For my next project I plan to create images with text and graphics. I'm comfortable with ruby, but interested in learning python. I figured this may be a good time because PIL looks like a great library to use. However, I don't know how it compares to what ruby has to offer (e.g. RMagick and ruby-gd). From what I can gather PIL had better documentation (does ruby-gd even have a homepage?) and more features. Just wanted to hear a few opinions to help me decide.
Thanks.
Vince
ImageMagic is a huge library and will do everything under the sun, but many report memory issues with the RMagick variant and I have personally found it to be an overkill for my needs.
As you say ruby-gd is a little thin on the ground when it comes to English documentation.... but GD is a doddle to install on post platforms and there is a little wrapper with some helpful examples called gruby thats worth a look. (If you're after alpha transparency make sure you install the latest GD lib)
For overall community blogy help, PIL's the way.