Imager::ImageTypes - Internal image representation information

  use Imager;

  $img = Imager->new(); #  Empty image (size is 0 by 0)
  $img->open(file=>'lena.png',type=>'png'); # Read image from file

  $img = Imager->new(xsize=>400, ysize=>300); # RGB data

  $img = Imager->new(xsize=>400, ysize=>300,  # Grayscale
                     channels=>1);            #

  $img = Imager->new(xsize=>400, ysize=>300,  # RGB with alpha
                     channels=>4);            #

  $img = Imager->new(xsize=>200, ysize=>200,  
                     type=>'paletted');       # paletted image

  $img = Imager->new(xsize=>200, ysize=>200,  
                     bits=>16);               # 16 bits/channel rgb

  $img = Imager->new(xsize=>200, ysize=>200,  
                     bits=>'double');         # 'double' floating point
                                              #  per channel

  $img->img_set(xsize=>500, ysize=>500,       # reset the image object
                channels=>4);

  # Example getting information about an Imager object

  print "Image information:\n";
  print "Width:        ", $img->getwidth(),    "\n";
  print "Height:       ", $img->getheight(),   "\n";
  print "Channels:     ", $img->getchannels(), "\n";
  print "Bits/Channel: ", $img->bits(),        "\n";
  print "Virtual:      ", $img->virtual() ? "Yes" : "No", "\n";
  my $colorcount = $img->getcolorcount(maxcolors=>512);
        print "Actual number of colors in image: ";
  print defined($colorcount) ? $colorcount : ">512", "\n";
  print "Type:         ", $img->type(),        "\n";

  if ($img->type() eq 'direct') {
    print "Modifiable Channels: ";
    print join " ", map {
      ($img->getmask() & 1<<$_) ? $_ : ()
    } 0..$img->getchannels();
    print "\n";

  } else {
    # palette info
    my $count = $img->colorcount;  
    @colors = $img->getcolors();
    print "Palette size: $count\n";
    my $mx = @colors > 4 ? 4 : 0+@colors;
    print "First $mx entries:\n";
    for (@colors[0..$mx-1]) {
      my @res = $_->rgba();
      print "(", join(", ", @res[0..$img->getchannels()-1]), ")\n";
    }
  }

  my @tags = $img->tags();
  if (@tags) {
    print "Tags:\n";
    for(@tags) {
      print shift @$_, ": ", join " ", @$_, "\n";
    }
  } else {
    print "No tags in image\n";
  }

Imager supports various internal image representations of images. The two major classes are direct mode and paletted mode. In paletted mode an image has a numbered list of colors and the color of each pixel is determined by an index into the table. In direct mode there is no color palette and each pixel has a seperate value for red green and blue for RGB images. To complicate matters it's possible to have other color spaces than RGB, for example, gray, gray and alpha, or red, green, blue and alpha.

In addition it's possible to have direct type images with 8 bits/channel 16 bits/channel or double/channel (64 bits on many systems).

To query an existing image about it's parameters see the CWbits(), CWtype(), CWgetwidth(), CWgetheight(), CWgetchannels() and CWvirtual() methods.

The coordinate system in Imager has the origin in the upper left corner, see Imager::Draw for details.

new

  $img = Imager->new();
  $img->read(file=>"alligator.ppm") or die $img->errstr;

Here CWnew() creates an empty image with width and height of zero. It's only useful for creating an Imager object to call the read() method on later.

  %opts = (xsize=>300, ysize=>200);
  $img = Imager->new(%opts); # create direct mode RGBA image
  $img = Imager->new(%opts, channels=>4); # create direct mode RGBA image

The parameters for new are:

*

CWxsize, CWysize - Defines the width and height in pixels of the image. These must be positive. If not supplied then only placeholder object is created, which can be supplied to the CWread() or CWimg_set() methods.

*

CWchannels - The number of channels for the image. Default 3. Valid values are from 1 to 4.

*

CWbits - The storage type for samples in the image. Default: 8. Valid values are:

*

CW8 - One byte per sample. 256 discrete values.

*

CW16 - 16-bits per sample, 65536 discrete values.

*

CWdouble - one C double per sample. Note: you can use any Imager function on any sample size image. Paletted images always use 8 bits/sample.

*

CWtype - either CW'direct' or CW'paletted'. Default: CW'direct'. Direct images store color values for each pixel. Paletted images keep a table of up to 256 colors called the palette, each pixel is represented as an index into that table. In most cases when working with Imager you will want to use the CWdirect image type. If you draw on a CWpaletted image with a color not in the image's palette then Imager will transparently convert it to a CWdirect image.

*

CWmaxcolors - the maximum number of colors in a paletted image. Default: 256. This must be in the range 1 through 256. In the simplest case just supply the width and height of the image:

  # 8 bit/sample, RGB image
  my $img = Imager->new(xsize => $width, ysize => $height);

or if you want an alpha channel:

  # 8 bits/sample, RGBA image
  my $img = Imager->new(xsize => $width, ysize => $height, channels=>4);

Note that it is possible for image creation to fail, for example if channels is out of range, or if the image would take too much memory. To create paletted images, set the 'type' parameter to 'paletted':

  $img = Imager->new(xsize=>200, ysize=>200, type=>'paletted');

which creates an image with a maxiumum of 256 colors, which you can change by supplying the CWmaxcolors parameter. For improved color precision you can use the bits parameter to specify 16 bit per channel:

  $img = Imager->new(xsize=>200, ysize=>200,
                     channels=>3, bits=>16);

or for even more precision:

  $img = Imager->new(xsize=>200, ysize=>200,
                     channels=>3, bits=>'double');

to get an image that uses a double for each channel. Note that as of this writing all functions should work on images with more than 8-bits/channel, but many will only work at only 8-bit/channel precision. If you want an empty Imager object to call the read() method on, just call new() with no parameters:

  my $img = Imager->new;
  $img->read(file=>$filename)
    or die $img->errstr;

img_set

img_set destroys the image data in the object and creates a new one with the given dimensions and channels. For a way to convert image data between formats see the CWconvert() method.

  $img->img_set(xsize=>500, ysize=>500, channels=>4);

This takes exactly the same parameters as the new() method.

getwidth

  print "Image width: ", $img->getwidth(), "\n";

The CWgetwidth() method returns the width of the image. This value comes either from CWnew() with xsize,ysize parameters or from reading data from a file with CWread(). If called on an image that has no valid data in it like CWImager->new() returns, the return value of CWgetwidth() is undef.

getheight

  print "Image height: ", $img->getheight(), "\n";

Same details apply as for getwidth.

getchannels

  print "Image has ",$img->getchannels(), " channels\n";

To get the number of channels in an image CWgetchannels() is used.

getcolorcount

It is possible to have Imager find the number of colors in an image by with the CWgetcolorcount() method. It requires memory proportionally to the number of colors in the image so it is possible to have it stop sooner if you only need to know if there are more than a certain number of colors in the image. If there are more colors than asked for the function return undef. Examples:

  if (defined($img->getcolorcount(maxcolors=>512)) {
    print "Less than 512 colors in image\n";
  }

bits

The bits() method retrieves the number of bits used to represent each channel in a pixel, 8 for a normal image, 16 for 16-bit image and 'double' for a double/channel image.

  if ($img->bits eq 8) {
    # fast but limited to 8-bits/sample
  }
  else {
    # slower but more precise
  }

type

The type() method returns either 'direct' for truecolor images or 'paletted' for paletted images.

  if ($img->type eq 'paletted') {
    # print the palette
    for my $color ($img->getcolors) {
      print join(",", $color->rgba), "\n";
    }
  }

virtual

The virtual() method returns non-zero if the image contains no actual pixels, for example masked images. This may also be used for non-native Imager images in the future, for example, for an Imager object that draws on an SDL surface.

Direct images store the color value directly for each pixel in the image.

getmask

  @rgbanames = qw( red green blue alpha );
  my $mask = $img->getmask();
  print "Modifiable channels:\n";
  for (0..$img->getchannels()-1) {
    print $rgbanames[$_],"\n" if $mask & 1<<$_;
  }

CWgetmask() is used to fetch the current channel mask. The mask determines what channels are currently modifiable in the image. The channel mask is an integer value, if the i-th lsb is set the i-th channel is modifiable. eg. a channel mask of 0x5 means only channels 0 and 2 are writable.

setmask

  $mask = $img->getmask();
  $img->setmask(mask=>8);     # modify alpha only

    ...

  $img->setmask(mask=>$mask); # restore previous mask

CWsetmask() is used to set the channel mask of the image. See getmask for details.

Paletted images keep an array of up to 256 colors, and each pixel is stored as an index into that array.

In general you can work with paletted images in the same way as RGB images, except that if you attempt to draw to a paletted image with a color that is not in the image's palette, the image will be converted to an RGB image. This means that drawing on a paletted image with anti-aliasing enabled will almost certainly convert the image to RGB.

Palette management takes place through CWaddcolors(), CWsetcolors(), CWgetcolors() and CWfindcolor():

addcolors

You can add colors to a paletted image with the addcolors() method:

   my @colors = ( Imager::Color->new(255, 0, 0), 
                  Imager::Color->new(0, 255, 0) );
   my $index = $img->addcolors(colors=>\@colors);

The return value is the index of the first color added, or undef if adding the colors would overflow the palette. The only parameter is CWcolors which must be a reference to an array of Imager::Color objects.

setcolors

  $img->setcolors(start=>$start, colors=>\@colors);

Once you have colors in the palette you can overwrite them with the CWsetcolors() method: CWsetcolors() returns true on success. Parameters:

*

start - the first index to be set. Default: 0

*

colors - reference to an array of Imager::Color objects.

getcolors

To retrieve existing colors from the palette use the getcolors() method:

  # get the whole palette
  my @colors = $img->getcolors();
  # get a single color
  my $color = $img->getcolors(start=>$index);
  # get a range of colors
  my @colors = $img->getcolors(start=>$index, count=>$count);

findcolor

To quickly find a color in the palette use findcolor():

  my $index = $img->findcolor(color=>$color);

which returns undef on failure, or the index of the color. Parameter:

*

color - an Imager::Color object.

colorcount

Returns the number of colors in the image's palette:

  my $count = $img->colorcount;

maxcolors

Returns the maximum size of the image's palette.

  my $maxcount = $img->maxcolors;

Warning: if you draw on a paletted image with colors that aren't in the palette, the image will be internally converted to a normal image.

to_paletted

You can create a new paletted image from an existing image using the to_paletted() method:

 $palimg = $img->to_paletted(\%opts)

where CW%opts contains the options specified under Quantization options.

  # convert to a paletted image using the web palette
  # use the closest color to each pixel
  my $webimg = $img->to_paletted({ make_colors => 'webmap' });

  # convert to a paletted image using a fairly optimal palette
  # use an error diffusion dither to try to reduce the average error
  my $optimag = $img->to_paletted({ make_colors => 'mediancut',
                                    translate => 'errdiff' });

to_rgb8

You can convert a paletted image (or any image) to an 8-bit/channel RGB image with:

  $rgbimg = $img->to_rgb8;

No parameters.

masked

Creates a masked image. A masked image lets you create an image proxy object that protects parts of the underlying target image. In the discussion below there are 3 image objects involved:

*

the masked image - the return value of the masked() method. Any writes to this image are written to the target image, assuming the mask image allows it.

*

the mask image - the image that protects writes to the target image. Supplied as the CWmask parameter to the masked() method.

*

the target image - the image you called the masked() method on. Any writes to the masked image end up on this image. Parameters:

*

mask - the mask image. If not supplied then all pixels in the target image are writable. On each write to the masked image, only pixels that have non-zero in chennel 0 of the mask image will be written to the original image. Default: none, if not supplied then no masking is done, but the other parameters are still honored.

*

left, top - the offset of writes to the target image. eg. if you attempt to set pixel (x,y) in the masked image, then pixel (x+left, y+top) will be written to in the original image.

*

bottom, right - the bottom right of the area in the target available from the masked image. Masked images let you control which pixels are modified in an underlying image. Where the first channel is completely black in the mask image, writes to the underlying image are ignored. For example, given a base image called CW$img:

  my $mask = Imager->new(xsize=>$img->getwidth, ysize=>$img->getheight,
                         channels=>1);
  # ... draw something on the mask
  my $maskedimg = $img->masked(mask=>$mask);

  # now draw on $maskedimg and it will only draw on areas of $img 
  # where $mask is non-zero in channel 0.

You can specifiy the region of the underlying image that is masked using the left, top, right and bottom options. If you just want a subset of the image, without masking, just specify the region without specifying a mask. For example:

  # just work with a 100x100 region of $img
  my $maskedimg = $img->masked(left => 100, top=>100,
                               right=>200, bottom=>200);

Image tags contain meta-data about the image, ie. information not stored as pixels of the image.

At the perl level each tag has a name or code and a value, which is an integer or an arbitrary string. An image can contain more than one tag with the same name or code, but having more than one tag with the same name is discouraged.

You can retrieve tags from an image using the tags() method, you can get all of the tags in an image, as a list of array references, with the code or name of the tag followed by the value of the tag.

tags

Retrieve tags from the image. With no parameters, retrieves a list array references, each containing a name and value: all tags in the image:

  # get a list of ( [ name1 => value1 ], [ name2 => value2 ] ... )
  my @alltags = $img->tags;
  print $_->[0], ":", $_->[1], "\n" for @all_tags;

  # or put it in a hash, but this will lose duplicates
  my %alltags = map @$_, $img->tags;

in scalar context this returns the number of tags:

  my $num_tags = $img->tags;

or you can get all tags values for the given name:

  my @namedtags = $img->tags(name => $name);

in scalar context this returns the first tag of that name:

  my $firstnamed = $img->tags(name => $name);

or a given code:

  my @tags = $img->tags(code=>$code);

addtag

You can add tags using the addtag() method, either by name:

  my $index = $img->addtag(name=>$name, value=>$value);

or by code:

  my $index = $img->addtag(code=>$code, value=>$value);

deltag

You can remove tags with the deltag() method, either by index:

  $img->deltag(index=>$index);

or by name:

  $img->deltag(name=>$name);

or by code:

  $img->deltag(code=>$code);

In each case deltag() returns the number of tags deleted.

settag

settag() replaces any existing tags with a new tag. This is equivalent to calling deltag() then addtag().

Many tags are only meaningful for one format. GIF looping information is pretty useless for JPEG for example. Thus, many tags are set by only a single reader or used by a single writer. For a complete list of format specific tags see Imager::Files.

Since tags are a relatively new addition their use is not wide spread but eventually we hope to have all the readers for various formats set some standard information.

i_xres

i_yres

The spatial resolution of the image in pixels per inch. If the image format uses a different scale, eg. pixels per meter, then this value is converted. A floating point number stored as a string.

i_aspect_only

If this is non-zero then the values in i_xres and i_yres are treated as a ratio only. If the image format does not support aspect ratios then this is scaled so the smaller value is 72dpi.

i_incomplete

If this tag is present then the whole image could not be read. This isn't implemented for all images yet, and may not be.

i_format

The file format this file was read from.

These options can be specified when calling write_multi() for gif files, when writing a single image with the gifquant option set to 'gen', or for direct calls to i_writegif_gen and i_writegif_callback.

colors

A arrayref of colors that are fixed. Note that some color generators will ignore this.

transp

The type of transparency processing to perform for images with an alpha channel where the output format does not have a proper alpha channel (eg. gif). This can be any of:

none

No transparency processing is done. (default)

threshold

Pixels more transparent that tr_threshold are rendered as transparent.

errdiff

An error diffusion dither is done on the alpha channel. Note that this is independent of the translation performed on the colour channels, so some combinations may cause undesired artifacts.

ordered

The ordered dither specified by tr_orddith is performed on the alpha channel. This will only be used if the image has an alpha channel, and if there is space in the palette for a transparency colour.

tr_threshold

The highest alpha value at which a pixel will be made transparent when transp is 'threshold'. (0-255, default 127)

tr_errdiff

The type of error diffusion to perform on the alpha channel when transp is 'errdiff'. This can be any defined error diffusion type except for custom (see errdiff below).

tr_orddith

The type of ordered dither to perform on the alpha channel when transp is 'ordered'. Possible values are:

random

A semi-random map is used. The map is the same each time.

dot8

8x8 dot dither.

dot4

4x4 dot dither

hline

horizontal line dither.

vline

vertical line dither.

slashline

diagonal line dither

'\line'

backline

diagonal line dither

tiny

dot matrix dither (currently the default). This is probably the best for displays (like web pages).

custom

A custom dither matrix is used - see tr_map

tr_map

When tr_orddith is custom this defines an 8 x 8 matrix of integers representing the transparency threshold for pixels corresponding to each position. This should be a 64 element array where the first 8 entries correspond to the first row of the matrix. Values should be betweern 0 and 255.

make_colors

Defines how the quantization engine will build the palette(s). Currently this is ignored if 'translate' is 'giflib', but that may change. Possible values are:

none

Only colors supplied in 'colors' are used.

webmap

The web color map is used (need url here.)

addi

The original code for generating the color map (Addi's code) is used.

mediancut

Uses a mediancut algorithm, faster than 'addi', but not as good a result. Other methods may be added in the future.

colors

A arrayref containing Imager::Color objects, which represents the starting set of colors to use in translating the images. webmap will ignore this. The final colors used are copied back into this array (which is expanded if necessary.)

max_colors

The maximum number of colors to use in the image.

translate

The method used to translate the RGB values in the source image into the colors selected by make_colors. Note that make_colors is ignored whene translate is 'giflib'. Possible values are:

giflib

The giflib native quantization function is used.

closest

The closest color available is used.

perturb

The pixel color is modified by perturb, and the closest color is chosen.

errdiff

An error diffusion dither is performed. It's possible other transate values will be added.

errdiff

The type of error diffusion dither to perform. These values (except for custom) can also be used in tr_errdif.

floyd

Floyd-Steinberg dither

jarvis

Jarvis, Judice and Ninke dither

stucki

Stucki dither

custom

Custom. If you use this you must also set errdiff_width, errdiff_height and errdiff_map.

errdiff_width

errdiff_height

errdiff_orig

errdiff_map

When translate is 'errdiff' and errdiff is 'custom' these define a custom error diffusion map. errdiff_width and errdiff_height define the size of the map in the arrayref in errdiff_map. errdiff_orig is an integer which indicates the current pixel position in the top row of the map.

perturb

When translate is 'perturb' this is the magnitude of the random bias applied to each channel of the pixel before it is looked up in the color table.

$Revision: 930 $

Tony Cook, Arnar M. Hrafnkelsson

Imager(3), Imager::Files(3), Imager::Draw(3), Imager::Color(3), Imager::Fill(3), Imager::Font(3), Imager::Transformations(3), Imager::Engines(3), Imager::Filters(3), Imager::Expr(3), Imager::Matrix2d(3), Imager::Fountain(3)