ImageMagick: static vs dynamic

Questions and postings pertaining to the usage of ImageMagick regardless of the interface. This includes the command-line utilities, as well as the C and C++ APIs. Usage questions are like "How do I use ImageMagick to create drop shadows?".
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hknight
Posts: 32
Joined: 2007-08-02T10:16:15-07:00

ImageMagick: static vs dynamic

Post by hknight »

What factors should be taken into consideration when choosing between a static and dynamic build of ImageMagick? Are there differences in performance of processing? Are there differences in the images produced?
snibgo
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Location: England, UK

Re: ImageMagick: static vs dynamic

Post by snibgo »

There should be no differences in the images produced.

If you run multiple IM processes at the same time, the DLL versions may use memory more efficiently because (as I understand it) different programs can share the same DLL in memory, but each needs its own EXE in memory. In these days of computers with multiple GB of memory, I doubt this is significant.

There may also be performance differences for the loading of the 6MB static versions. The first time I use "convert" after a boot, there is a noticeable delay. But subsequent uses have no delay, due to caching, I suppose.

For servers, differences may be more significant, and you might need to conduct tests. For workstations, I don't think it matters.

Personally, I use the static builds.
snibgo's IM pages: im.snibgo.com
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