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cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +00001Introduction to ImageMagick
2
cristyf8d59ee2011-02-20 18:21:31 +00003 ImageMagick®, http://www.imagemagick.org, is a software suite to create,
cristya1410932010-11-06 18:16:16 +00004 edit, and compose bitmap images. It can read, convert and write images in
5 a variety of formats (over 100) including DPX, EXR, GIF, JPEG, JPEG-2000,
cristyb738a8b2010-12-20 14:03:25 +00006 PDF, PhotoCD, PNG, Postscript, SVG, and TIFF. Use ImageMagick to scale,
7 flip, mirror, rotate, distort, shear and transform images, adjust image
cristya1410932010-11-06 18:16:16 +00008 colors, apply various special effects, or draw text, lines, polygons,
cristyf8d59ee2011-02-20 18:21:31 +00009 ellipses and Bézier curves.
cristya1410932010-11-06 18:16:16 +000010
cristyc1c61662009-09-30 14:04:37 +000011 The functionality of ImageMagick is typically utilized from the command
12 line or you can use the features from programs written in your favorite
13 programming language. Choose from these interfaces: G2F (Ada), MagickCore
14 (C), MagickWand (C), ChMagick (Ch), ImageMagickObject (COM+), Magick++
15 (C++), JMagick (Java), L-Magick (Lisp), NMagick (Neko/haXe), MagickNet
16 (.NET), PascalMagick (Pascal), PerlMagick (Perl), MagickWand for PHP
17 (PHP), IMagick (PHP), PythonMagick (Python), RMagick (Ruby), or TclMagick
18 (Tcl/TK). With a language interface, use ImageMagick to modify or create
19 images dynamically and automagically.
cristya1410932010-11-06 18:16:16 +000020
cristyc1c61662009-09-30 14:04:37 +000021 ImageMagick is free software delivered as a ready-to-run binary distribution
cristya1410932010-11-06 18:16:16 +000022 or as source code that you may freely use, copy, modify, and distribute
23 in both open and proprietary applications. It is distributed under the
24 Apache 2.0 license, approved by the OSI and recommended for use by the OSSCC.
25
cristy1bd5c4d2010-06-11 13:55:20 +000026 The ImageMagick development process ensures a stable API and ABI. Before
27 each ImageMagick release, we perform a comprehensive security assessment
cristya1410932010-11-06 18:16:16 +000028 that includes memory and thread error detection to prevent security
29 vulnerabilities.
cristyc1c61662009-09-30 14:04:37 +000030
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +000031Features and Capabilities
cristya1410932010-11-06 18:16:16 +000032
cristyc1c61662009-09-30 14:04:37 +000033 Here are just a few examples of what ImageMagick can do:
cristya1410932010-11-06 18:16:16 +000034
35 * Format conversion: convert an image from one format to another (e.g.
36 PNG to JPEG).
37 * Transform: resize, rotate, crop, flip or trim an image.
38 * Transparency: render portions of an image invisible.
39 * Draw: add shapes or text to an image.
40 * Decorate: add a border or frame to an image.
41 * Special effects: blur, sharpen, threshold, or tint an image.
42 * Animation: create a GIF animation sequence from a group of images.
43 * Text & comments: insert descriptive or artistic text in an image.
44 * Image identification: describe the format and attributes of an image.
45 * Composite: overlap one image over another.
46 * Montage: juxtapose image thumbnails on an image canvas.
47 * Generalized pixel distortion: correct for, or induce image distortions
48 including perspective.
cristy698968d2014-04-11 16:39:25 +000049 * Computer vision: Canny edge detection.
cristya1410932010-11-06 18:16:16 +000050 * Morphology of shapes: extract features, describe shapes and recognize
51 patterns in images.
52 * Motion picture support: read and write the common image formats used in
53 digital film work.
54 * Image calculator: apply a mathematical expression to an image or image
55 channels.
56 * Discrete Fourier transform: implements the forward and inverse DFT.
cristydf6cf212014-01-29 18:06:41 +000057 * Perceptual hash: maps visually identical images to the same or similar
cristyeab3d612014-01-29 18:09:51 +000058 hash-- useful in image retrieval, authentication, indexing, or copy
59 detection as well as digital watermarking.
cristy48002432014-01-29 15:31:47 +000060 * Color management: accurate color management with color profiles or in
61 lieu of-- built-in gamma compression or expansion as demanded by the
62 colorspace.
cristya1410932010-11-06 18:16:16 +000063 * High dynamic-range images: accurately represent the wide range of
64 intensity levels found in real scenes ranging from the brightest direct
65 sunlight to the deepest darkest shadows.
66 * Encipher or decipher an image: convert ordinary images into
67 unintelligible gibberish and back again.
68 * Virtual pixel support: convenient access to pixels outside the image
69 region.
70 * Large image support: read, process, or write mega-, giga-, or
71 tera-pixel image sizes.
72 * Threads of execution support: ImageMagick is thread safe and most
73 internal algorithms are OpenMP-enabled to take advantage of speed-ups
74 offered by multicore processor chips.
cristy37aa5592013-01-27 22:59:34 +000075 * Distributed pixel cache: offload intermediate pixel storage to one or
76 more remote servers.
cristya1410932010-11-06 18:16:16 +000077 * Heterogeneous distributed processing: certain algorithms are
78 OpenCL-enabled to take advantage of speed-ups offered by executing in
79 concert across heterogeneous platforms consisting of CPUs, GPUs, and
80 other processors.
81 * ImageMagick on the iPhone: convert, edit, or compose images on your
82 iPhone.
83
84 Examples of ImageMagick Usage, http://www.imagemagick.org/Usage/, shows how
85 to use ImageMagick from the command-line to accomplish any of these tasks and
86 much more. Also, see Fred's ImageMagick Scripts,
87 http://www.fmwconcepts.com/imagemagick/: a plethora of command-line scripts
88 that perform geometric transforms, blurs, sharpens, edging, noise removal,
cristyc1c61662009-09-30 14:04:37 +000089 and color manipulations.