1Introduction to ImageMagick
2
3  ImageMagick® is a software suite to create, edit, compose, or convert
4  bitmap images. It can read and write images in a variety of formats (over
5  200) including PNG, JPEG, JPEG-2000, GIF, TIFF, DPX, EXR, WebP, Postscript,
6  PDF, and SVG. Use ImageMagick to resize, flip, mirror, rotate, distort,
7  shear and transform images, adjust image colors, apply various special
8  effects, or draw text, lines, polygons, ellipses and Bézier curves.
9
10  The functionality of ImageMagick is typically utilized from the command
11  line or you can use the features from programs written in your favorite
12  language. Choose from these interfaces: G2F (Ada), MagickCore (C),
13  MagickWand (C), ChMagick (Ch), ImageMagickObject (COM+), Magick++ (C++),
14  JMagick (Java), L-Magick (Lisp), Lua, NMagick (Neko/haXe), Magick.NET
15  (.NET), PascalMagick (Pascal), PerlMagick (Perl), MagickWand for PHP
16  (PHP), IMagick (PHP), PythonMagick (Python), RMagick (Ruby), or TclMagick
17  (Tcl/TK). With a language interface, use ImageMagick to modify or create
18  images dynamically and automagically.
19
20  ImageMagick utilizes multiple computational threads to increase performance
21  and can read, process, or write mega-, giga-, or tera-pixel image sizes.
22
23  ImageMagick is free software delivered as a ready-to-run binary distribution
24  or as source code that you may use, copy, modify, and distribute in both open
25  and proprietary applications. It is distributed under the Apache 2.0 license.
26
27  The ImageMagick development process ensures a stable API and ABI. Before
28  each ImageMagick release, we perform a comprehensive security assessment
29  that includes memory error and thread data race detection to prevent
30  security vulnerabilities.
31
32  ImageMagick is available from
33  http://www.imagemagick.org/script/binary-releases.php.  It runs on Linux,
34  Windows, Mac Os X, iOS, Android OS, and others.
35
36  The authoritative ImageMagick web site is
37  http://www.imagemagick.org. The authoritative source code repository is
38  http://git.imagemagick.org/repos/ImageMagick/.
39
40
41Features and Capabilities
42
43  Here are just a few examples of what ImageMagick can do:
44
45      * Format conversion: convert an image from one format to another (e.g.
46        PNG to JPEG).
47      * Transform: resize, rotate, deskew, crop, flip or trim an image.
48      * Transparency: render portions of an image invisible.
49      * Draw: add shapes or text to an image.
50      * Decorate: add a border or frame to an image.
51      * Special effects: blur, sharpen, threshold, or tint an image.
52      * Animation: create a GIF animation sequence from a group of images.
53      * Text & comments: insert descriptive or artistic text in an image.
54      * Image gradients: create a gradual blend of one color whose shape is
55        horizontal, vertical, circular, or ellipical.
56      * Image identification: describe the format and attributes of an image.
57      * Composite: overlap one image over another.
58      * Montage: juxtapose image thumbnails on an image canvas.
59      * Generalized pixel distortion: correct for, or induce image distortions
60        including perspective.
61      * Computer vision: Canny edge detection.
62      * Morphology of shapes: extract features, describe shapes and recognize
63        patterns in images.
64      * Motion picture support: read and write the common image formats used in
65        digital film work.
66      * Image calculator: apply a mathematical expression to an image or image
67        channels.
68      * Connected component labeling: uniquely label connected regions in an
69        image.
70      * Discrete Fourier transform: implements the forward and inverse DFT.
71      * Perceptual hash: maps visually identical images to the same or similar
72        hash-- useful in image retrieval, authentication, indexing, or copy
73        detection as well as digital watermarking.
74      * Complex text layout: bidirectional text support and shaping.
75      * Color management: accurate color management with color profiles or in
76        lieu of-- built-in gamma compression or expansion as demanded by the
77        colorspace.
78      * High dynamic-range images: accurately represent the wide range of
79        intensity levels found in real scenes ranging from the brightest direct
80        sunlight to the deepest darkest shadows.
81      * Encipher or decipher an image: convert ordinary images into
82        unintelligible gibberish and back again.
83      * Virtual pixel support: convenient access to pixels outside the image
84        region.
85      * Large image support: read, process, or write mega-, giga-, or
86        tera-pixel image sizes.
87      * Threads of execution support: ImageMagick is thread safe and most
88        internal algorithms are OpenMP-enabled to take advantage of speed-ups
89        offered by multicore processor chips.
90      * Distributed pixel cache: offload intermediate pixel storage to one or
91        more remote servers.
92      * Heterogeneous distributed processing: certain algorithms are
93        OpenCL-enabled to take advantage of speed-ups offered by executing in
94        concert across heterogeneous platforms consisting of CPUs, GPUs, and
95        other processors.
96      * ImageMagick on the iPhone: convert, edit, or compose images on your
97        iPhone or iPad.
98
99  Examples of ImageMagick Usage shows how to use ImageMagick from the
100  command-line to accomplish any of these tasks and much more. Also,
101  see Fred's ImageMagick Scripts: a plethora of command-line scripts that
102  perform geometric transforms, blurs, sharpens, edging, noise removal,
103  and color manipulations. With Magick.NET, use ImageMagick without having
104  to install ImageMagick on your server or desktop.
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