README for OpenImageIO
======================
Introduction
------------
OpenImageIO consists of:
* Simple but powerful ImageInput and ImageOutput APIs that provide
an abstraction for reading and writing image files of nearly any
format, without the calling application needing to know any of the
details of these file formats, and indeed without the calling
application needing to be aware of which formats are available.
* A library that manages subclasses of ImageInput and ImageOutput that
implement I/O from specific file formats, with each file format's
implementation stored as a plug-in. Therefore, an application using
OpenImageIO's APIs can read and write any image file for which a
plugin can be found at runtime.
* Plugins implementing I/O for several popular image file formats,
including TIFF, JPEG/JFIF, OpenEXR, PNG, HDR/RGBE, ICO, BMP, Targa,
JPEG-2000, RMan Zfile, FITS, DDS, Softimage PIC, PNM, DPX, Cineon,
IFF, Field3D, and Ptex. More are being developed all the time.
* An image viewer, iv, that is based on ImageIO plugins and therefore
can read images of any format for which an appropriate plugin may be
found.
* Several image tools based on these classes, including iinfo (print
detailed info about images), iconvert (convert among formats, data
types, or modify metadata), idiff (compare images), igrep (search
images for matching metadata). Because these tools are based on
ImageInput/ImageOutput, they work with any image formats for which
ImageIO plugins are available.
* An ImageCache class that transparently manages a cache so that it
can access truly vast amounts of image data (thousands of image
files totaling hundreds of GB) very efficiently using only a tiny
amount (tens of megabytes at most) of runtime memory. Additionally,
a TextureSystem class provides filtered MIP-map texture lookups,
atop the nice caching behavior of ImageCache.
Licensing
---------
OpenImageIO is (c) Copyright 2008 by Larry Gritz and the other
contributors. All Rights Reserved.
OpenImageIO is distributed using the modified BSD license. Please read
the "LICENSE" file for the legal wording. The plain English bottom line
is that OpenImageIO is free, as well as freely modifiable and
redistributable (in both source and binary form). You may use part or
all of it in your own applications, whether proprietary or open, free or
commercial or not. Using it in a commercial or proprietary application
DOES NOT obligate you to pay us, or to use any particular licensing
terms in your own application.
Web Resources
-------------
Main web page: http://www.openimageio.org
Bug/issue tracker: http://trac.openimageio.org
Mail lists: http://lists.openimageio.org
Contact
-------
info@openimageio.org
Building and Installation
-------------------------
Please read the "INSTALL" file for detailed instructions on how to
build and install OpenImageIO.
Remember that you need to set the environment variable
IMAGEIO_LIBRARY_PATH to point to the 'lib' directory where OpenImageIO
is installed, or else it will not be able to find the plugins.
Documentation
-------------
The primary user and programmer documentation can be found in
src/doc/openimageio.pdf (in a source distribution) or in the
doc/openimageio.pdf file of an installed binary distribution.