> > Be lazy & why don't you call an external program like display or xv
> > to display the jpeg image from your ruby prg,?
> > (or convert the images into gifs?)
>
> Yes, I have thought about this, and have even written a simple app. But I
> don't know how to kill xv automatically after getting rotate response
> from the commandline. ....Maybe putting the system command in a thread
> would do it?
Sorry, I'm not sure I understand.
Can you please explain what you mean by "rotate response from the commandline"
and then I might be able to help, or do you mean: your ruby prg. starts xv,
the users clicks the right-mouse button and then goes on rotate, and then you
want the ruby-prg. to close the image? This I wouldn't know how to do, too,
as the ruby-prg would not get that signal.
maybe there exists an image display prg. that you can "remote control".
(should be possible with Gimp.. Gimp makes me think GTK)

In GTK you could open a jpg I think (have not tested it, but Imlib does 
support jpeg)
c.f. http://www.ruby-lang.org/gtk/en/doc.html
(search for tutorial)
---
#!/usr/local/bin/ruby

require 'gtk'

#
# Ruby/Gtk + Imlib : view demo
#

if(ARGV.size != 1)
  print $0, " filename\n"
  exit
end
filename = ARGV.shift

window = Gtk::Window.new(Gtk::WINDOW_TOPLEVEL)
window.set_title(filename)
window.signal_connect('destroy'){ exit }
window.signal_connect('delete_event'){ exit }

vbox = Gtk::VBox.new(false, 0)
window.add(vbox)
vbox.show

im = GdkImlib::Image.new(filename)
im.render(im.rgb_width, im.rgb_height)
pixd, maskd = im.get_pixmap
pixmap = Gtk::Pixmap.new(pixd, maskd)
pixmap.show
vbox.pack_start(pixmap, true, true, 0)

window.show
Gtk.main
----

>
> Jim
>
>
> =========================================================
> Jim Freeze
> jim / freeze.org
> ---------------------------------------------------------
> No comment at this time.
> http://www.freeze.org
> =========================================================

-- 
Armin.

-----------------------------------------------
Armin Roehrl, http://www.approximity.com

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."
                                          --Alan Kay