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package javax.imageio;

import javax.imageio.metadata.IIOMetadata;


An interface providing metadata transcoding capability.

 Any image may be transcoded (written to a different format
than the one it was originally stored in) simply by performing
a read operation followed by a write operation.  However, loss
of data may occur in this process due to format differences.

 In general, the best results will be achieved when
format-specific metadata objects can be created to encapsulate as
much information about the image and its associated metadata as
possible, in terms that are understood by the specific
ImageWriter used to perform the encoding.

 An ImageTranscoder may be used to convert the
IIOMetadata objects supplied by the
ImageReader (representing per-stream and per-image
metadata) into corresponding objects suitable for encoding by a
particular ImageWriter.  In the case where the methods
of this interface are being called directly on an
ImageWriter, the output will be suitable for that
writer.

 The internal details of converting an IIOMetadata
object into a writer-specific format will vary according to the
context of the operation.  Typically, an ImageWriter
will inspect the incoming object to see if it implements additional
interfaces with which the writer is familiar.  This might be the
case, for example, if the object was obtained by means of a read
operation on a reader plug-in written by the same vendor as the
writer.  In this case, the writer may access the incoming object by
means of its plug-in specific interfaces.  In this case, the
re-encoding may be close to lossless if the image file format is
kept constant.  If the format is changing, the writer may still
attempt to preserve as much information as possible.

 If the incoming object does not implement any additional
interfaces known to the writer, the writer has no choice but to
access it via the standard IIOMetadata interfaces such
as the tree view provided by IIOMetadata.getAsTree.
In this case, there is likely to be significant loss of
information.

 An independent ImageTranscoder essentially takes
on the same role as the writer plug-in in the above examples.  It
must be familiar with the private interfaces used by both the
reader and writer plug-ins, and manually instantiate an object that
will be usable by the writer.  The resulting metadata objects may
be used by the writer directly.

 No independent implementations of ImageTranscoder
are provided as part of the standard API.  Instead, the intention
of this interface is to provide a way for implementations to be
created and discovered by applications as the need arises.

/**
 * An interface providing metadata transcoding capability.
 *
 * <p> Any image may be transcoded (written to a different format
 * than the one it was originally stored in) simply by performing
 * a read operation followed by a write operation.  However, loss
 * of data may occur in this process due to format differences.
 *
 * <p> In general, the best results will be achieved when
 * format-specific metadata objects can be created to encapsulate as
 * much information about the image and its associated metadata as
 * possible, in terms that are understood by the specific
 * <code>ImageWriter</code> used to perform the encoding.
 *
 * <p> An <code>ImageTranscoder</code> may be used to convert the
 * <code>IIOMetadata</code> objects supplied by the
 * <code>ImageReader</code> (representing per-stream and per-image
 * metadata) into corresponding objects suitable for encoding by a
 * particular <code>ImageWriter</code>.  In the case where the methods
 * of this interface are being called directly on an
 * <code>ImageWriter</code>, the output will be suitable for that
 * writer.
 *
 * <p> The internal details of converting an <code>IIOMetadata</code>
 * object into a writer-specific format will vary according to the
 * context of the operation.  Typically, an <code>ImageWriter</code>
 * will inspect the incoming object to see if it implements additional
 * interfaces with which the writer is familiar.  This might be the
 * case, for example, if the object was obtained by means of a read
 * operation on a reader plug-in written by the same vendor as the
 * writer.  In this case, the writer may access the incoming object by
 * means of its plug-in specific interfaces.  In this case, the
 * re-encoding may be close to lossless if the image file format is
 * kept constant.  If the format is changing, the writer may still
 * attempt to preserve as much information as possible.
 *
 * <p> If the incoming object does not implement any additional
 * interfaces known to the writer, the writer has no choice but to
 * access it via the standard <code>IIOMetadata</code> interfaces such
 * as the tree view provided by <code>IIOMetadata.getAsTree</code>.
 * In this case, there is likely to be significant loss of
 * information.
 *
 * <p> An independent <code>ImageTranscoder</code> essentially takes
 * on the same role as the writer plug-in in the above examples.  It
 * must be familiar with the private interfaces used by both the
 * reader and writer plug-ins, and manually instantiate an object that
 * will be usable by the writer.  The resulting metadata objects may
 * be used by the writer directly.
 *
 * <p> No independent implementations of <code>ImageTranscoder</code>
 * are provided as part of the standard API.  Instead, the intention
 * of this interface is to provide a way for implementations to be
 * created and discovered by applications as the need arises.
 *
 */
public interface ImageTranscoder {

    
Returns an IIOMetadata object that may be used for
encoding and optionally modified using its document interfaces
or other interfaces specific to the writer plug-in that will be
used for encoding.

 An optional ImageWriteParam may be supplied
for cases where it may affect the structure of the stream
metadata.

 If the supplied ImageWriteParam contains
optional setting values not understood by this writer or
transcoder, they will be ignored.

Params:
  • inData – an IIOMetadata object representing
stream metadata, used to initialize the state of the returned
object.
  • param – an ImageWriteParam that will be used to
encode the image, or null.
Throws:
Returns:an IIOMetadata object, or
null if the plug-in does not provide metadata
encoding capabilities.
/**
     * Returns an <code>IIOMetadata</code> object that may be used for
     * encoding and optionally modified using its document interfaces
     * or other interfaces specific to the writer plug-in that will be
     * used for encoding.
     *
     * <p> An optional <code>ImageWriteParam</code> may be supplied
     * for cases where it may affect the structure of the stream
     * metadata.
     *
     * <p> If the supplied <code>ImageWriteParam</code> contains
     * optional setting values not understood by this writer or
     * transcoder, they will be ignored.
     *
     * @param inData an <code>IIOMetadata</code> object representing
     * stream metadata, used to initialize the state of the returned
     * object.
     * @param param an <code>ImageWriteParam</code> that will be used to
     * encode the image, or <code>null</code>.
     *
     * @return an <code>IIOMetadata</code> object, or
     * <code>null</code> if the plug-in does not provide metadata
     * encoding capabilities.
     *
     * @exception IllegalArgumentException if <code>inData</code> is
     * <code>null</code>.
     */
    IIOMetadata convertStreamMetadata(IIOMetadata inData,
                                      ImageWriteParam param);

    
Returns an IIOMetadata object that may be used for
encoding and optionally modified using its document interfaces
or other interfaces specific to the writer plug-in that will be
used for encoding.

 An optional ImageWriteParam may be supplied
for cases where it may affect the structure of the image
metadata.

 If the supplied ImageWriteParam contains
optional setting values not understood by this writer or
transcoder, they will be ignored.

Params:
  • inData – an IIOMetadata object representing
image metadata, used to initialize the state of the returned
object.
  • imageType – an ImageTypeSpecifier indicating
the layout and color information of the image with which the
metadata will be associated.
  • param – an ImageWriteParam that will be used to
encode the image, or null.
Throws:
Returns:an IIOMetadata object,
or null if the plug-in does not provide
metadata encoding capabilities.
/**
     * Returns an <code>IIOMetadata</code> object that may be used for
     * encoding and optionally modified using its document interfaces
     * or other interfaces specific to the writer plug-in that will be
     * used for encoding.
     *
     * <p> An optional <code>ImageWriteParam</code> may be supplied
     * for cases where it may affect the structure of the image
     * metadata.
     *
     * <p> If the supplied <code>ImageWriteParam</code> contains
     * optional setting values not understood by this writer or
     * transcoder, they will be ignored.
     *
     * @param inData an <code>IIOMetadata</code> object representing
     * image metadata, used to initialize the state of the returned
     * object.
     * @param imageType an <code>ImageTypeSpecifier</code> indicating
     * the layout and color information of the image with which the
     * metadata will be associated.
     * @param param an <code>ImageWriteParam</code> that will be used to
     * encode the image, or <code>null</code>.
     *
     * @return an <code>IIOMetadata</code> object,
     * or <code>null</code> if the plug-in does not provide
     * metadata encoding capabilities.
     *
     * @exception IllegalArgumentException if either of
     * <code>inData</code> or <code>imageType</code> is
     * <code>null</code>.
     */
    IIOMetadata convertImageMetadata(IIOMetadata inData,
                                     ImageTypeSpecifier imageType,
                                     ImageWriteParam param);
}