How to Decode Compressed Images Using a Custom Input Stream in C ?

How to Write a Custom Input Stream in C

Introduction

C stream input/output (IO) operations are commonly performed using the iostream library. While this library provides a solid foundation for most IO tasks, there are scenarios where you may need to implement custom input streams to handle data in non-standard formats.

Overview of Custom Input Streams

Custom input streams are defined by extending the std::streambuf class and overriding its virtual methods, such as underflow() for reading and overflow() and sync() for writing. By overriding these functions, you can control the way the stream interacts with the underlying data source or destination.

Example: Vertical XOR Image Decoding

Let's consider a specific example of implementing a custom input stream for decoding images that have been compressed using vertical XOR encoding.

<code class="cpp">class vxor_streambuf : public std::streambuf {
public:
    // Constructor takes the original buffer and image width
    vxor_streambuf(std::streambuf *buffer, int width) :
        buffer(buffer), size(width / 2) {
        // Allocate memory for previous and current lines
        previous_line = new char[size];
        memset(previous_line, 0, size);
        current_line = new char[size];
        // Initialize streambuf member variables
        setg(0, 0, 0);
        setp(current_line, current_line + size);
    }

    // Destructor releases memory
    ~vxor_streambuf() {
        sync();
        delete[] previous_line;
        delete[] current_line;
    }

    // Underflow() performs XOR decoding for reading
    std::streambuf::int_type underflow() {
        // Read line from original buffer
        streamsize read = buffer->sgetn(current_line, size);
        if (!read) return traits_type::eof();

        // Perform vertical XOR decoding
        for (int i = 0; i < size; i += 1) {
            current_line[i] ^= previous_line[i];
            previous_line[i] = current_line[i];
        }

        // Update streambuf member variables
        setg(current_line, current_line, current_line + read);
        return traits_type::to_int_type(*gptr());
    }

    // Overflow() performs XOR encoding for writing
    std::streambuf::int_type overflow(std::streambuf::int_type value) {
        int write = pptr() - pbase();
        if (write) {
            // Perform vertical XOR encoding
            for (int i = 0; i < size; i += 1) {
                char tmp = current_line[i];
                current_line[i] ^= previous_line[i];
                previous_line[i] = tmp;
            }

            // Write line to original buffer
            streamsize written = buffer->sputn(current_line, write);
            if (written != write) return traits_type::eof();
        }

        // Update streambuf member variables
        setp(current_line, current_line + size);
        if (!traits_type::eq_int_type(value, traits_type::eof())) sputc(value);
        return traits_type::not_eof(value);
    };

    // Sync() flushes any pending data
    virtual int sync() {
        streambuf::int_type result = this->overflow(traits_type::eof());
        buffer->pubsync();
        return traits_type::eq_int_type(result, traits_type::eof()) ? -1 : 0;
    }

private:
    streambuf *buffer;
    int size;
    char *previous_line;
    char *current_line;
};</code>

Usage

<code class="cpp">ifstream infile("encoded_image.vxor");
vxor_istream in(infile, 288); // Create a new vxor_istream
char data[144 * 128];
in.read(data, 144 * 128); // Read encoded data</code>

Additional Considerations

• Performance: Custom streams can impact performance since they introduce an additional layer of indirection.
• Robustness: Ensure that your custom stream handles errors and exceptions gracefully to maintain data integrity.
• Documentation: Provide clear documentation for your custom streams to help others understand their usage.

By following these guidelines and understanding the intricacies of streambuf manipulation, you can effectively implement custom input streams for various scenarios where standard IO operations fall short.

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