# MagickWand for Ruby 0.1.0

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/magickwand-for-ruby-0-1-0/169300>\
**Category:** Ruby\
**Created:** [June 2, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/magickwand-for-ruby-0-1-0/169300 "2009-06-02T03:36:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![timhunter](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@timhunter](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/timhunter)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/magickwand-for-ruby-0-1-0/169300/1 "2009-06-02T03:36:29Z")

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I’ve just uploaded the first beta release of MagickWand for Ruby, my new  
binding to ImageMagick. MagickWand for Ruby is a complete rethinking of  
RMagick. I call it “RMagick rebooted.”

MagickWand for Ruby objects are managed by Ruby just like any other  
object. There is no need for your scripts run GC or call a special  
method to destroy them.

This release is the first beta so there’s only 50 or so methods in the  
Wand class. I’m planning to add a Pixel class for pixel access and a  
Drawing class for 2D drawings but there’s nothing there yet.

MagickWand for Ruby requires a _very_ recent release of ImageMagick,  
6.5.0 or later.

If you’re familar with RMagick probably you’ve got some questions.

1. Is it easier to install than RMagick? No, it’s exactly the same. You  
have to install ImageMagick and its delegate libraries just like you do  
for RMagick. The MagickWand for Ruby gem does not install any  
documentation, though, so it installs faster than RMagick.

2. Given that we’ve already got RMagick and MiniMagick, do we really  
need another binding to ImageMagick? I like to think that MagickWand is  
to RMagick what Heath Ledger’s Joker is to Jack Nicholson’s Joker.

3. Is this the end of RMagick? Absolutely not. I’ve supported RMagick  
for over 6 years. I don’t plan on stopping bug fixes or enhancements. In  
fact, now that MagickWand is released my next task is a new release of  
RMagick.

Everything there is to know about MagickWand for Ruby is at  
[http://magickwand.rubyforge.org](http://magickwand.rubyforge.org).

Report bugs, ask questions, whatever, at the usual locations on  
RubyForge [[http://rubyforge.org/projects/magickwand/](http://rubyforge.org/projects/magickwand/)]. If you do try it  
out, you’d be doing me a great favor by dropping me a line to say so.

Credits: Thanks to Luis L. for rake-compiler, and Thomas L. for  
webgen.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![timhunter](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@timhunter](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/timhunter)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/magickwand-for-ruby-0-1-0/169300/2 "2009-06-02T03:50:45Z")

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Why was MagickWand created?

I mean quite obviously you must think that MagickWand will be better  
than the older RMagick interface, I am just curious what has motivated  
you. I looked at the website but I did not find this information. 🙂

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![timhunter](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@timhunter](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/timhunter)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 11:44pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/magickwand-for-ruby-0-1-0/169300/3 "2009-06-02T23:44:55Z")

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Marc H. wrote:

> Why was MagickWand created?
> 
> I mean quite obviously you must think that MagickWand will be better  
> than the older RMagick interface, I am just curious what has motivated  
> you. I looked at the website but I did not find this information. 🙂

Well, I didn’t think that my “motivation” would make any difference to  
people who are checking out MagickWand for Ruby. But since you  
asked…Who doesn’t want a do-over? ImageMagick development is in a lull  
and that gives me time to work on a new project. I can’t change the  
things I don’t like about RMagick because that would break existing  
code, so I’m taking the opportunity to write an entirely new library.

Compare MagickWand for Ruby to RMagick. The things that are different in  
MagickWand are the things I don’t like about RMagick. The things that  
are the same are the things I do like.

Also there are some differences that affect only me. I think the code  
for MagickWand for Ruby will be easier to maintain. The RMagick doc,  
which I maintain by hand, is a pain to keep up, so the MagickWand for  
Ruby doc is automatically generated by webgen.