<title>Using The TIFF Library</title>

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Using The TIFF Library

          <tt>libtiff</tt> is a set of C functions (a library) that support

          the manipulation of TIFF image files.

          The library requires an ANSI C compilation environment for building

          and presumes an ANSI C environment for use.

    <tt>libtiff</tt>

    provides interfaces to image data at several layers of abstraction (and cost).

    At the highest level image data can be read into an 8-bit/sample,

    ABGR pixel raster format without regard for the underlying data organization,

    colorspace, or compression scheme.  Below this high-level interface

    the library provides scanline-, strip-, and tile-oriented interfaces that

    return data decompressed but otherwise untransformed.  These interfaces

    require that the application first identify the organization of stored

    data and select either a strip-based or tile-based API for manipulating

    data.  At the lowest level the library

    provides access to the raw uncompressed strips or tiles,

    returning the data exactly as it appears in the file.

    The material presented in this chapter is a basic introduction

    to the capabilities of the library; it is not an attempt to describe

    everything a developer needs to know about the library or about TIFF.

    Detailed information on the interfaces to the library are given in

    the UNIX 

    manual pages that accompany this software.

    Michael Still has also written a useful introduction to libtiff for the

    IBM DeveloperWorks site available at

    http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-libtiff.

    The following sections are found in this chapter:

    
How to tell which version you have

    
Library Datatypes

    
Memory Management

    
Error Handling

    
Basic File Handling

    
TIFF Directories

    
TIFF Tags

    
TIFF Compression Schemes

    
Byte Order

    
Data Placement

    
TIFFRGBAImage Support

    
Scanline-based Image I/O

    
Strip-oriented Image I/O

    
Tile-oriented Image I/O

    
Other Stuff

  
How to tell which version you have

    The software version can be found by looking at the file named

    <tt>VERSION</tt>

    that is located at the top of the source tree; the precise alpha number

    is given in the file <tt>dist/tiff.alpha</tt>.

    If you have need to refer to this

    specific software, you should identify it as:

    <tt>TIFF <version> <alpha></tt>

    where <tt><version></tt> is whatever you get from

    <tt>"cat VERSION"</tt> and <tt><alpha></tt> is

    what you get from <tt>"cat dist/tiff.alpha"</tt>.

    Within an application that uses <tt>libtiff</tt> the <tt>TIFFGetVersion</tt>

    routine will return a pointer to a string that contains software version

    information.

    The library include file <tt><tiffio.h></tt> contains a C pre-processor

    define <tt>TIFFLIB_VERSION</tt> that can be used to check library

    version compatiblity at compile time.

  
Library Datatypes

    <tt>libtiff</tt> defines a portable programming interface through the

    use of a set of C type definitions.

    These definitions, defined in in the files tiff.h and

    tiffio.h,

    isolate the <tt>libtiff</tt> API from the characteristics

    of the underlying machine.

    To insure portable code and correct operation, applications that use

    <tt>libtiff</tt> should use the typedefs and follow the function

    prototypes for the library API.

  
Memory Management

    <tt>libtiff</tt> uses a machine-specific set of routines for managing

    dynamically allocated memory.

    <tt>_TIFFmalloc</tt>, <tt>_TIFFrealloc</tt>, and <tt>_TIFFfree</tt>

    mimic the normal ANSI C routines.

    Any dynamically allocated memory that is to be passed into the library

    should be allocated using these interfaces in order to insure pointer

    compatibility on machines with a segmented architecture.

    (On 32-bit UNIX systems these routines just call the normal <tt>malloc</tt>,

    <tt>realloc</tt>, and <tt>free</tt> routines in the C library.)

    To deal with segmented pointer issues <tt>libtiff</tt> also provides

    <tt>_TIFFmemcpy</tt>, <tt>_TIFFmemset</tt>, and <tt>_TIFFmemmove</tt>

    routines that mimic the equivalent ANSI C routines, but that are

    intended for use with memory allocated through <tt>_TIFFmalloc</tt>

    and <tt>_TIFFrealloc</tt>.

  
Error Handling

    <tt>libtiff</tt> handles most errors by returning an invalid/erroneous

    value when returning from a function call.

    Various diagnostic messages may also be generated by the library.

    All error messages are directed to a single global error handler

    routine that can be specified with a call to <tt>TIFFSetErrorHandler</tt>.

    Likewise warning messages are directed to a single handler routine

    that can be specified with a call to <tt>TIFFSetWarningHandler</tt>

  
Basic File Handling

    The library is modeled after the normal UNIX stdio library.

    For example, to read from an existing TIFF image the

    file must first be opened:

    <tt>#include "tiffio.h"
</tt>

    main()

    {

        TIFF* tif = TIFFOpen("foo.tif", "r");

        ... do stuff ...

        TIFFClose(tif);

    }

    The handle returned by <tt>TIFFOpen</tt> is opaque, that is

    the application is not permitted to know about its contents.

    All subsequent library calls for this file must pass the handle

    as an argument.

    To create or overwrite a TIFF image the file is also opened, but with

    a <tt>"w"</tt> argument:

    <tt>#include "tiffio.h"
</tt>

    main()

    {

        TIFF* tif = TIFFOpen("foo.tif", "w");

        ... do stuff ...

        TIFFClose(tif);

    }

    If the file already exists it is first truncated to zero length.

      Note that unlike the stdio library TIFF image files may not be

        opened for both reading and writing;

        there is no support for altering the contents of a TIFF file.

    <tt>libtiff</tt> buffers much information associated with writing a

    valid TIFF image.  Consequently, when writing a TIFF image it is necessary

    to always call <tt>TIFFClose</tt> or <tt>TIFFFlush</tt> to flush any

    buffered information to a file.  Note that if you call <tt>TIFFClose</tt>

    you do not need to call <tt>TIFFFlush</tt>.

  
TIFF Directories

    TIFF supports the storage of multiple images in a single file.

    Each image has an associated data structure termed a directory

    that houses all the information about the format and content of the

    image data.

    Images in a file are usually related but they do not need to be; it

    is perfectly alright to store a color image together with a black and

    white image.

    Note however that while images may be related their directories are

    not.

    That is, each directory stands on its own; their is no need to read

    an unrelated directory in order to properly interpret the contents

    of an image.

    <tt>libtiff</tt> provides several routines for reading and writing

    directories.  In normal use there is no need to explicitly

    read or write a directory: the library automatically reads the first

    directory in a file when opened for reading, and directory information

    to be written is automatically accumulated and written when writing

    (assuming <tt>TIFFClose</tt> or <tt>TIFFFlush</tt> are called).

    For a file open for reading the <tt>TIFFSetDirectory</tt> routine can

    be used to select an arbitrary directory; directories are referenced by

    number with the numbering starting at 0.  Otherwise the

    <tt>TIFFReadDirectory</tt> and <tt>TIFFWriteDirectory</tt> routines can

    be used for sequential access to directories.

    For example, to count the number of directories in a file the following

    code might be used:

    <tt>#include "tiffio.h"
</tt>

    main(int argc, char* argv[])

    {

        TIFF* tif = TIFFOpen(argv[1], "r");

        if (tif) {

            int dircount = 0;

            do {

                dircount++;

            } while (TIFFReadDirectory(tif));

            printf("%d directories in %s\n", dircount, argv[1]);

            TIFFClose(tif);

        }

        exit(0);

    }

    Finally, note that there are several routines for querying the

    directory status of an open file:

    <tt>TIFFCurrentDirectory</tt> returns the index of the current

    directory and

    <tt>TIFFLastDirectory</tt> returns an indication of whether the

    current directory is the last directory in a file.

    There is also a routine, <tt>TIFFPrintDirectory</tt>, that can

    be called to print a formatted description of the contents of

    the current directory; consult the manual page for complete details.

  
TIFF Tags

    Image-related information such as the image width and height, number

    of samples, orientation, colorimetric information, etc.

    are stored in each image

    directory in fields or tags.

    Tags are identified by a number that is usually a value registered

    with the Aldus (now Adobe) Corporation.

    Beware however that some vendors write

    TIFF images with tags that are unregistered; in this case interpreting

    their contents is usually a waste of time.

    <tt>libtiff</tt> reads the contents of a directory all at once

    and converts the on-disk information to an appropriate in-memory

    form.  While the TIFF specification permits an arbitrary set of

    tags to be defined and used in a file, the library only understands

    a limited set of tags.

    Any unknown tags that are encountered in a file are ignored.

    There is a mechanism to extend the set of tags the library handles

    without modifying the library itself;

    this is described elsewhere.

    <tt>libtiff</tt> provides two interfaces for getting and setting tag

    values: <tt>TIFFGetField</tt> and <tt>TIFFSetField</tt>.

    These routines use a variable argument list-style interface to pass

    parameters of different type through a single function interface.

    The get interface takes one or more pointers to memory locations

    where the tag values are to be returned and also returns one or

    zero according to whether the requested tag is defined in the directory.

    The set interface takes the tag values either by-reference or

    by-value.

    The TIFF specification defines

    default values for some tags.

    To get the value of a tag, or its default value if it is undefined,

    the <tt>TIFFGetFieldDefaulted</tt> interface may be used.

    The manual pages for the tag get and set routines specifiy the exact data types

    and calling conventions required for each tag supported by the library.

  
TIFF Compression Schemes

    <tt>libtiff</tt> includes support for a wide variety of

    data compression schemes.

    In normal operation a compression scheme is automatically used when

    the TIFF <tt>Compression</tt> tag is set, either by opening a file

    for reading, or by setting the tag when writing.

    Compression schemes are implemented by software modules termed codecs

    that implement decoder and encoder routines that hook into the

    core library i/o support.

    Codecs other than those bundled with the library can be registered

    for use with the <tt>TIFFRegisterCODEC</tt> routine.

    This interface can also be used to override the core-library

    implementation for a compression scheme.

  
Byte Order

    The TIFF specification says, and has always said, that

    a correct TIFF

    reader must handle images in big-endian and little-endian byte order.

    <tt>libtiff</tt> conforms in this respect.

    Consequently there is no means to force a specific

    byte order for the data written to a TIFF image file (data is

    written in the native order of the host CPU unless appending to

    an existing file, in which case it is written in the byte order

    specified in the file).

  
Data Placement

    The TIFF specification requires that all information except an

    8-byte header can be placed anywhere in a file.

    In particular, it is perfectly legitimate for directory information

    to be written after the image data itself.

    Consequently TIFF is inherently not suitable for passing through a

    stream-oriented mechanism such as UNIX pipes.

    Software that require that data be organized in a file in a particular

    order (e.g. directory information before image data) does not

    correctly support TIFF.

    <tt>libtiff</tt> provides no mechanism for controlling the placement

    of data in a file; image data is typically written before directory

    information.

  
TIFFRGBAImage Support

    <tt>libtiff</tt> provides a high-level interface for reading image

    data from a TIFF file.  This interface handles the details of

    data organization and format for a wide variety of TIFF files;

    at least the large majority of those files that one would normally

    encounter.  Image data is, by default, returned as ABGR

    pixels packed into 32-bit words (8 bits per sample).  Rectangular

    rasters can be read or data can be intercepted at an intermediate

    level and packed into memory in a format more suitable to the

    application.

    The library handles all the details of the format of data stored on

    disk and, in most cases, if any colorspace conversions are required:

    bilevel to RGB, greyscale to RGB, CMYK to RGB, YCbCr to RGB, 16-bit

    samples to 8-bit samples, associated/unassociated alpha, etc.

    There are two ways to read image data using this interface.  If

    all the data is to be stored in memory and manipulated at once,

    then the routine <tt>TIFFReadRGBAImage</tt> can be used:

    <tt>#include "tiffio.h"
</tt>

    main(int argc, char* argv[])

    {

        TIFF* tif = TIFFOpen(argv[1], "r");

        if (tif) {

            uint32 w, h;

            size_t npixels;

            uint32* raster;

            TIFFGetField(tif, TIFFTAG_IMAGEWIDTH, &w);

            TIFFGetField(tif, TIFFTAG_IMAGELENGTH, &h);

            npixels = w * h;

            raster = (uint32*) _TIFFmalloc(npixels * sizeof (uint32));

            if (raster != NULL) {

                if (TIFFReadRGBAImage(tif, w, h, raster, 0)) {

                    ...process raster data...

                }

                _TIFFfree(raster);

            }

            TIFFClose(tif);

        }

        exit(0);

    }

    Note above that <tt>_TIFFmalloc</tt> is used to allocate memory for

    the raster passed to <tt>TIFFReadRGBAImage</tt>; this is important

    to insure the ``appropriate type of memory'' is passed on machines

    with segmented architectures.

    Alternatively, <tt>TIFFReadRGBAImage</tt> can be replaced with a

    more low-level interface that permits an application to have more

    control over this reading procedure.  The equivalent to the above

    is:

    <tt>#include "tiffio.h"
</tt>

    main(int argc, char* argv[])

    {

        TIFF* tif = TIFFOpen(argv[1], "r");

        if (tif) {

            TIFFRGBAImage img;

            char emsg[1024];

            if (TIFFRGBAImageBegin(&img, tif, 0, emsg)) {

                size_t npixels;

                uint32* raster;

                npixels = img.width * img.height;

                raster = (uint32*) _TIFFmalloc(npixels * sizeof (uint32));

                if (raster != NULL) {

                    if (TIFFRGBAImageGet(&img, raster, img.width, img.height)) {

                        ...process raster data...

                    }

                    _TIFFfree(raster);

                }

                TIFFRGBAImageEnd(&img);

            } else

                TIFFError(argv[1], emsg);

            TIFFClose(tif);

        }

        exit(0);

    }

    However this usage does not take advantage of the more fine-grained

    control that's possible.  That is, by using this interface it is

    possible to:

    
repeatedly fetch (and manipulate) an image without opening

      and closing the file

    
interpose a method for packing raster pixel data according to

      application-specific needs (or write the data at all)

    
interpose methods that handle TIFF formats that are not already

      handled by the core library

    The first item means that, for example, image viewers that want to

    handle multiple files can cache decoding information in order to

    speedup the work required to display a TIFF image.

    The second item is the main reason for this interface.  By interposing

    a "put method" (the routine that is called to pack pixel data in

    the raster) it is possible share the core logic that understands how

    to deal with TIFF while packing the resultant pixels in a format that

    is optimized for the application.  This alternate format might be very

    different than the 8-bit per sample ABGR format the library writes by

    default.  For example, if the application is going to display the image

    on an 8-bit colormap display the put routine might take the data and

    convert it on-the-fly to the best colormap indices for display.

    The last item permits an application to extend the library

    without modifying the core code.

    By overriding the code provided an application might add support

    for some esoteric flavor of TIFF that it needs, or it might

    substitute a packing routine that is able to do optimizations

    using application/environment-specific information.

    The TIFF image viewer found in tools/sgigt.c is an example

    of an application that makes use of the <tt>TIFFRGBAImage</tt>

    support.

  
Scanline-based Image I/O

    The simplest interface provided by <tt>libtiff</tt> is a

    scanline-oriented interface that can be used to read TIFF

    images that have their image data organized in strips

    (trying to use this interface to read data written in tiles

    will produce errors.)

    A scanline is a one pixel high row of image data whose width

    is the width of the image.

    Data is returned packed if the image data is stored with samples

    packed together, or as arrays of separate samples if the data

    is stored with samples separated.

    The major limitation of the scanline-oriented interface, other

    than the need to first identify an existing file as having a

    suitable organization, is that random access to individual

    scanlines can only be provided when data is not stored in a

    compressed format, or when the number of rows in a strip

    of image data is set to one (<tt>RowsPerStrip</tt> is one).

    Two routines are provided for scanline-based i/o:

    <tt>TIFFReadScanline</tt>

    and

    <tt>TIFFWriteScanline</tt>.

    For example, to read the contents of a file that

    is assumed to be organized in strips, the following might be used:

    <tt>#include "tiffio.h"
</tt>

    main()

    {

        TIFF* tif = TIFFOpen("myfile.tif", "r");

        if (tif) {

            uint32 imagelength;

            tdata_t buf;

            uint32 row;

            TIFFGetField(tif, TIFFTAG_IMAGELENGTH, &imagelength);

            buf = _TIFFmalloc(TIFFScanlineSize(tif));

            for (row = 0; row < imagelength; row++)

                tiffreadscanline(tif, buf, row);

            _tifffree(buf);

            tiffclose(tif);

        }

    }

    <tt>TIFFScanlineSize</tt> returns the number of bytes in

    a decoded scanline, as returned by <tt>TIFFReadScanline</tt>.

    Note however that if the file had been create with samples

    written in separate planes, then the above code would only

    read data that contained the first sample of each pixel;

    to handle either case one might use the following instead:

    <tt>#include "tiffio.h"
</tt>

    main()

    {

        TIFF* tif = TIFFOpen("myfile.tif", "r");

        if (tif) {

            uint32 imagelength;

            tdata_t buf;

            uint32 row;

            TIFFGetField(tif, TIFFTAG_IMAGELENGTH, &imagelength);

            TIFFGetField(tif, TIFFTAG_PLANARCONFIG, &config);

            buf = _TIFFmalloc(TIFFScanlineSize(tif));

            if (config == PLANARCONFIG_CONTIG) {

                for (row = 0; row < imagelength; row++)

                    tiffreadscanline(tif, buf, row);

            } else if (config == planarconfig_separate) {

                uint16 s, nsamples;

                tiffgetfield(tif, tifftag_samplesperpixel, &nsamples);

                for (s = 0; s < nsamples; s++)

                    for (row = 0; row < imagelength; row++)

                        tiffreadscanline(tif, buf, row, s);

            }

            _tifffree(buf);

            tiffclose(tif);

        }

    }

    Beware however that if the following code were used instead to

    read data in the case <tt>PLANARCONFIG_SEPARATE</tt>,...

    <tt>            for (row = 0; row < imagelength; row++)
</tt>

                    for (s = 0; s < nsamples; s++)

                        tiffreadscanline(tif, buf, row, s);

    ...then problems would arise if <tt>RowsPerStrip</tt> was not one

    because the order in which scanlines are requested would require

    random access to data within strips (something that is not supported

    by the library when strips are compressed).

  
Strip-oriented Image I/O

    The strip-oriented interfaces provided by the library provide

    access to entire strips of data.  Unlike the scanline-oriented

    calls, data can be read or written compressed or uncompressed.

    Accessing data at a strip (or tile) level is often desirable

    because there are no complications with regard to random access

    to data within strips.

    A simple example of reading an image by strips is:

    <tt>#include "tiffio.h"
</tt>

    main()

    {

        TIFF* tif = TIFFOpen("myfile.tif", "r");

        if (tif) {

            tdata_t buf;

            tstrip_t strip;

            buf = _TIFFmalloc(TIFFStripSize(tif));

            for (strip = 0; strip < tiffnumberofstrips(tif); strip++)

                tiffreadencodedstrip(tif, strip, buf, (tsize_t) -1);

            _tifffree(buf);

            tiffclose(tif);

        }

    }

    Notice how a strip size of <tt>-1</tt> is used; <tt>TIFFReadEncodedStrip</tt>

    will calculate the appropriate size in this case.

    The above code reads strips in the order in which the

    data is physically stored in the file.  If multiple samples

    are present and data is stored with <tt>PLANARCONFIG_SEPARATE</tt>

    then all the strips of data holding the first sample will be

    read, followed by strips for the second sample, etc.

    Finally, note that the last strip of data in an image may have fewer

    rows in it than specified by the <tt>RowsPerStrip</tt> tag.  A

    reader should not assume that each decoded strip contains a full

    set of rows in it.

    The following is an example of how to read raw strips of data from

    a file:

    <tt>#include "tiffio.h"
</tt>

    main()

    {

        TIFF* tif = TIFFOpen("myfile.tif", "r");

        if (tif) {

            tdata_t buf;

            tstrip_t strip;

            uint32* bc;

            uint32 stripsize;

            TIFFGetField(tif, TIFFTAG_STRIPBYTECOUNTS, &bc);

            stripsize = bc[0];

            buf = _TIFFmalloc(stripsize);

            for (strip = 0; strip < tiffnumberofstrips(tif); strip++) {

                if (bc[strip] > stripsize) {

                    buf = _TIFFrealloc(buf, bc[strip]);

                    stripsize = bc[strip];

                }

                TIFFReadRawStrip(tif, strip, buf, bc[strip]);

            }

            _TIFFfree(buf);

            TIFFClose(tif);

        }

    }

    As above the strips are read in the order in which they are

    physically stored in the file; this may be different from the

    logical ordering expected by an application.

  
Tile-oriented Image I/O

    Tiles of data may be read and written in a manner similar to strips.

    With this interface, an image is

    broken up into a set of rectangular areas that may have dimensions

    less than the image width and height.  All the tiles

    in an image have the same size, and the tile width and length must each

    be a multiple of 16 pixels.  Tiles are ordered left-to-right and

    top-to-bottom in an image.  As for scanlines, samples can be packed

    contiguously or separately.  When separated, all the tiles for a sample

    are colocated in the file.  That is, all the tiles for sample 0 appear

    before the tiles for sample 1, etc.

    Tiles and strips may also be extended in a z dimension to form

    volumes.  Data volumes are organized as "slices".  That is, all the

    data for a slice is colocated.  Volumes whose data is organized in

    tiles can also have a tile depth so that data can be organized in

    cubes.

    There are actually two interfaces for tiles.

    One interface is similar to scanlines,  to read a tiled image,

    code of the following sort might be used:

    <tt>main()
</tt>

    {

        TIFF* tif = TIFFOpen("myfile.tif", "r");

        if (tif) {

            uint32 imageWidth, imageLength;

            uint32 tileWidth, tileLength;

            uint32 x, y;

            tdata_t buf;

            TIFFGetField(tif, TIFFTAG_IMAGEWIDTH, &imageWidth);

            TIFFGetField(tif, TIFFTAG_IMAGELENGTH, &imageLength);

            TIFFGetField(tif, TIFFTAG_TILEWIDTH, &tileWidth);

            TIFFGetField(tif, TIFFTAG_TILELENGTH, &tileLength);

            buf = _TIFFmalloc(TIFFTileSize(tif));

            for (y = 0; y < imagelength; y += tilelength)

                for (x = 0; x < imagewidth; x += tilewidth)

                    tiffreadtile(tif, buf, x, y, 0);

            _tifffree(buf);

            tiffclose(tif);

        }

    }

    (once again, we assume samples are packed contiguously.)

    Alternatively a direct interface to the low-level data is provided

    a la strips.  Tiles can be read with

    <tt>TIFFReadEncodedTile</tt> or <tt>TIFFReadRawTile</tt>,

    and written with <tt>TIFFWriteEncodedTile</tt> or

    <tt>TIFFWriteRawTile</tt>. For example, to read all the tiles in an image:

    <tt>#include "tiffio.h"
</tt>

    main()

    {

        TIFF* tif = TIFFOpen("myfile.tif", "r");

        if (tif) {

            tdata_t buf;

            ttile_t tile;

            buf = _TIFFmalloc(TIFFTileSize(tif));

            for (tile = 0; tile < tiffnumberoftiles(tif); tile++)

                tiffreadencodedtile(tif, tile, buf, (tsize_t) -1);

            _tifffree(buf);

            tiffclose(tif);

        }

    }

  
Other Stuff

    Some other stuff will almost certainly go here...

    Last updated: $Date: 2005/12/28 06:53:18 $