The PNM Format(5) The PNM Format(5)NAME
pnm - Netpbm superformat
DESCRIPTION
The PNM format is just an abstraction of the PBM, PGM, and PPM formats.
I.e. the name 'PNM' refers collectively to PBM, PGM, and PPM.
The name 'PNM' is an acronym derived from 'Portable Any Map.' This
derivation makes more sense if you consider it in the context of the
other Netpbm format names: PBM, PGM, and PPM.
The more general term 'Netpbm format' refers to the PNM formats plus
PAM.
PNM is principally used with Netpbm(1).
Note that besides being names of formats, PBM, PGM, PPM, and PNM are
also classes of programs. A PNM program can take PBM, PGM, or PPM
input. That's nothing special -- a PPM program can too. But a PNM
program can often produce multiple output formats as well, and a PNM
program can see the difference between PBM, PGM, and PPM input and
respond to each differently whereas a PPM program sees everything as if
it were PPM. This is discussed more in the description of the netpbm
programs (1).
'pnm' also appears in the names of the most general Netpbmlibraryrouâ
tines(1),someofwhicharen'teven related to the PNM format.
SEE ALSOppm(1), pgm(1), pbm(1), pam(1), programsthatprocessPNM(1), libnetpbm(1)netpbm documentation 03 October 2003 The PNM Format(5)