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In order to support file conversion and viewing software, we have included considerable functionality beyond the bare JPEG coding/decoding capability; for example, the
color quantization modules are not strictly part of JPEG decoding, but they are essential for output to colormapped file formats or colormapped displays. These extra
functions can be compiled out of the library if not required for a particular application. We have also included jpegtran, a utility for lossless transcoding between different
JPEG processes, and "rdjpgcom" and "wrjpgcom", two simple applications for inserting and extracting textual comments in JFIF files.
The emphasis in designing this software has been on achieving portability and flexibility, while also making it fast enough to be useful. In particular, the software is not
intended to be read as a tutorial on JPEG. (See the REFERENCES section for introductory material.) Rather, it is intended to be reliable, portable, industrial-strength code.
We do not claim to have achieved that goal in every aspect of the software, but we strive for it.
We welcome the use of this software as a component of commercial products. No royalty is required, but we do ask for an acknowledgement in product documentation,
as described under LEGAL ISSUES.
LEGAL ISSUES
In plain English:
1. We don't promise that this software works. (But if you find any bugs, please let us know!)
2. You can use this software for whatever you want. You don't have to pay us.
3. You may not pretend that you wrote this software. If you use it in a program, you must acknowledge somewhere in your documentation that you've used the IJG code.
In legalese:
The authors make NO WARRANTY or representation, either express or implied, with respect to this software, its quality, accuracy, merchantability, or fitness for a particular
purpose. This software is provided "AS IS", and you, its user, assume the entire risk as to its quality and accuracy.
This software is copyright © 1991-1998, Thomas G. Lane. All Rights Reserved except as specified below.
Permission is hereby granted to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software (or portions thereof) for any purpose, without fee, subject to these conditions:
(1) If any part of the source code for this software is distributed, then this README file must be included, with this copyright and no-warranty notice unaltered; and any
additions, deletions, or changes to the original files must be clearly indicated in accompanying documentation.
(2) If only executable code is distributed, then the accompanying documentation must state that "this software is based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG
Group".
(3) Permission for use of this software is granted only if the user accepts full responsibility for any undesirable consequences; the authors accept NO LIABILITY for
damages of any kind.
These conditions apply to any software derived from or based on the IJG code, not just to the unmodified library. If you use our work, you ought to acknowledge us.
Permission is NOT granted for the use of any IJG author's name or company name in advertising or publicity relating to this software or products derived from it. This
software may be referred to only as "the Independent JPEG Group's software".
We specifically permit and encourage the use of this software as the basis of commercial products, provided that all warranty or liability claims are assumed by the product
vendor.
ansi2knr.c is included in this distribution by permission of L. Peter Deutsch, sole proprietor of its copyright holder, Aladdin Enterprises of Menlo Park, CA. ansi2knr.c is
NOT covered by the above copyright and conditions, but instead by the usual distribution terms of the Free Software Foundation; principally, that you must include source
code if you redistribute it. (See the file ansi2knr.c for full details.) However, since ansi2knr.c is not needed as part of any program generated from the IJG code, this does
not limit you more than the foregoing paragraphs do.
The Unix configuration script "configure" was produced with GNU Autoconf. It is copyright by the Free Software Foundation but is freely distributable. The same holds for
its supporting scripts (config.guess, config.sub, ltconfig, ltmain.sh). Another support script, install-sh, is copyright by M.I.T. but is also freely distributable.
I
t
appears that the arithmetic coding option of the JPEG spec is covered by patents owned by IBM, AT&T, and Mitsubishi. Hence arithmetic coding cannot legally be used
without obtaining one or more licenses. For this reason, support for arithmetic coding has been removed from the free JPEG software. (Since arithmetic coding provides
only a marginal gain over the unpatented Huffman mode, it is unlikely that very many implementations will support it.) So far as we are aware, there are no patent
restrictions on the remaining code.
The IJG distribution formerly included code to read and write GIF files. To avoid entanglement with the Unisys LZW patent, GIF reading support has been removed
altogether, and the GIF writer has been simplified to produce uncompressed GIFs. This technique does not use the LZW algorithm; the resulting GIF files are larger than
usual, but are readable by all standard GIF decoders.
We are required to state that
"The Graphics Interchange Format(c) is the Copyright property of CompuServe Incorporated. GIF(sm) is a Service Mark property of CompuServe Incorporated."
REFERENCES
We highly recommend reading one or more of these references before trying to understand the innards of the JPEG software.
The best short technical introduction to the JPEG compression algorithm is
Wallace, Gregory K. "The JPEG Still Picture Compression Standard",
Communications of the ACM, April 1991 (vol. 34 no. 4), pp. 30-44.
(Adjacent articles in that issue discuss MPEG motion picture compression, applications of JPEG, and related topics.) If you don't have the CACM issue handy, a PostScript
file containing a revised version of Wallace's article is available at ftp://ftp.uu.net/graphics/jpeg/wallace.ps.gz. The file (actually a preprint for an article that appeared in
IEEE Trans. Consumer Electronics) omits the sample images that appeared in CACM, but it includes corrections and some added material. Note: the Wallace article is
copyright ACM and IEEE, and it may not be used for commercial purposes.
A somewhat less technical, more leisurely introduction to JPEG can be found in The Data Compression Book by Mark Nelson and Jean-loup Gailly, published by M&T
Books (New York), 2nd ed. 1996, ISBN 1-55851-434-1. This book provides good explanations and example C code for a multitude of compression methods including JPEG.
It is an excellent source if you are comfortable reading C code but don't know much about data compression in general. The book's JPEG sample code is far from industrial-
strength, but when you are ready to look at a full implementation, you've got one here...
The best full description of JPEG is the textbook "JPEG Still Image Data Compression Standard" by William B. Pennebaker and Joan L. Mitchell, published by Van Nostrand
Reinhold, 1993, ISBN 0-442-01272-1. Price US$59.95, 638 pp. The book includes the complete text of the ISO JPEG standards (DIS 10918-1 and draft DIS 10918-2). This is
by far the most complete exposition of JPEG in existence, and we highly recommend it.
The JPEG standard itself is not available electronically; you must order a paper copy through ISO or ITU. (Unless you feel a need to own a certified official copy, we
recommend buying the Pennebaker and Mitchell book instead; it's much cheaper and includes a great deal of useful explanatory material.) In the USA, copies of the
standard may be ordered from ANSI Sales at (212) 642-4900, or from Global Engineering Documents at (800) 854-7179. (ANSI doesn't take credit card orders, but Global
does.) It's not cheap: as of 1992, ANSI was charging $95 for Part 1 and $47 for Part 2, plus 7% shipping/handling. The standard is divided into two parts, Part 1 being the
actual specification, while Part 2 covers compliance testing methods. Part 1 is titled "Digital Compression and Coding of Continuous-tone Still Images, Part 1:
Requirements and guidelines" and has document numbers ISO/IEC IS 10918-1, ITU-T T.81. Part 2 is titled "Digital Compression and Coding of Continuous-tone Still Images,
Part 2: Compliance testing" and has document numbers ISO/IEC IS 10918-2, ITU-T T.83.
Some extensions to the original JPEG standard are defined in JPEG Part 3, a newer ISO standard numbered ISO/IEC IS 10918-3 and ITU-T T.84. IJG currently does not
support any Part 3 extensions.
The JPEG standard does not specify all details of an in
terc
hangeable file format. For the omitted details we follow the "JFIF" conventions, revision 1.02. A copy of the JFIF
spec is available from:
Literature Department
C-Cube Microsystems, Inc.
1778 McCarthy Blvd.
Milpitas, CA 95035
phone (408) 944-6300, fax (408) 944-6314
A PostScript version of this document is available by FTP at ftp://ftp.uu.net/graphics/jpeg/jfif.ps.gz. There is also a plain text version at ftp://ftp.uu.net/graphics/jpeg/
jfif.txt.gz, but it is missing the figures.