1The PNM Format(5) File Formats Manual The PNM Format(5)
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6 pnm - Netpbm superformat
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10 The PNM format is just an abstraction of the PBM, PGM, and PPM formats.
11 I.e. the name 'PNM' refers collectively to PBM, PGM, and PPM.
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13 The name 'PNM' is an acronym derived from 'Portable Any Map.' This
14 derivation makes more sense if you consider it in the context of the
15 other Netpbm format names: PBM, PGM, and PPM.
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17 The more general term 'Netpbm format' refers to the PNM formats plus
18 PAM.
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20 PNM is principally used with Netpbm(1).
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22 Note that besides being names of formats, PBM, PGM, PPM, and PNM are
23 also classes of programs. A PNM program can take PBM, PGM, or PPM
24 input. That's nothing special -- a PPM program can too. But a PNM
25 program can often produce multiple output formats as well, and a PNM
26 program can see the difference between PBM, PGM, and PPM input and
27 respond to each differently whereas a PPM program sees everything as if
28 it were PPM. This is discussed more in the description of the netpbm
29 programs (1).
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31 'pnm' also appears in the names of the most general Netpbmlibraryrou‐
32 tines(1),someofwhicharen'teven related to the PNM format.
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36 ppm(1), pgm(1), pbm(1), pam(1), programsthatprocessPNM[1m(1), libnetpbm(1)
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40netpbm documentation 03 October 2003 The PNM Format(5)