A graphical user‐interface and an image processing toolkit for Perl

Perl is a powerful language for writing portable programs on a wide range of platforms. In this article two stand‐alone Perl toolkits, Prima and IPA, are presented, which provide graphical user interface and image processing functionality with features not found in any other Perl toolkits. Prima is a platform‐independent Perl graphic toolkit with an object‐oriented interface. Its features include an extensive set of Perl‐coded interface elements, a wide range of image types and conversion routines, and a visual builder. IPA is an image processing toolkit based on Prima functionality, and it provides a set of common two‐dimensional operators. Prima and IPA are used as a base for biological research, where the effects of various peptide‐based preparations on neuron culture are studied. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.