The Java TM Tutorial

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Trail: 2D Graphics
Lesson: Manipulating and Displaying Images

## Immediate-Mode Imaging with BufferedImage

> The immediate-mode imaging model enables you to manipulate and display pixel-mapped images whose data is stored in memory. You can access image data in a variety of formats and use several types of filtering operations to manipulate the data.

> `BufferedImage` is the key class in the immediate-mode imaging API. This class manages an image in memory and provides methods for storing, interpreting, and rendering the pixel data. A `BufferedImage` can be rendered through either a `Graphics` or a `Graphics2D` rendering context.

> A `BufferedImage` is essentially an `Image` with an accessible data buffer. A `BufferedImage` has a `ColorModel` and a `Raster` of image data.

> The `ColorModel` provides a color interpretation of the image's pixel data. The `Raster` represents the rectangular coordinates of the image, maintains image data in memory, and provides a mechanism for creating multiple subimages from a single image data buffer. The `Raster` also provides methods for accessing specific pixels within the image. For information about directly manipulating pixel data and writing filters for `BufferedImage` objects, see the chapter Imaging in the Java 2D Programmer's Guide.

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