Module java.desktop

Class SampleModel

java.lang.Object
java.awt.image.SampleModel
Direct Known Subclasses:
ComponentSampleModel, MultiPixelPackedSampleModel, SinglePixelPackedSampleModel

public abstract class SampleModel extends Object
This abstract class defines an interface for extracting samples of pixels in an image. All image data is expressed as a collection of pixels. Each pixel consists of a number of samples. A sample is a datum for one band of an image and a band consists of all samples of a particular type in an image. For example, a pixel might contain three samples representing its red, green and blue components. There are three bands in the image containing this pixel. One band consists of all the red samples from all pixels in the image. The second band consists of all the green samples and the remaining band consists of all of the blue samples. The pixel can be stored in various formats. For example, all samples from a particular band can be stored contiguously or all samples from a single pixel can be stored contiguously.

Subclasses of SampleModel specify the types of samples they can represent (e.g. unsigned 8-bit byte, signed 16-bit short, etc.) and may specify how the samples are organized in memory. In the Java 2D(tm) API, built-in image processing operators may not operate on all possible sample types, but generally will work for unsigned integral samples of 16 bits or less. Some operators support a wider variety of sample types.

A collection of pixels is represented as a Raster, which consists of a DataBuffer and a SampleModel. The SampleModel allows access to samples in the DataBuffer and may provide low-level information that a programmer can use to directly manipulate samples and pixels in the DataBuffer.

This class is generally a fall back method for dealing with images. More efficient code will cast the SampleModel to the appropriate subclass and extract the information needed to directly manipulate pixels in the DataBuffer.

See Also: