Hoku

 

Hoku is a Java-based software package to process multispectral image data sets
to recover writings that have been damaged or erased. It is distributed free-of-charge,
without warranty. The current version is 3.0, released on 25 May 2024.

 

New Features in version 3.0

 

The modules on the Cupboard, have been divided into three levels, Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced.

Hoku now starts in the Basic mode. To change between levels, right-click in the Cupboard and choose

the desired level. The modules available at that level and below will be available in the cupboard.

Although some modules only appear at the higher levels, they will operate on the Desktop at any level.


A new module, AccuColor, has been added at the Intermediate level. This module will read an image of a

colorchecker chart, along with the XYZ values of the color patches on the chart, to create a calibration matrix.

That matrix can be used to convert a set of reflectance images into a calibrated three-band, LAB color image.

 

The bug which was preventing a working Linux version was found. As a result, a Linux version of Hoku 3.0

is available in this release.

 

Installing Hoku

 

Hoku applications are available for the macOS, Windows, Linux. Download the Zip file
containing the appropriate installation program from the following links. Double-click
the downloaded Zip file to extract and decompress the installation folder.

 

 

Computer Platform

Download

Macintosh

InstallHoku_3.0_Mac.zip

Windows

InstallHoku_3.0_Win.zip

Linux

InstallHoku_3.0_Linux.zip

 

Full instructions on how to install Hoku are contained in the “Instructions” text file
within each folder. Installing Java on your computer is not needed for these applications.
Hoku has the necessary Java runtime code embedded within it.

 

To install the new Hoku application on a Mac or Linux, you must have system administrator
privileges on your computer. If you do not have such privileges, see if a system
administrator will load the software for you. Administrator privileges are not required
on Windows.

 

Upgrading your Hoku version

 

On Windows, to upgrade Hoku from an earlier version, you will need first to uninstall
any previous Hoku that is currently installed. On the Mac, it will ask you if it can uninstall
the previous version for you, as you install the new version.

 

Your existing data, on your Hoku Shelf and Hoku Desktop will not be changed.
All of your existing data will be available to you in the new version of Hoku.

 

Assistance

 

You may contact the author at the email address below if you have questions,
need help on a specific problem, run into problems, or have comments or suggestions.

This version of Hoku is also available on https://www.emelibrary.org/hoku/ .

 

License

 

    Copyright (C) 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025  Keith T. Knox

 

    This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify

    it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by

    the Free Software Foundation; version 2 of the License.

 

    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,

    but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of

    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the

    GNU General Public License for more details.

 

    You can read the GNU General Public License in LICENSE.txt.

    You may also obtain a copy of the license by writing to the

    Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,

    Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.

 

                                                  Keith Knox

                                                  knox@emelibrary.org

                                                  28 May 2025

   

Updated: 28 May 2025