<!-- ##### SECTION Title ##### -->
Colormaps and Colors

<!-- ##### SECTION Short_Description ##### -->
manipulation of colors and colormaps.

<!-- ##### SECTION Long_Description ##### -->
<para>
These functions are used to modify colormaps.
A colormap is an object that contains the mapping
between the color values stored in memory and
the RGB values that are used to display color
values. In general, colormaps only contain
significant information for pseudo-color visuals,
but even for other visual types, a colormap object
is required in some circumstances.
</para>

<para>
There are a couple of special colormaps that can
be retrieved. The system colormap (retrieved 
with gdk_colormap_get_system()) is the default
colormap of the system. If you are using GdkRGB,
there is another colormap that is important - the
colormap in which GdkRGB works, retrieved with
gdk_rgb_get_cmap(). However, when using GdkRGB, 
it is not generally necessary to allocate colors
directly.
</para>

<para>
In previous revisions of this interface, a number
of functions that take a #GdkColormap parameter
were replaced with functions whose names began
with "gdk_colormap_". This process will probably
be extended somewhat in the future - 
gdk_color_white(), gdk_color_black(), and 
gdk_color_change() will probably become aliases.
</para>

<!-- ##### SECTION See_Also ##### -->
<para>

</para>

<!-- ##### STRUCT GdkColor ##### -->
<para>
The #GdkColor structure is used to describe an 
allocated or unallocated color.
</para>

@pixel: For allocated colors, the value used to
  draw this color on the screen.
@red: The red component of the color. This is
  a value between 0 and 65535, with 65535 indicating
  full intensitiy.
@green: The blue component of the color.
@blue: The green component of the color.

<!-- ##### STRUCT GdkColormap ##### -->
<para>
The colormap structure contains the following public fields.
</para>

@parent_instance: 
@size: For pseudo-color colormaps, the number of colors
  in the colormap.
@colors: An array containing the current values in the
  colormap. This can be used to map from pixel values
  back to RGB values. This is only meaningful for
  pseudo-color colormaps.

<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_colormap_new ##### -->
<para>
Creates a new colormap for the given visual.
</para>

@visual: a #GdkVisual.
@allocate: if %TRUE, the newly created colormap will be
  a private colormap, and all colors in it will be
  allocated for the applications use.
@Returns: the new #GdkColormap.


<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_colormap_ref ##### -->
<para>

</para>

@cmap: 
@Returns: 


<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_colormap_unref ##### -->
<para>

</para>

@cmap: 


<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_colormap_get_system ##### -->
<para>
Returns the system's default colormap.
</para>

@Returns: the default colormap.


<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_colormap_get_system_size ##### -->
<para>
Returns the size of the system's default colormap.
(See the description of struct #GdkColormap for an
explanation of the size of a colormap.)
</para>

@Returns: the size of the system's default colormap.


<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_colormap_change ##### -->
<para>
Changes the value of the first @ncolors in a private colormap
to match the values in the <structfield>colors</structfield>
array in the color map. This function is obsolete and
should not be used. See gdk_color_change().
</para>

@colormap: a #GdkColormap.
@ncolors: the number of colors to change.


<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_colormap_alloc_colors ##### -->
<para>
Allocates colors from a colormap.
</para>

@colormap: a #GdkColormap.
@colors: The color values to allocate. On return, the pixel
 values for allocated colors will be filled in.
@ncolors: The number of colors in @colors.
@writeable: If %TRUE, the colors are allocated writeable
 (their values can later be changed using gdk_color_change()).
 Writeable colors cannot be shared between applications.
@best_match: If %TRUE, GDK will attempt to do matching against
 existing colors if the colors cannot be allocated as
 requested.
@success: An array of length @ncolors. On return, this
 indicates whether the corresponding color in @colors was
 sucessfully allocated or not.
@Returns: The number of colors that were not sucessfully 
 allocated.


<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_colormap_alloc_color ##### -->
<para>
Allocates a single color from a colormap.
</para>

@colormap: a #GdkColormap.
@color: the color to allocate. On return the
<structfield>pixel</structfield> field will be
filled in if allocation succeeds.
@writeable: If %TRUE, the color is allocated writeable
 (their values can later be changed using gdk_color_change()).
 Writeable colors cannot be shared between applications.
@best_match: If %TRUE, GDK will attempt to do matching against
 existing colors if the color cannot be allocated as
 requested.
@Returns: %TRUE if the allocation succeeded.


<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_colormap_free_colors ##### -->
<para>
Frees previously allocated colors.
</para>

@colormap: a #GdkColormap.
@colors: the colors to free.
@ncolors: the number of colors in @colors.


<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_colormap_query_color ##### -->
<para>

</para>

@colormap: 
@pixel: 
@result: 


<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_colormap_get_visual ##### -->
<para>
Returns the visual for which a given colormap was created.
</para>

@colormap: a #GdkColormap.
@Returns: the visual of the colormap.


<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_colors_store ##### -->
<para>
Changes the value of the first @ncolors colors in
a private colormap. This function is obsolete and
should not be used. See gdk_color_change().
</para>

@colormap: a #GdkColormap.
@colors: the new color values.
@ncolors: the number of colors to change.


<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_color_copy ##### -->
<para>
Makes a copy of a color structure. The result
must be freed using gdk_color_free().
</para>

@color: a #GdkColor.
@Returns: a copy of @color.


<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_color_free ##### -->
<para>
Frees a color structure created with 
gdk_color_copy().
</para>

@color: a #GdkColor.


<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_colors_alloc ##### -->
<para>
Allocates colors from a colormap. This function
is obsolete. See gdk_colormap_alloc_colors().
For full documentation of the fields, see 
the Xlib documentation for <function>XAllocColorCells()</function>.
</para>

@colormap: a #GdkColormap.
@contiguous: if %TRUE, the colors should be allocated
 in contiguous color cells.
@planes: an array in which to store the plane masks.
@nplanes: the number of planes to allocate. (Or zero,
 to indicate that the color allocation should not be
 planar.)
@pixels: an array into which to store allocated pixel
 values.
@npixels: the number of pixels in each plane to allocate.
@Returns: 


<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_colors_free ##### -->
<para>
Frees colors allocated with gdk_colors_alloc(). This
function is obsolete. See gdk_colormap_free_colors().
</para>

@colormap: a #GdkColormap.
@pixels: the pixel values of the colors to free.
@npixels: the number of values in @pixels.
@planes: the plane masks for all planes to free, OR'd
 together.


<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_color_white ##### -->
<para>
Returns the white color for a given colormap. The resulting
value has already allocated been allocated. 
</para>

@colormap: a #GdkColormap.
@color: the location to store the color.
@Returns: %TRUE if the allocation succeeded.


<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_color_black ##### -->
<para>
Returns the black color for a given colormap. The resulting
value has already benn allocated. 
</para>

@colormap: a #GdkColormap.
@color: the location to store the color.
@Returns: %TRUE if the allocation succeeded.


<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_color_parse ##### -->
<para>
Parses a textual specification of a color and fill in
the <structfield>red</structfield>,
<structfield>green</structfield>, and 
<structfield>blue</structfield> fields of a 
#GdkColor structure. The color is <emphasis>not</emphasis> 
allocated, you must call gdk_colormap_alloc_color() yourself.
The text string can be in any of the forms accepted
by <function>XParseColor</function>; these include
name for a color from <filename>rgb.txt</filename>, such as
<literal>DarkSlateGray</literal>, or a hex specification
such as <literal>305050</literal>.
</para>

@spec: the string specifying the color.
@color: the #GdkColor to fill in
@Returns: 


<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_color_alloc ##### -->
<para>
Allocates a single color from a colormap.
This function is obsolete. See gdk_colormap_alloc_color().
</para>

@colormap: a #GdkColormap.
@color: The color to allocate. On return, the 
<structfield>pixel</structfield> field will be
filled in.
@Returns: %TRUE if the allocation succeeded.


<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_color_change ##### -->
<para>
Changes the value of a color that has already
been allocated. If @colormap is not a private
colormap, then the color must have been allocated
using gdk_colormap_alloc_colors() with the 
@writeable set to %TRUE.
</para>

@colormap: a #GdkColormap.
@color: a #GdkColor, with the color to change
in the <structfield>pixel</structfield> field,
and the new value in the remaining fields.
@Returns: 


<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_color_equal ##### -->
<para>
Compares two colors. 
</para>

@colora: a #GdkColor.
@colorb: another #GdkColor.
@Returns: %TRUE if the two colors compare equal


<!-- ##### FUNCTION gdk_color_hash ##### -->
<para>
A hash function suitable for using for a hash
table that stores #GdkColor's.
</para>

@colora: a #GdkColor.
@Returns: The hash function appled to @colora


