Introduction to ImageMagick
ImageMagick® is a software suite to create, edit, and compose bitmap
images. It can read, convert and write images in a variety of formats
(over 100) including DPX, EXR, GIF, JPEG, JPEG-2000, PDF, PhotoCD, PNG,
Postscript, SVG, and TIFF. Use ImageMagick to translate, flip, mirror,
rotate, scale, shear and transform images, adjust image colors, apply various
special effects, or draw text, lines, polygons, ellipses and Bézier curves.
The functionality of ImageMagick is typically utilized from the command
line or you can use the features from programs written in your favorite
programming language. Choose from these interfaces: G2F (Ada), MagickCore
(C), MagickWand (C), ChMagick (Ch), ImageMagickObject (COM+), Magick++
(C++), JMagick (Java), L-Magick (Lisp), NMagick (Neko/haXe), MagickNet
(.NET), PascalMagick (Pascal), PerlMagick (Perl), MagickWand for PHP
(PHP), IMagick (PHP), PythonMagick (Python), RMagick (Ruby), or TclMagick
(Tcl/TK). With a language interface, use ImageMagick to modify or create
images dynamically and automagically.
ImageMagick is free software delivered as a ready-to-run binary distribution
or as source code that you may freely use, copy, modify, and distribute in
both open and proprietary applications. It is distributed under an Apache
2.0-style license, approved by the OSI.
The ImageMagick development process ensures a stable API and ABI. Before
each ImageMagick release, we perform a comprehensive security assessment
that includes memory and thread error detection to help prevent exploits.
Features and Capabilities
Here are just a few examples of what ImageMagick can do:
* Format conversion: convert an image from one format to another (e.g. PNG
to JPEG).
* Transform: resize, rotate, crop, flip or trim an image.
* Transparency: render portions of an image invisible.
* Draw: add shapes or text to an image.
* Decorate: add a border or frame to an image.
* Special effects: blur, sharpen, threshold, or tint an image.
* Animation: create a GIF animation sequence from a group of images.
* Text & comments: insert descriptive or artistic text in an image.
* Image identification: describe the format and attributes of an image.
* Composite: overlap one image over another.
* Montage: juxtapose image thumbnails on an image canvas.
* Generalized pixel distortion: correct for, or induce image distortions
including perspective.
* Morphology of shapes: extract features, describe shapes and recognize
patterns in images.
* Motion picture support: read and write the common image formats used in
digital film work.
* Image calculator: apply a mathematical expression to an image or image
channels.
* Discrete Fourier transform: implements the forward and inverse DFT.
* High dynamic-range images: accurately represent the wide range of
intensity levels found in real scenes ranging from the brightest direct
sunlight to the deepest darkest shadows.
* Encipher or decipher an image: convert ordinary images into
unintelligible gibberish and back again.
* Virtual pixel support: convenient access to pixels outside the image
region.
* Large image support: read, process, or write mega-, giga-, or tera-pixel
image sizes.
* Threads of execution support: ImageMagick is thread safe and most
internal algorithms are OpenMP-enabled to take advantage of speed-ups
offered by multicore processor chips.
* Heterogeneous distributed processing: certain algorithms are
OpenCL-enabled to take advantage of speed-ups offered by executing in
concert across heterogeneous platforms consisting of CPUs, GPUs, and
other processors.
* ImageMagick on the iPhone: convert, edit, or compose images on your
iPhone.
Examples of ImageMagick Usage shows how to use ImageMagick from the
command-line to accomplish any of these tasks and much more. Also,
see Fred's ImageMagick Scripts: a plethora of command-line scripts that
perform geometric transforms, blurs, sharpens, edging, noise removal,
and color manipulations.
