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| TWAIN | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Original author | TWAIN Working Group |
| Developer | TWAIN Working Group |
| Initial release | February 1992; 34 years ago (1992-02) |
| Stable release | 2.5 (4 November 2021; 4 years ago (2021-11-04)) |
| Operating system | Linux,macOS,Microsoft Windows |
| Platform | x86,x86-64,PowerPC |
| Standard | TWAIN |
| Type | Application programming interface |
| License | LGPL (Data Source Manager only) |
| Website | twain |
TWAIN andTWAIN Direct areapplication programming interfaces (APIs) andcommunication protocols that regulate communication betweensoftware anddigital imaging devices, such asimage scanners anddigital cameras. TWAIN is supported onMicrosoft Windows,Linux andMac OS X.[1]
The three key elements of TWAIN are:[1]
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.
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.[2] Review of the original TWAIN Developer's Toolkit occurred from April, 1991 through January, 1992.[3]
On September 19, 2019, the TWAIN Working Group announced TWAIN Direct 1.0 which is a RESTful API version of the TWAIN specification.[4]
The wordTWAIN is not officially anacronym, but it is abackronym. The official website notes that "the word TWAIN is fromKipling's "The Ballad of East and West" — '...and never the twain shall meet...' — reflecting the difficulty, at the time, of connecting scanners andpersonal computers.
It was up-cased to TWAIN to make it more distinctive. This led people to believe it was an acronym,[5] and then to a contest to come up with an expansion. None was selected, but the entryTechnology Without an Interesting Name continues to haunt the standard.[6][7] For example, theEncyclopedia of Information Technology lists "Technology Without an Interesting Name" as the official meaning of TWAIN.[8][9]
| Version | Release date | Changes |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | February 1992 |
|
| 1.5 | May 1993 |
|
| 1.6 | 5 February 1996 |
|
| 1.7 | 19 August 1997 |
|
| 1.8 | 22 October 1998 |
|
| 1.9 | 20 January 2000 |
|
| 2.0 | 22 February 2008 |
|
| 2.1 | 8 July 2009 |
|
| 2.2 | 16 February 2012 |
|
| 2.3 | 21 November 2013 |
|
| 2.4 | 15 December 2015 |
|
| 2.4.2 | 19 September 2019 |
|
| 2.5 | 4 November 2021 |
|
Objectives of the TWAIN Working Group and standard include:
TWAIN provides support for:
Today the TWAIN standard, including the specification, data source manager and sample code, are maintained by thenot-for-profit organization TWAIN Working Group.
Board and associate members of the TWAIN Working Group include:[11]