computer science

QFX

QFX is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand QFX rather than just read about it. In short: QFX is an image editing computer program originally released in 1990 for MS-DOS and later ported to Windows. It was developed by Ron Scott, a Texan photographer and software engineer.

Key takeaways

QFX belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect QFX to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of QFX from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

QFX is an image editing computer program originally released in 1990 for MS-DOS and later ported to Windows. It was developed by Ron Scott, a Texan photographer and software engineer. At the time of its release, QFX was one of the most feature-rich image editing applications available for IBM PC compatibles. It was used by digital artists and image postproduction studios in the times when 1024x768 truecolor graphics were a luxury, before Photoshop became a standard professional tool.

History The first version of QFX was released around 1990. It ran on PCs equipped with AT&T Truevision AT Vista and Targa ISA bus framebuffer graphics cards. Low end Targa cards were limited to 8 bits, but most were 24 bit with a hardware alpha channel; Vista cards were 24 bit, and capable of greater than video resolution. All could capture RGB video. Early versions of QFX had no brushes; the program was used for image processing and color correction, rather than image creation, providing basic filters (blur, noise, glow etc.) that were a collection of MS-DOS programs that could be run from the command line and included in batch files. This functionality continued with all Targa and Vista versions of the program, and allowed operation on images with a resolution far greater than the graphics display device. Later Windows releases introduced an internal scripting facility that pre-dated Photoshop's actions by many years. The early version ran on both Intel and DEC Alpha processors. The program was popular with PC-based computer animators, who would often use QFX tools to composite multiple image layers for single-frame output to a video recorder or film recorder. In 1991 the new version called Hires QFX priced around US$3500, provided additional features including brushes and expanded support for large image files. In that time the alternatives for professional digital image editing were over-200k-and-more-USD dedicated workstations like Quantel's Paintbox, Crossfield or Barco Creator software running on expensive SGI Power series multiprocessor boxes. QFX was one of the first multiprocessor optimized graphics programs. When running on dual processor systems, it would split the image in two, running half on each processor. Could use "all memory" without use of "memory manages" (QMM per example) through Motherboard's BIOS, when DOS can not handle more of 16MB!, and let user set the undo levels up to 999 years before others (aka; Photoshop) keep just one undo. Allow use customs icons for customs scripts! The boom of DTP and the rapid advances in PC hardware in the mid-1990s changed the market for graphics software. Photoshop, windows oriented, less technical and cheaper solution for anybody proved to be a winning approach. QFX continued adding new features including a windows-based interface and CMYK handling, but was unable to compete with the lower-priced and increasingly feature-rich Photoshop.

Present QFX was also the core code for a Computer Aided Jewelry Design System known as Digital Goldsmith, a 'paint' application which originally used an 'old' Tips Targa Plus format platform for image manipulation and architecture. Although the raster based DG, the core of which is a stripped-down QFX code, which Ron Scott modified appropriately with programming assistance from Kenton West, has moved on into the Computer Controlled Mill utilizing Nurb Design with GemVision's Matrix software, yet, one may find Digital Goldsmith as the 'photoshop', world-wide, in the Jewelry Custom Design industry. During the mid-1990s Gemvision's CEO/Founder Jeff High along with Kent West and Simon Lonergan assisted Ron Scott as extensive beta testers, macro designers for DG while further lending valuable support and testing for what has become today's QFX(the addition of a thumbnails browser, among many more written for the DG application even, etc...).

References

External links Official website

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with QFX

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what QFX claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to QFX before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about QFX ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of QFX

In research: QFX appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses QFX in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: QFX is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Raster graphics editors, Technical communication tools, Windows graphics-related software, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for QFX outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study QFX in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what QFX means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain QFX out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is QFX in simple terms?

QFX is an image editing computer program originally released in 1990 for MS-DOS and later ported to Windows. It was developed by Ron Scott, a Texan photographer and software engineer.

Why does QFX matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study QFX?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on QFX.

QFX