About imageMagick

[66carolin]

I only find out the name “imageMagick”. Can anyone help me with this?

[Nicholas Easter]

ImageMagick is a powerful command line tool for manipulating images.

The advantage of this tool is that it allows:

* automate the work on the images (this avoids having to do some manipulations in Photoshop or Gimp).
* Implement operations and conversions of a sudden on hundreds of images at once.
* Converting between different image formats
* To create images on the fly
* To be integrated into your programs and scripts (this allows your programs and scripts to generate and manipulate images on the fly). For example, it can be used from php to generate images.

This program is for Windows and Linux.

[WebMaster]

We can define ImageMagick in different ways, like :

A. ImageMagick is a command line program which don't have a GUI ( Graphics User Interface ). As such you have to learn the various commands to make it work and the order the commands must be used.

B. ImageMagick is an external program and is not built into php so it must be "called" from php usually with the exec function.

C.PHP uses the exec function to send the command line code to ImageMagick.

[66carolin]

Thank you Nicholas Easter and webmaster.
I want to know one more thing, How can I utilize it?

[WebMaster]

You can utilize the following format to write your code, it is very easy.

<?php
exec("convert input_image output_image");
?>

The method some others use:
<?php
$cmd = "input_image output_image";
exec("convert $cmd");
?>

Another way is input your code into the string and call the string. In my point of view, it would be a complicated process, as you require to escape characters in the string and again when the string is input into the code.

[66carolin]

What are the different programs included in ImageMagick..for eg convert which is very versatile. Any more suggestions?

[WebMaster]

There are many programs with in ImageMagick, so, you can use it in different way. Such as :

1. Animate : animates an image sequence.

2. Compare : mathematically and visually annotate the difference between an image and its reconstruction.

3. Composite examples : overlaps one image over another.

4. Conjure : interprets and executes scripts written in the Magick Scripting Language (MSL).

5. Convert examples : convert between image formats as well as resize an image, blur, crop, despeckle, dither, draw on, flip, join, re-sample, and much more.

[77wmaster]

I agree with you webmaster. Other than the above points there are some different ways, like :

1. Display : displays an image or image sequence on any X server.

2. Identify : describes the format and characteristics of one or more image files.

3. Import : saves any visible window on an X server and outputs it as an image file. You can capture a single window, the entire screen, or any rectangular portion of the screen.

4. Mogrify : resize an image, blur, crop, despeckle, dither, draw on, flip, join, re-sample, and much more. Mogrify overwrites the original image file, whereas, convert writes to a different image file.

5. Montage examples : create a composite image by combining several separate images. The images are tiled on the composite image optionally adorned with a border, frame, image name, and more.

6. Stream : a lightweight tool to stream one or more pixel components of the image or portion of the image to your choice of storage formats. It writes the pixel components as they are read from the input image a row at a time making stream desirable when working with large images or when you require raw pixel components.