The JavaTM Image I/O API, developed through
JSR-015,
provides a pluggable architecture for working with
images stored in files and accessed across the network. It offers
substantially more flexibility and power than the previous
APIs for loading and saving images.
The API provides a framework for the addition of format-specific
plugins. Plug-ins for several common formats are included with Java
Image I/O, but third parties can use this API to create their own plugins to
handle special formats.
API Specification
The Java Image I/O API Specification consists of the following packages:
javax.imageio -
the basic classes and interfaces for describing the contents of
image files, including metadata and thumbnails; controlling
the image reading and writing process; performing
transcoding between formats; and reporting errors.
javax.imageio.event -
interfaces for dealing with synchronous notification of events
during the reading and writing of images.
javax.imageio.spi -
service-provider interfaces for: readers, writers,
transcoders; and includes a runtime registry.
javax.imageio.stream -
classes and interfaces for low-level I/O from files and
streams.
Tutorials and Programmer's Guides
The Java Image I/O API Guide
describes the API in more detail and demonstrates how to use
Java Image I/O to read and write images and write custom
plug-ins.