libpng

Libpng

libpng is an open source library that provides an API for manipulating PNG image files. It supports almost all types of PNG files including 1, 2, 4 and 8 bit color channels with optional transparency.
Photos & Graphics Image Processing & Conversion
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png image-processing graphics open-source
Libpng alternatives ➤

libpng: Open Source PNG Image Library

libpng is an open source library providing API for manipulating PNG image files, supporting various color channels and transparency options.

What is Libpng?

libpng is an open source C library that provides an API for programmers to handle and manipulate Portable Network Graphics (PNG) format image files. It aims to be a replacement for the PNG reference library. libpng is widely used across platforms and languages to read, create, and transform PNG files.

Some key capabilities and features of libpng include:

  • Reading and writing PNG files with support for different color types - indexed color, grayscale, truecolor with alpha transparency
  • Progressive loading so images can render as they download
  • Powerful built-in filtering and transformation functions
  • Robust error handling using png_jmpbuf()
  • Compatible across platforms like Linux, macOS, Windows
  • Thread safe and pluggable memory allocation
  • Output interlacing for progressive display
  • Supports user-defined chunk types to store custom metadata

libpng is written in portable C and has bindings for a multitude of languages like C++, C#, Java, Lua, Perl, Python, Ruby, etc. It's released under the libpng license which is considered BSD/GPL/zlib compatible. Maintained by a group of developers collaborating online, libpng continues to evolve to support modern PNG extensions.

Libpng Features

Features

  1. Lossless data compression
  2. Support for different color types like grayscale, RGB, RGBA, indexed color
  3. Transparency support with alpha channel
  4. Progressive display support
  5. Built-in gamma correction
  6. Robust error handling

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Widely used and supported

Lightweight and fast

Good compression

Open source and free

Cross-platform compatibility

Cons

Limited to PNG format only

Less flexible than full graphics libraries

Requires programming knowledge to use API

Documentation could be improved

Official Links

Official Website
https://www.libpng.org/pub/png/

The Best Libpng Alternatives

Top Photos & Graphics and Image Processing & Conversion and other similar apps like Libpng

Here are some alternatives to Libpng:

Libjpeg-turbo icon
libjpeg-turbo
Libtiff icon
libtiff
GIFLIB icon
GIFLIB
Suggest an alternative ❐

Libjpeg-turbo icon

Libjpeg-turbo

libjpeg-turbo is a JPEG image codec that uses SIMD instructions to accelerate baseline JPEG compression and decompression on x86, x86-64, ARM, and PowerPC systems. It is licensed under a non-viral OSI-approved license that makes it suitable for use in closed-source products.libjpeg-turbo implements both the traditional libjpeg API as well as...
Libjpeg-turbo image
Libtiff icon

Libtiff

libtiff is an open source library for working with Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) images. It provides APIs for reading, writing, and manipulating TIFF images in a variety of formats.Some key features of libtiff include:Supports a wide range of TIFF formats including RGB, grayscale, palette color, CMYK, bilevel, and moreHandles...
GIFLIB icon

GIFLIB

GIFLIB is an open-source C software library that provides functionality for reading, writing, and manipulating GIF images. It was originally developed in the late 1980s and has become one of the most widely-used GIF libraries.Some key features of GIFLIB include:Encoding and decoding GIF images up to 2GB in sizeSupport for...
GIFLIB image