From: tgl+@cs.cmu.edu (Tom Lane)
Newsgroups: comp.compression,comp.compression.research,comp.graphics,sci.image.processing,alt.graphics.pixutils,misc.books.technical
Subject: Review: "JPEG Still Image Data Compression Standard"
Keywords: JPEG, book review
Date: 6 Nov 92 15:50:37 GMT
Article-I.D.: cs.BxAxCE.B9C.2
Followup-To: comp.compression
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon

I have been sent galley proofs for an upcoming textbook about JPEG.  The book
looks like an invaluable resource for anyone who is implementing JPEG or is
curious about its inner workings.  Herewith a review and ordering information.

Vital Statistics:

	JPEG Still Image Data Compression Standard
	by William B. Pennebaker and Joan L. Mitchell
	published by Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1993.  ISBN 0-442-01272-1.
	600 pages, 300 illustrations (all grayscale except for the cover).
	Includes complete text of ISO JPEG standards (DIS 10918-1 and draft
	DIS 10918-2).  Price US$59.95.

Review:

This is by far the most complete exposition of JPEG in existence.  It's
written by two people who know what they are talking about: both serve on
the ISO JPEG standards committee.  If you want to know how JPEG works or
why it works that way, this is the book to have.

The main text of the book consists of a thorough introduction to the JPEG
algorithms and the principles behind them.  The writing is a bit dry and
academic in tone, but is quite clear.  The more technical or mathematical
material is separated out into its own sections, so that you can read the
book at any of several levels of difficulty depending on your needs.
In particular, the authors have kept implementation details separate from
information needed by JPEG end users or programmers integrating JPEG into
applications.  It's possible to start with very little knowledge of either
image processing or data compression theory, and still follow the book.

Both theoretical and practical aspects of JPEG are covered.  Topics include
the human visual limitations exploited by JPEG's lossy compression, basic
entropy coding concepts, actual compression ratios achievable with JPEG,
possible future enhancements to JPEG, and much more.  There's even a chapter
listing many of the available hardware and software implementations of JPEG;
a list obsolete on the day it's published, of course, but a good starting
point if you are searching for JPEG chips or programs.

The book is particularly strong in describing the design and uses of the
advanced optional features of JPEG, such as the progressive and hierarchical
operating modes.  These advanced features are not widely implemented yet, but
I think the book will help to popularize them.

Two appendices, amounting to almost half of the book, provide the full text
of the international standards documents for JPEG.  (Part 2 of the standard,
covering compliance testing, is given in draft form since it is not yet
approved.)  These appendices alone are worth more than the price of the book:
buying photocopies of the standards from ANSI would set you back about $150.
Furthermore, since the standards are written in the usual bureaucratese,
the main text of the book is an invaluable aid to actually understanding them.

About the only fault I can find with the book is that it fails to warn the
reader that some of the algorithms discussed are patented.  With four whole
chapters devoted to aspects of arithmetic coding (Q-coding), you'd think there
would have been room to mention that you can't use it without a license from
IBM.  This omission may be reasonable in a textbook, but for the implementers
who are the likely audience of this book, it is very important information.
(Strictly speaking, patent information *is* in the book, since there is a
list of relevant patent numbers in Annex L of the ISO standard.  But in my
opinion the patent situation deserves more prominent discussion.  You would
certainly never guess from the book that many implementers are avoiding the
arithmetic coding option due to patent considerations.)

All in all, I recommend this book highly.  I learned some things by reading
it; you will too.


Table of Contents:

These are the chapter titles and my one-line summaries of what's in each
chapter.

1. Introduction
2. Image concepts and vocabulary
	what is a digital image?
3. Aspects of the human visual system
	limitations we can exploit in image coding
4. The discrete cosine transform (DCT)
	motivation, mathematical definition, fast algorithms
5. Image compression systems
	the basic architecture of JPEG
6. JPEG modes of operation
	baseline, progressive, hierarchical, and lossless operating modes
7. JPEG syntax and data organization
	layout of a JPEG data stream
8. Entropy coding concepts
	basic concepts of data compression: modeling versus coding
9. JPEG binary arithmetic coding
	how the Q-coder works (but not why---that comes later)
10. JPEG coding models
	the statistical data models used for entropy coding
11. JPEG Huffman entropy coding
	how the baseline entropy coder works
12. Arithmetic coding statistical models
	three more chapters on the arithmetic entropy coder...
	(can you guess this is near & dear to the authors' hearts?)
13. More on arithmetic coding
14. Probability estimation
15. Compression performance
	how well does JPEG work?
16. JPEG enhancements
	improvements possible within the letter of the standard
17. JPEG applications and vendors
	thirty-four organizations selling/using JPEG implementations or
	JPEG-based products  (yes, the free IJG software is listed)
18. Overview of CCITT, ISO, and IEC
	how do you create an international standard, anyway?
19. History of JPEG
20. Other image compression standards
	brief descriptions of G3/G4 fax, H.261, JBIG, MPEG
21. Possible future JPEG directions
	what's likely to show up in JPEG-II
Appendix A: ISO DIS 10918-1
	text of the actual ISO JPEG standard
Appendix B: ISO draft DIS 10918-2
	text of the draft standard on compliance testing
References
	nearly 200 of 'em...
Index
	my galley proof has no index, but I'm told the index will cover
	the standards as well as the main text; this will be VERY useful.


Ordering information:

The book is being printed now and should be available before the end of
November 1992.  In particular, Van Nostrand Reinhold has promised to have
copies for sale at the COMDEX expo (at a 20% discount yet; ask at the IBM
OEM booth).  If you're not going to COMDEX, you can order from:

      o Van Nostrand Reinhold
        Mail Order Department
        P. O. Box 668
        Florence, KY 41022-0668
        Phone: 800/926-2665       Fax:   600/525-7778

        ISBN 0-442-01272-1
        Payment via check or credit card (Visa, MasterCard,
        American Express).

      o AIIM BookStore
        1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1100
        Silver Spring, MD 20910
        Phone: 301/587-8202       Fax:   301/587-2711

        Catalog number B714
        Payment via check, purchase order, or credit card (Visa,
        MasterCard, American Express).

      o JLM's Bookcase
        7 Cherry Hill Circle
        Ossining, NY 10562

        Payment via check (In the US, $59.95 + $2.00 shipping + sales tax
        for NY state residents.)

If you are outside the US, VNR's foreign distributors are:

	Chapman and Hall
	2-6 Boundary Row
	London, SE1 8HN, England

	Thomas Nelson Australia
	102 Dodds Street
	South Melbourne 3205
	Victoria, Australia

Any good bookstore should be able to order the book for you, too.


			Dr. Thomas G. Lane
			organizer, Independent JPEG Group