The Independent JPEG Group's JPEG software
==========================================

README for release 6a of 7-Feb-96
=================================

This distribution contains the sixth public release of the Independent JPEG
Group's free JPEG software.  You are welcome to redistribute this software and
to use it for any purpose, subject to the conditions under LEGAL ISSUES, below.

Serious users of this software (particularly those incorporating it into
larger programs) should contact IJG at jpeg-info@uunet.uu.net to be added to
our electronic mailing list.  Mailing list members are notified of updates
and have a chance to participate in technical discussions, etc.

This software is the work of Tom Lane, Philip Gladstone, Luis Ortiz, Jim
Boucher, Lee Crocker, Julian Minguillon, George Phillips, Davide Rossi,
Ge' Weijers, and other members of the Independent JPEG Group.

IJG is not affiliated with the official ISO JPEG standards committee.


DOCUMENTATION ROADMAP
=====================

This file contains the following sections:

OVERVIEW            General description of JPEG and the IJG software.
LEGAL ISSUES        Copyright, lack of warranty, terms of distribution.
REFERENCES          Where to learn more about JPEG.
ARCHIVE LOCATIONS   Where to find newer versions of this software.
RELATED SOFTWARE    Other stuff you should get.
FILE FORMAT WARS    Software *not* to get.
TO DO               Plans for future IJG releases.

Other documentation files in the distribution are:

User documentation:
  install.doc       How to configure and install the IJG software.
  usage.doc         Usage instructions for cjpeg, djpeg, jpegtran,
                    rdjpgcom, and wrjpgcom.
  *.1               Unix-style man pages for programs (same info as usage.doc).
  wizard.doc        Advanced usage instructions for JPEG wizards only.
  change.log        Version-to-version change highlights.
Programmer and internal documentation:
  libjpeg.doc       How to use the JPEG library in your own programs.
  example.c         Sample code for calling the JPEG library.
  structure.doc     Overview of the JPEG library's internal structure.
  filelist.doc      Road map of IJG files.
  coderules.doc     Coding style rules --- please read if you contribute code.

Please read at least the files install.doc and usage.doc.  Useful information
can also be found in the JPEG FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) article.  See
ARCHIVE LOCATIONS below to find out where to obtain the FAQ article.

If you want to understand how the JPEG code works, we suggest reading one or
more of the REFERENCES, then looking at the documentation files (in roughly
the order listed) before diving into the code.


OVERVIEW
========

This package contains C software to implement JPEG image compression and
decompression.  JPEG (pronounced "jay-peg") is a standardized compression
method for full-color and gray-scale images.  JPEG is intended for compressing
"real-world" scenes; line drawings, cartoons and other non-realistic images
are not its strong suit.  JPEG is lossy, meaning that the output image is not
exactly identical to the input image.  Hence you must not use JPEG if you
have to have identical output bits.  However, on typical photographic images,
very good compression levels can be obtained with no visible change, and
remarkably high compression levels are possible if you can tolerate a
low-quality image.  For more details, see the references, or just experiment
with various compression settings.

This software implements JPEG baseline, extended-sequential, and progressive
compression processes.  Provision is made for supporting all variants of these
processes, although some uncommon parameter settings aren't implemented yet.
For legal reasons, we are not distributing code for the arithmetic-coding
variants of JPEG; see LEGAL ISSUES.  We have made no provision for supporting
the hierarchical or lossless processes defined in the standard.

We provide a set of library routines for reading and writing JPEG image files,
plus two sample applications "cjpeg" and "djpeg", which use the library to
perform conversion between JPEG and some other popular image file formats.
The library is intended to be reused in other applications.

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 (C) 1991-1996, 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 configuration script "configure" was produced with GNU Autoconf.  It
is copyright by the Free Software Foundation but is freely distributable.

It 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.

WARNING: Unisys has begun to enforce their patent on LZW compression against
GIF encoders and decoders.  You will need a license from Unisys to use the
included rdgif.c or wrgif.c files in a commercial or shareware application.
At this time, Unisys is not enforcing their patent against freeware, so
distribution of this package remains legal.  However, we intend to remove
GIF support from the IJG package as soon as a suitable replacement format
becomes reasonably popular.

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."