Bug#888278: ITP: libheif -- an ISO/IEC 23008-12:2017 HEIF file format decoder

[Joachim Bauch <bauch@struktur.de>]

Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
Owner: Joachim Bauch <bauch@struktur.de>

* Package name    : libheif
  Version         : 1.0.0
  Upstream Author : struktur AG <opensource@struktur.de>
* URL             : https://github.com/strukturag/libheif
* License         : LGPL (library), GPL (example applications)
  Programming Lang: C, C++
  Description     : libheif is an ISO/IEC 23008-12:2017 HEIF file format decoder

HEIF is a new image file format employing HEVC (h.265) image coding for the
best compression ratios currently possible. It is used for example by the
iPhone camera app.

libheif makes use of libde265 (already packaged for Debian) for the actual
image decoding. Alternative codecs for, e.g., AVC and JPEG can be provided
as plugins.

The library has a C API for easy integration and wide language support.

Example applications are included that can convert HEIF images to JPEG or
PNG and show the internal structure of HEIF files.

We also have a GIMP plugin ready that uses libheif and adds support for
loading HEIF images (a separate ITP will be filed for that later). In the
future, plugins for other applications will be available / implemented
and having libheif in Debian will help in rolling everything out.

Version 1.0.0 is planned to be released next week, but we are looking
to get some initial feedback in case we need to change something upstream
for better / easier packaging.

As the upstream author, we (struktur AG) will maintain the package and
update it whenever new versions are released.

We will need a sponsor for the package and I will file a separate RFS for
that.