enlightenment Imlib 2 is the successor to Imlib. It is not just a newer version - it is a completely new library. Imlib2 can be installed alongside Imlib 1.x without any problems since they are effectively different libraries - but they Have very similar functionality. Imlib2 can do the following: * Load image files from disk in one of many formats * Save images to disk in one of many formats * Render image data onto other images * Render images to an X-Windows drawable * Produce pixmaps and pixmap masks of Images * Apply filters to images * Rotate images * Accept RGBA Data for images * Scale images * Alpha blend Images on other images or drawables * Apply color correction and modification tables and factors to images * Render images onto images with color correction and modification tables * Render truetype anti-aliased text * Render truetype anti-aliased text at any angle * Render anti-aliased lines * Render rectangles * Render linear multi-colored gradients * Cache data intelligently for maximum performance * Allocate colors automatically * Allow full control over caching and color allocation * Provide highly optimized MMX assembly for core routines * Provide plug-in filter interface * Provide on-the-fly runtime plug-in image loading and saving interface * Fastest image compositing, rendering and manipulation library for X If what you want isn't in the list above somewhere then likely Imlib 2 does not do it. If it does it it likely does it faster than any other library you can find (this includes gdk-pixbuf, gdkrgb, etc.) primarily because of highly optimized code and a smart subsystem that does the dirty work for you and picks up the pieces for you so you can be lazy and let all the optimizations for you. Imlib 2 can run without a display, so it can be easily used for background image processing for web sites or servers - it only requires the X libraries to be installed - that is all - it does not require an XServer to run unless you wish to display images.