Editing TWAIN

{{Short description|Standard used in image scanning}}
{{Other uses|Twain (disambiguation)}}
{{primary sources|date=February 2013}}
{{Infobox software
| name = TWAIN
| logo = TWAIN logo.png
| logo caption = 
| screenshot = <!-- Image name is enough -->
| caption = 
| collapsible = 
| author = TWAIN Working Group
| developer = TWAIN Working Group
| released = {{Start date and age|1992|02|df=yes}}
| discontinued = 
| latest release version = 2.5 ({{Start date and age|2021|11|4|df=yes}})
| programming language = 
| operating system = [[Linux]], [[macOS]], [[Microsoft Windows]]
| platform = [[x86]], [[x86-64]], [[PowerPC]]
| size = 
| language = 
| language count = <!-- DO NOT include this parameter unless you know what it does -->
| language footnote = 
| genre = [[Application programming interface]]
| license = [[LGPL]] (Data Source Manager only)
| alexa = 
| website = {{URL|https://twain.org/}}
| standard = TWAIN
| logo_size = 200px
| logo_alt = 
| screenshot_size = 
| screenshot_alt = 
}}

'''TWAIN''' and '''TWAIN Direct''' are [[application programming interface]]s (APIs) and [[communication protocol]]s that regulate communication between [[software]] and [[digital imaging]] devices, such as [[image scanner]]s and [[digital camera]]s. TWAIN is supported on [[Microsoft Windows]], [[Linux]] and [[Mac OS X]].<ref name="24-Specification" />

The three key elements of TWAIN are:<ref name="24-Specification">{{cite web |title=TWAIN Specification Version 2.5 |url=https://twain.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/TWAIN-2.5-Specification.pdf |publisher=TWAIN Working Group|accessdate=4 November 2021}}</ref>
* Application software. For example, [[graphics software]], a fax application or a [[word processor]].
* Source manager software. The source manager software is a software library provided by the TWAIN Working Group.
* [[Device driver|Device drivers]] (referred to as "Source software" in the specification document) 

Both the application and the device driver must support TWAIN for the interface to be successfully used.

The first release was in 1992,
and it was last updated in 2021.

It was designed with the help of a number of companies from the computer industry, to try to establish a unified standard connection interface between computers and imaging devices. 

== History ==

The design of TWAIN began in January 1991. The TWAIN group was originally launched in 1992 by several members of the imaging industry, with the intention of standardizing communication between image handling software and hardware.<ref>[https://twain.org/about/ TWAIN Initiative]</ref> Review of the original TWAIN Developer's Toolkit occurred from April, 1991 through January, 1992.<ref>[http://www.twain.org/docs/?M=A TWAIN docs index] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927212506/http://www.twain.org/docs/?M=A |date=September 27, 2011 }}</ref>

On September 19, 2019, the TWAIN Working Group announced TWAIN Direct 1.0 which is a RESTful API version of the TWAIN specification.<ref>[https://twain.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/TWAIN-Direct-Press-Release-9419.pdf TWAIN Direct RESTful API introduction]</ref>

==Name origin==
The word ''TWAIN'' is not officially an [[acronym]], but it is a [[backronym]]. The official website notes that "the word TWAIN is from [[Rudyard Kipling|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 computer]]s. 

It was up-cased to TWAIN to make it more distinctive. This led people to believe it was an acronym,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Chambers|first1=Mark L.|title=PCs All-in-One For Dummies|date=2010|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=9780470908006|page=458|edition=5th}}</ref> and then to a contest to come up with an expansion. None was selected, but the entry ''Technology Without an Interesting Name'' continues to haunt the standard.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Pete Walsh|author2=Francine Spiegel|author3=Janee Aronoff|title=Photoshop Elements 2 Most Wanted|date=2013|publisher=Apress|isbn=9781430251194|page=8}}</ref><ref name=faqwhat>{{cite web|url=http://www.twainforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=10113&sid=7f0b04f65e5cc370659770f3c55e173c |title=The TWAIN Forum • View topic - What is TWAIN an acronym for? |publisher=Twainforum.org |accessdate=2013-06-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402063839/http://www.twainforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=10113&sid=7f0b04f65e5cc370659770f3c55e173c|archive-date=April 2, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> For example, the ''Encyclopedia of Information Technology'' lists "Technology Without an Interesting Name" as the official meaning of TWAIN.<ref>{{FOLDOC|TWAIN}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist |date=2007 |title=Encyclopedia of Information Technology |isbn=978-8126907526 |page=501}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Release history of the TWAIN API<ref name="TWAIN History">{{cite web |url=https://twain.org/features/ |title=TWAIN Features |publisher=TWAIN Working Group. |accessdate=4 November 2021}}</ref>
|-
! Version
! Release date
! Changes
|-
| 1.0 || February 1992 ||
*Initial release
|-
| 1.5 || May 1993 ||
*Performance enhancements
|-
| 1.6 || 5 February 1996 || 
* Page-length detection
* Buffer transfer
|-
| 1.7 || 19 August 1997 ||
*Production scanning features
|-
| 1.8 || 22 October 1998 ||
*Production scanning features omitted from v1.7 of the TWAIN specification
*Support for [[barcode]] and [[Patch Code|patch code]] control
|-
| 1.9 || 20 January 2000 || 
*[[ICC profile]]s
*Support for the [[Cocoa (API)|Cocoa]] software development API in [[Mac OS X]]
|-
| 2.0 || 22 February 2008 || 
*[[Linux]] support
*Support for the [[Win64]] version of the [[Windows API]]
*New [[open-source software|open-source]] Data Source Manager, licensed under the [[GNU Lesser General Public License|LGPL]]
*Support for [[cheque]]-scanning
|-
| 2.1 || 8 July 2009 ||
*Support for [[Windows 7]] (32- and 64-bit)
*Support for automatic color detection
|-
| 2.2 || 16 February 2012 ||
*Implemented self-certification and new mandatory features
|-
| 2.3 || 21 November 2013 ||
*Improved clarity and removed ambiguity
|-
| 2.4 || 15 December 2015 ||
*Improved clarity and removed ambiguity
|-
|2.4.2
|19 September 2019
|
* Introduction of TWAIN Direct RESTful API
|-
|-
|2.5
|4 November 2021
|
* Added Image Addressing
|-
|}

== Objectives ==

Objectives of the TWAIN Working Group and standard include:

*  Ensure image-handling software and hardware compatibility
*  Keep the specification current with the state of current software and hardware while maintaining backward compatibility
*  Provide multiple-platform support
*  Maintain and distribute a no-charge developer's toolkit
*  Ensure ease of implementation
*  Encourage widespread adoption
*  Open Source Data Source Manager
*  LGPL Open Source License
*  BSD Open Source Sample Application and Sample Data Source Application

TWAIN provides support for:

*  Production, high-speed scanning
*  [[ICC profile|ICC Color profiles]]
*  [[Digital camera]]s
*  Multiple [[operating system]] platforms including [[Windows]], [[classic Mac OS]], [[macOS]], and [[Linux]]

== TWAIN Working Group ==

Today the TWAIN standard, including the specification, data source manager and sample code, are maintained by the [[not-for-profit]] organization TWAIN Working Group.

Board and associate members of the TWAIN Working Group include:<ref>{{Cite web |title=TWAIN Working Group Membership |url=https://twain.org/membership/ |website=TWAIN Working Group}}</ref>

* [https://www.atalasoft.com/Home Atalasoft], a Kofax Company
* [https://www.dynamsoft.com Dynamsoft]
* [https://epson.com Epson]
* [http://exactcode.com ExactCODE] GmbH
* [https://scanners.us.fujitsu.com Fujitsu]
* [https://www.hp.com Hewlett-Packard]
* [https://www.icehealthsystems.com ICE Health Systems]
* [https://www.inotec.eu InoTec] GmbH
* [https://www.kodakalaris.com Kodak Alaris]
* [[Microtek]] International, Inc.
* [https://p3idtech.com P3iD Technologies Inc.]
* [https://www.pdfa.org PDF Association]
* [https://plustek.com/us Plustek]
* [https://visioneer.com Visioneer, Inc.]

== See also ==

* [[Windows Image Acquisition]]
* [[Scanner Access Now Easy]] (SANE)
* [[Image and Scanner Interface Specification]] (ISIS)

== References ==

{{reflist}}


== External links ==
* [https://twain.org/ TWAIN Working Group]
* [https://twaindirect.org/ TWAIN Direct project]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Twain}}
[[Category:Application programming interfaces]]
[[Category:Computing input devices]]
[[Category:Image scanning]]