Getting Started

Getting started guide for image manipulation in BoxLang.

This guide will help you get up and running with image manipulation in BoxLang.

Creating Images

There are several ways to create or load images in BoxLang:

From a File Path

// Using ImageRead()
img = ImageRead("path/to/image.jpg");

// Using ImageNew() - recommended
img = ImageNew("path/to/image.jpg");

From a URL

// Load image from remote URL
img = ImageNew("https://example.com/photo.jpg");

Create a Blank Canvas

// Create blank image: width, height, type, color
img = ImageNew(800, 600, "rgb", "white");

// Available types: "rgb", "argb" (with alpha), "grayscale"

From Base64 String

// Load from Base64 encoded string
base64String = "iVBORw0KGgoAAAANS...";
img = ImageReadBase64(base64String);

From Java BufferedImage

// If you have a Java BufferedImage object
bufferedImage = someJavaImageObject;
img = ImageNew(bufferedImage);

Reading Images

ImageRead() vs ImageNew()

Both functions read images, but ImageNew() is more versatile:

// ImageRead() - traditional CFML
img = ImageRead("photo.jpg");

// ImageNew() - BoxLang (recommended)
// Supports same sources plus blank canvas creation
img = ImageNew("photo.jpg");

Supported Source Types

// File path
img = ImageNew("images/photo.jpg");
img = ImageNew("/absolute/path/to/photo.jpg");

// URL
img = ImageNew("https://cdn.example.com/image.jpg");

// URI
img = ImageNew(createObject("java", "java.net.URI").create("file:///path/to/image.jpg"));

// Blank canvas
img = ImageNew(width=1024, height=768);

Basic Operations

Get Image Information

img = ImageNew("photo.jpg");

// Get dimensions
width = ImageGetWidth(img);
height = ImageGetHeight(img);

// Or using member functions
width = img.getWidth();
height = img.getHeight();

// Get comprehensive info
info = ImageInfo(img);
// Returns struct with: width, height, colorModel, source, etc.

Check Image Properties

// Validate if variable is an image
if (IsImage(img)) {
    // Work with image
}

// Check if file is an image
if (IsImageFile("photo.jpg")) {
    img = ImageNew("photo.jpg");
}

Get Supported Formats

// Get list of readable formats
readableFormats = GetReadableImageFormats();
// Returns: ["BMP", "GIF", "JPEG", "PNG", "TIFF", "WBMP"]

// Get list of writable formats
writeableFormats = GetWriteableImageFormats();
// Returns: ["BMP", "GIF", "JPEG", "PNG", "TIFF", "WBMP"]

Method Chaining

One of the most powerful features is method chaining with BoxImage:

Traditional BIF Approach

// Multiple function calls with variable reassignment
img = ImageRead("photo.jpg");
ImageResize(img, 800, 600);
ImageGrayScale(img);
ImageSharpen(img, 2);
ImageWrite(img, "output.jpg");

Fluent BoxImage Approach (Recommended)

// Clean, chainable syntax
ImageNew("photo.jpg")
    .resize(800, 600)
    .grayScale()
    .sharpen(2)
    .write("output.jpg");

Why Method Chaining?

Benefits:

Cleaner Code - More readable and concise
Less Variables - No need to store intermediate results
Natural Flow - Operations flow from left to right, top to bottom
IDE Support - Better autocomplete and IntelliSense
Immutable Operations - Each method returns the modified image

Mixing Approaches

You can mix BIF and member function syntax:

// Create with ImageNew, then use member functions
var img = ImageNew("photo.jpg");
img.resize(800, 600).grayScale();

// Or use BIFs on the result
ImageSharpen(img, 2);
ImageWrite(img, "output.jpg");

Saving Images

Write to File

// Save image to file (auto-creates directories)
img = ImageNew("photo.jpg");
ImageWrite(img, "output/processed.jpg");

// Or using member function
img.write("output/processed.jpg");

Convert to Base64

// Get Base64 encoded string
img = ImageNew("photo.jpg");
base64String = ImageWriteBase64(img);

// Use in HTML
html = "<img src='data:image/png;base64,#base64String#' />";

Get as Byte Array

// Get image data as bytes
img = ImageNew("photo.jpg");
bytes = ImageGetBlob(img);

// Useful for streaming or storing in database

Get Java BufferedImage

// Get underlying Java BufferedImage object
img = ImageNew("photo.jpg");
bufferedImage = ImageGetBufferedImage(img);

// Useful for integration with Java libraries

Working with BoxImage

The BoxImage class is a fluent wrapper that makes image manipulation intuitive and powerful.

Creating BoxImage Instances

// All of these return a BoxImage instance:

// From file
img = ImageNew("photo.jpg");

// From URL
img = ImageNew("https://example.com/image.jpg");

// Blank canvas
img = ImageNew(800, 600, "argb", "white");

// From Base64
img = ImageReadBase64(base64String);

// Using ImageRead (also returns BoxImage)
img = ImageRead("photo.jpg");

BoxImage is Mutable and Chainable

// Each operation modifies the image and returns 'this'
var img = ImageNew(400, 300, "rgb", "blue");

// These all modify the same instance
img.resize(800, 600)    // Returns img
   .blur(5)             // Returns img
   .grayScale()         // Returns img
   .write("out.jpg");   // Returns img

// img variable now holds the final processed image

Copying Images

// Create a copy before modifying
original = ImageNew("photo.jpg");
modified = ImageCopy(original);

// Now modify the copy
modified.grayScale().blur(3);

// original is unchanged
// or use the member function
modified = original.copy();

Complete Example

// Load, process, and save in multiple formats
var original = ImageNew("raw-photo.jpg");

// Create thumbnail
original.copy()
    .scaleToFit(200, 200)
    .sharpen(1)
    .write("thumbnail.jpg");

// Create grayscale version
original.copy()
    .grayScale()
    .sharpen(1.5)
    .write("grayscale.jpg");

// Create blurred background
original.copy()
    .blur(10)
    .write("background.jpg");

// Original is still unmodified

Quick Reference

Essential BIFs

Function

Purpose

Example

ImageNew()

Create/load image

ImageNew("photo.jpg")

ImageRead()

Load from file

ImageRead("photo.jpg")

ImageWrite()

Save to file

ImageWrite(img, "out.jpg")

ImageInfo()

Get image details

ImageInfo(img)

ImageGetWidth()

Get width

ImageGetWidth(img)

ImageGetHeight()

Get height

ImageGetHeight(img)

IsImage()

Check if image

IsImage(img)

IsImageFile()

Check if file is image

IsImageFile("photo.jpg")

Essential Member Functions

// All BIFs available as member functions
img = ImageNew("photo.jpg");

img.getWidth()              // Get width
img.getHeight()             // Get height
img.write("out.jpg")        // Save
img.copy()                  // Create copy
img.resize(800, 600)        // Resize
img.crop(0, 0, 400, 300)    // Crop
img.grayScale()             // Convert to grayscale
img.blur(5)                 // Apply blur

Next Steps

Now that you understand the basics, explore more advanced topics:

Transformations - Resize, rotate, crop, flip
Filters & Effects - Blur, sharpen, overlay
Drawing - Draw shapes, lines, and text
Metadata - Read EXIF and IPTC data
Advanced Examples - Real-world use cases

PreviousImage Manipulation NextTransformations

Last updated 6 days ago

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