TWAIN
<graphics, standard> An image capture API for Microsoft Windows and Apple
Macintosh operating systems. The standard was first released in 1992, and is
currently ratified at version 1.9 as of January 2000. TWAIN is typically used as
an interface between image processing software and a scanner or digital camera.
The word TWAIN is from Kipling's "The Ballad of East and West" - "...and never
the twain shall meet...", reflecting the difficulty, at the time, of connecting
scanners and personal computers. It was up-cased to TWAIN to make it more
distinctive. This led people to believe it was an acronym, and then to a contest
to come up with an expansion. None were selected, but the entry "Technology
Without An Interesting Name" continues to haunt the standard.
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(2000-02-25)
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