| SANE
stands for "Scanner Access Now Easy"
and is an application programming interface (API) that provides
standardized access to any raster image scanner hardware (flatbed
scanner, hand-held scanner, video- and still-cameras, frame-grabbers,
etc.). The SANE API is public domain and its discussion and
development is open to everybody. The current source code
is written for UNIX (including GNU/Linux) and is available
under the GNU General Public License (the SANE API is available
to proprietary applications and backends as well, however).
SANE is a universal scanner interface. The value
of such a universal interface is that it allows writing just
one driver per image acquisition device rather than one driver
for each device and application. So, if you have three applications
and four devices, traditionally you'd have had to write 12
different programs. With SANE, this number is reduced to seven:
the three applications plus the four drivers. Of course, the
savings get even bigger as more and more drivers and/or applications
are added.
Not only does SANE reduce development time and
code duplication, it also raises the level at which applications
can work. As such, it will enable applications that were previously
unheard of in the UNIX world. While SANE is primarily targeted
at a UNIX environment, the standard has been carefully designed
to make it possible to implement the API on virtually any
hardware or operating system.
While SANE is an acronym for ``Scanner
Access Now Easy'' the hope is of course that SANE is indeed
sane in the sense that it will allow easy implementation of
the API while accommodating all features required by today's
scanner hardware and applications. Specifically, SANE should
be broad enough to accommodate devices such as scanners, digital
still and video cameras, as well as virtual devices like image
file filters.
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