross stitching

gxs

G(o) x(cross) s(titch) is an application to produce patterns from text-based file definitions

bitstream

gxs can encode a simple string into a gxs pattern based on the bits from the input

echo "my string" | gxs bitstream

Or one could change the colors, disable repeating, etc.

echo "my other string" | gxs bitstream -width 5 -height 5 -square 3 -primary-color blue -secondary-color yellow

compile

to produce an svg output file from a gxs source input

gxs compile -input filename -output output.svg

encode to a bit stream, produce a gxs pattern, and compile directly

echo "my string" | gxs bitstream | gxs -output encoded.svg

transpile

it's possible to pipe "source code" into gxs and create a pattern from the source that can be stitched

cat Makefile | gxs transpile

though it may be ideal to specify some settings to change that transpile does

gxs transpile -input Makefile -lexer make -font-size 3x5

call gxs transpile -help-details for a full list of styles, fonts, and lexers

the outputs from gxs transpile are patterns that can be used in gxs compile

random

gxs can create a "random" output grid pattern from either input (or current time if no input is given")

gxs random -now

patterns

gxs uses a declaration of patterns which is based on building 1 to N layers and committing each layer once it is "complete" (allowing alterations on top of previous layers). This allows for an "ASCII-like" representation of the pattern to exist for editing via text editor (e.g. vim) while ending up with a full resulting pattern

example

mode

mode is the type of stitch that will be built

type	explanation
xstitch	full X cross stitch
topedge	back stitch at the top edge
bottomedge	back stitch at the bottom edge
leftedge	back stitch on the left edge
rightedge	back stitch on the right edge
hline	back stitch horizontally through
vline	back stitch vertically through
tlbrline	back stitch top-left to bottom-right through
trblline	back stitch top-right to bottom-left through

mode => {
    xstitch
}

palette

configures the colors to use within the pattern

palette => {
    x => red
    y => #333333
    z => NONE
}

in the above the "x" symbol will be red, "y" will be the css "#333333" and "z" uses the "NONE" special keyword to allow for spacing symbols but not producing a color.

When a named color is given that matches a known DMC floss, it will result in the RGB floss for that color, in the above example the 'red' value will match a floss

pattern

define the pattern to draw onto a resulting grid

pattern => {
    xyzyz
    zyxyz
    zzxzz
}

which will produce a simple pattern

action

finally tell gxs to commit the stitching layer

action => {
    commit
}

example

# comments start with '#' but can NOT be within a '{' and '}' block
palette => {
    x => red
    y => #333333
    z => NONE
}
mode => {
    xstitch
}
pattern => {
    xyzyz
    zyxyz
    zzxzz
}
action => {
    commit
}
# reuse the palette, single-line block (only for single-line commands)
mode => {topedge}
# patterns must always be redefined
pattern => {
    xxxxx
    zzzzz
    xxxxx
}
action => {commit}

see examples/ for more (or even the tests/inputs/).