402 lines
21 KiB
Plaintext
402 lines
21 KiB
Plaintext
The Independent JPEG Group's JPEG software
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==========================================
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README for release 4 of 10-Dec-92
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=================================
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This distribution contains the fourth public release of the Independent JPEG
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Group's free JPEG software. You are welcome to redistribute this software and
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to use it for any purpose, subject to the conditions under LEGAL ISSUES, below.
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For installation instructions, see file SETUP.
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For usage instructions, see file USAGE (or the cjpeg.1 and djpeg.1 manual
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pages; but USAGE contains a "hints" section not found in the manual pages).
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Useful information can also be found in the JPEG FAQ (Frequently Asked
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Questions) article; see ARCHIVE LOCATIONS below to obtain the FAQ article.
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This software is still undergoing revision. Updated versions may be obtained
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by FTP or UUCP to UUNET and other archive sites; see ARCHIVE LOCATIONS below
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for details.
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Serious users of this software (particularly those incorporating it into
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larger programs) should contact jpeg-info@uunet.uu.net to be added to our
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electronic mailing list. Mailing list members are notified of updates and
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have a chance to participate in technical discussions, etc.
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This software is the work of Tom Lane, Philip Gladstone, Luis Ortiz,
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Lee Crocker, Ge' Weijers, and other members of the Independent JPEG Group.
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DISCLAIMER
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==========
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THIS SOFTWARE IS NOT COMPLETE NOR FULLY DEBUGGED. It is not guaranteed to be
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useful for anything, nor to be compatible with subsequent releases, nor to be
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an accurate implementation of the JPEG standard. (See LEGAL ISSUES for even
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more disclaimers.)
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Despite that, we believe that this software is pretty good, and if you find
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any problems with it, we'd like to know about them. Please report problems
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by e-mail to jpeg-info@uunet.uu.net.
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WHAT'S HERE
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===========
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This distribution contains C software to implement JPEG image compression and
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decompression. JPEG (pronounced "jay-peg") is a standardized compression
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method for full-color and gray-scale images. JPEG is intended for compressing
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"real-world" scenes; cartoons and other non-realistic images are not its
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strong suit. JPEG is lossy, meaning that the output image is not necessarily
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identical to the input image. Hence you must not use JPEG if you have to have
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identical output bits. However, on typical images of real-world scenes, very
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good compression levels can be obtained with no visible change, and amazingly
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high compression levels are possible if you can tolerate a low-quality image.
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For more details, see the references, or just experiment with various
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compression settings.
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The software implements JPEG baseline and extended-sequential compression
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processes. Provision is made for supporting all variants of these processes,
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although some uncommon parameter settings aren't implemented yet. For legal
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reasons, we are not distributing code for the arithmetic-coding process; see
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LEGAL ISSUES. At present we have made no provision for supporting the
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progressive, hierarchical, or lossless processes defined in the standard.
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In order to support file conversion and viewing software, we have included
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considerable functionality beyond the bare JPEG coding/decoding capability;
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for example, the color quantization modules are not strictly part of JPEG
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decoding, but they are essential for output to colormapped file formats or
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colormapped displays. These extra functions can be compiled out if not
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required for a particular application.
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The emphasis in designing this software has been on achieving portability and
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flexibility, while also making it fast enough to be useful. In particular,
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the software is not intended to be read as a tutorial on JPEG. (See the
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REFERENCES section for introductory material.) While we hope that the entire
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package will someday be industrial-strength code, much remains to be done in
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performance tuning and in improving the capabilities of individual modules.
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This software can be used on several levels:
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* As canned software for JPEG compression and decompression. Just edit the
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Makefile and configuration files as needed (see file SETUP), compile and go.
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Members of the Independent JPEG Group will improve the out-of-the-box
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functionality and speed as time goes on.
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* As the basis for other JPEG programs. For example, you could incorporate
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the decompressor into a general image viewing package by replacing the
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output module with write-to-screen functions. For an implementation on
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specific hardware, you might want to replace some of the inner loops with
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assembly code. For a non-command-line-driven system, you might want a
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different user interface. (Members of the group will be producing Macintosh
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and Amiga versions with more appropriate user interfaces, for example.)
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* As a toolkit for experimentation with JPEG and JPEG-like algorithms. Most
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of the individual decisions you might want to mess with are packaged up into
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separate modules. For example, the details of color-space conversion and
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subsampling techniques are each localized in one compressor and one
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decompressor module. You'd probably also want to extend the user interface
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to give you more detailed control over the JPEG compression parameters.
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In particular, we welcome the use of this software as a component of commercial
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products; no royalty is required.
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ARCHIVE LOCATIONS
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=================
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The "official" archive site for this software is ftp.uu.net (Internet
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address 137.39.1.9 or 192.48.96.9). The most recent released version can
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always be found there in directory graphics/jpeg. This particular version
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will be archived as jpegsrc.v4.tar.Z. If you are on the Internet, you can
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retrieve files from UUNET by anonymous FTP. If you don't have FTP access,
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UUNET's archives are also available via UUCP; contact postmaster@uunet.uu.net
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for information on retrieving files that way.
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Numerous Internet sites maintain copies of the UUNET files; in particular,
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you can probably find a copy at any site that archives comp.sources.misc
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submissions. However, only ftp.uu.net is guaranteed to have the latest
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official version.
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You can also obtain this software from CompuServe, in the GRAPHSUPPORT forum
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(GO PICS), library 15; this version will be file jpsrc4.zip. Again,
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CompuServe is not guaranteed to have the very latest version.
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The JPEG FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) article is a useful source of
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general information about JPEG. It is updated constantly and therefore
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is not included in this distribution. The FAQ is posted every two weeks
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to Usenet newsgroups comp.graphics, news.answers, and other groups. You
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can always obtain the latest version from the news.answers archive at
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rtfm.mit.edu (18.172.1.27). By FTP, fetch /pub/usenet/news.answers/jpeg-faq.
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If you don't have FTP, send e-mail to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with body
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"send usenet/news.answers/jpeg-faq".
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SUPPORTING SOFTWARE
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===================
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You will probably want Jef Poskanzer's PBMPLUS image software, which provides
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many useful operations on PPM-format image files. In particular, it can
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convert PPM images to and from a wide range of other formats. You can FTP
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this free software from export.lcs.mit.edu (contrib/pbmplus*.tar.Z) or
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ftp.ee.lbl.gov (pbmplus*.tar.Z). Unfortunately PBMPLUS is not nearly as
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portable as the JPEG software is; you are likely to have difficulty making it
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work on any non-Unix machine.
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If you are using X Windows you might want to use the xv or xloadimage viewers
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to save yourself the trouble of converting PPM to some other format. Both of
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these can be found in the contrib directory at export.lcs.mit.edu. Actually,
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xv version 2.00 and up incorporates our software and thus can read and write
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JPEG files directly. (NOTE: since xv internally reduces all images to 8
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bits/pixel, a JPEG file written by xv will not be very high quality; and xv
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cannot fully exploit a 24-bit display. These problems are expected to go away
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in the next xv release, planned for early 1993. In the meantime, use
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xloadimage for 24-bit displays.)
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For DOS machines, Lee Crocker's free Piclab program is a useful companion to
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the JPEG software. The latest version, currently 1.91, is available by FTP
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from SIMTEL20 and its various mirror sites, file <msdos.graphics>piclb191.zip.
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CompuServe also has it, in the same library as the JPEG software.
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SOFTWARE THAT'S NO HELP AT ALL
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==============================
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Handmade Software's shareware PC program GIF2JPG produces files that are
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totally incompatible with our programs. They use a proprietary format that is
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an amalgam of GIF and JPEG representations. However, you can force GIF2JPG
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to produce compatible files with its -j switch, and their decompression
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program JPG2GIF can read our files (at least ones produced with our default
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option settings).
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Some commercial JPEG implementations are also incompatible as of this writing,
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especially programs released before summer 1991. The root of the problem is
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that the ISO JPEG committee failed to specify a concrete file format. Some
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vendors "filled in the blanks" on their own, creating proprietary formats that
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no one else could read. (For example, none of the early commercial JPEG
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implementations for the Macintosh were able to exchange compressed files.)
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The file format we have adopted is called JFIF (see REFERENCES). This format
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has been agreed to by a number of major commercial JPEG vendors, and we expect
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that it will become the de facto standard. JFIF is a minimal representation;
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work is also going forward to incorporate JPEG compression into the TIFF 6.0
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standard, for use in "high end" applications that need to record a lot of
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additional data about an image. We intend to support TIFF 6.0 in the future.
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We hope that these two formats will be sufficient and that other, incompatible
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JPEG file formats will not proliferate.
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Indeed, part of the reason for developing and releasing this free software is
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to help force rapid convergence to de facto standards for JPEG file formats.
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SUPPORT STANDARD, NON-PROPRIETARY FORMATS: demand JFIF or TIFF 6.0!
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USING JPEG AS A SUBROUTINE IN A LARGER PROGRAM
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==============================================
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You can readily incorporate the JPEG compression and decompression routines in
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a larger program. The file example.c provides a skeleton of the interface
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routines you'll need for this purpose. Essentially, you replace jcmain.c (for
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compression) and/or jdmain.c (for decompression) with your own code. Note
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that the fewer JPEG options you allow the user to twiddle, the less code you
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need; all the default options are set up automatically. (Alternately, if you
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know a lot about JPEG or have a special application, you may want to twiddle
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the default options even more extensively than jcmain/jdmain do.)
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Most likely, you will want the uncompressed image to come from memory (for
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compression) or go to memory or the screen (for decompression). For this
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purpose you must provide image reading or writing routines that match the
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interface used by the image file I/O modules (jrdXXX or jwrXXX); again,
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example.c shows a skeleton of what is required. In this situation, you
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won't need any of the non-JPEG image file I/O modules used by cjpeg and djpeg.
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By default, any error detected inside the JPEG routines will cause a message
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to be printed on stderr, followed by exit(). You can override this behavior
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by supplying your own message-printing and/or error-exit routines; again,
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example.c shows how.
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We recommend you create libjpeg.a as shown in the Makefile, then link that
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with your surrounding program. (If your linker is at all reasonable, only the
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code you actually need will get loaded.) Include the files jconfig.h and
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jpegdata.h in C files that need to call the JPEG routines.
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CAUTION: some people have tried to compile JPEG and their surrounding code
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with different compilers, e.g., cc for JPEG and c++ or gcc for the rest. This
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is a Real Bad Move and you will deserve what happens to you if you try it.
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(Hint: the parameter structures can get laid out differently with no warning.)
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Read our "architecture" file for more info. If it seems to you that the
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software structure doesn't accommodate what you want to do, please contact
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the authors.
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Beginning with version 3, we will endeavor to hold the interface described by
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example.c constant, so that you can plug in updated versions of the JPEG code
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just by recompiling. However, we can't guarantee this, especially if you
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choose to twiddle any JPEG options not listed in example.c. Check the
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CHANGELOG when installing any new version, and compare example.c against the
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prior version. Recompile your calling software (don't just relink), as we may
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add or subtract fields in the parameter structures.
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REFERENCES
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==========
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We highly recommend reading one or more of these references before trying to
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understand the innards of any JPEG software.
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The best short technical introduction to the JPEG compression algorithm is
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Wallace, Gregory K. "The JPEG Still Picture Compression Standard",
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Communications of the ACM, April 1991 (vol. 34 no. 4), pp. 30-44.
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(Adjacent articles in that issue discuss MPEG motion picture compression,
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applications of JPEG, and related topics.) If you don't have the CACM issue
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handy, a PostScript file containing a revised version of the article is
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available at ftp.uu.net, graphics/jpeg/wallace.ps.Z. The file (actually a
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preprint for an article to appear in IEEE Trans. Consumer Electronics) omits
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the sample images that appeared in CACM, but it includes corrections and some
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added material. Note: the Wallace article is copyright ACM and IEEE, and it
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may not be used for commercial purposes.
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A somewhat less technical, more leisurely introduction to JPEG can be found in
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"The Data Compression Book" by Mark Nelson, published by M&T Books (Redwood
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City, CA), 1991, ISBN 1-55851-216-0. This book provides good explanations and
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example C code for a multitude of compression methods including JPEG. It is
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an excellent source if you are comfortable reading C code but don't know much
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about data compression in general. The book's JPEG sample code is far from
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industrial-strength, but when you are ready to look at a full implementation,
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you've got one here...
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A new textbook about JPEG is "JPEG Still Image Data Compression Standard" by
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William B. Pennebaker and Joan L. Mitchell, published by Van Nostrand
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Reinhold, 1993, ISBN 0-442-01272-1. Price US$59.95. This book includes the
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complete text of the ISO JPEG standards (DIS 10918-1 and draft DIS 10918-2).
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This is by far the most complete exposition of JPEG in existence, and I highly
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recommend it. If you read the entire book, you will probably know more about
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JPEG than I do.
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The JPEG standard itself is not available electronically; you must order a
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paper copy through ISO. (Unless you are concerned about having a certified
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official copy, I recommend buying the Pennebaker and Mitchell book instead;
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it's much cheaper and includes a great deal of useful explanatory material.)
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In the US, copies of the standard may be ordered from ANSI Sales at (212)
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642-4900. It's not cheap: as of 1992, Part 1 is $95 and Part 2 is $47, plus
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7% shipping/handling. The standard is divided into two parts, Part 1 being
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the actual specification, while Part 2 covers compliance testing methods.
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As of early 1992, Part 1 has Draft International Standard status. It is
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titled "Digital Compression and Coding of Continuous-tone Still Images, Part
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1: Requirements and guidelines" and has document number ISO/IEC DIS 10918-1.
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Part 2 is still at Committee Draft status. It is titled "Digital Compression
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and Coding of Continuous-tone Still Images, Part 2: Compliance testing" and
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has document number ISO/IEC CD 10918-2. (NOTE: I'm told that the final
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version of Part 2 will differ considerably from the CD draft.)
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The JPEG standard does not specify all details of an interchangeable file
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format. For the omitted details we follow the "JFIF" conventions, revision
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1.02. A copy of the JFIF spec is available from:
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Literature Department
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C-Cube Microsystems, Inc.
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399A West Trimble Road
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San Jose, CA 95131
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(408) 944-6300
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A PostScript version of this document is available at ftp.uu.net, file
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graphics/jpeg/jfif.ps.Z. It can also be obtained by e-mail from the C-Cube
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mail server, netlib@c3.pla.ca.us. Send the message "send jfif_ps from jpeg"
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to the server to obtain the JFIF document; send the message "help" if you have
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trouble.
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The TIFF 6.0 file format specification can be obtained by FTP from sgi.com
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(192.48.153.1), file graphics/tiff/TIFF6.ps.Z; or you can order a printed copy
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from Aldus Corp. at (206) 628-6593. It should be noted that the TIFF 6.0 spec
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of 3-June-92 has a number of serious problems in its JPEG features. A
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clarification note will probably be needed to ensure that TIFF JPEG files are
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compatible across different implementations. The IJG does not intend to
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support TIFF 6.0 until these problems are resolved.
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If you want to understand this implementation, start by reading the
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"architecture" documentation file. Please read "codingrules" if you want to
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contribute any code.
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LEGAL ISSUES
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============
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The authors make NO WARRANTY or representation, either express or implied,
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with respect to this software, its quality, accuracy, merchantability, or
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fitness for a particular purpose. This software is provided "AS IS", and you,
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its user, assume the entire risk as to its quality and accuracy.
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This software is copyright (C) 1991, 1992, Thomas G. Lane.
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All Rights Reserved except as specified below.
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Permission is hereby granted to use, copy, modify, and distribute this
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software (or portions thereof) for any purpose, without fee, subject to these
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conditions:
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(1) If any part of the source code for this software is distributed, then this
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README file must be included, with this copyright and no-warranty notice
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unaltered; and any additions, deletions, or changes to the original files
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must be clearly indicated in accompanying documentation.
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(2) If only executable code is distributed, then the accompanying
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documentation must state that "this software is based in part on the work of
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the Independent JPEG Group".
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(3) Permission for use of this software is granted only if the user accepts
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full responsibility for any undesirable consequences; the authors accept
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NO LIABILITY for damages of any kind.
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Permission is NOT granted for the use of any IJG author's name or company name
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in advertising or publicity relating to this software or products derived from
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it. This software may be referred to only as "the Independent JPEG Group's
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software".
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We specifically permit and encourage the use of this software as the basis of
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commercial products, provided that all warranty or liability claims are
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assumed by the product vendor.
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ansi2knr.c is included in this distribution by permission of L. Peter Deutsch,
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sole proprietor of its copyright holder, Aladdin Enterprises of Menlo Park, CA.
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ansi2knr.c is NOT covered by the above copyright and conditions, but instead
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by the usual distribution terms of the Free Software Foundation; principally,
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that you must include source code if you redistribute it. (See the file
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ansi2knr.c for full details.) However, since ansi2knr.c is not needed as part
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of any program generated from the JPEG code, this does not limit you more than
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the foregoing paragraphs do.
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It appears that the arithmetic coding option of the JPEG spec is covered by
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patents owned by IBM and AT&T, as well as a pending Japanese patent of
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Mitsubishi. Hence arithmetic coding cannot legally be used without obtaining
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one or more licenses. For this reason, support for arithmetic coding has been
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removed from the free JPEG software. (Since arithmetic coding provides only a
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marginal gain over the unpatented Huffman mode, it is unlikely that very many
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implementors will support it. If you do obtain the necessary licenses,
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contact jpeg-info@uunet.uu.net for a copy of our arithmetic coding modules.)
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So far as we are aware, there are no patent restrictions on the remaining
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code.
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We are required to state that
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"The Graphics Interchange Format(c) is the Copyright property of
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CompuServe Incorporated. GIF(sm) is a Service Mark property of
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CompuServe Incorporated."
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TO DO
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=====
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The next major release will probably be a significant rewrite to allow use of
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this code in conjunction with Sam Leffler's free TIFF library (assuming the
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bugs in the TIFF 6.0 specification get resolved).
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Many of the modules need fleshing out to provide more complete
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implementations, or to provide faster paths for common cases.
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Speeding things up is still high on our priority list.
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We'd appreciate it if people would compile and check out the code on as wide a
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variety of systems as possible, and report any portability problems
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encountered (with solutions, if possible). Checks of file compatibility with
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other JPEG implementations would also be of interest. Finally, we would
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appreciate code profiles showing where the most time is spent, especially on
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unusual systems.
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Please send bug reports, offers of help, etc. to jpeg-info@uunet.uu.net.
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