Patent ID: 7672542

Claim:
A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions which when executed perform a method for returning a frame in response to a request for a frame that identifies the type of frame requested, comprising: receiving a request at a decoder from a requesting component for a frame of an image having multiple frames each of a different type, wherein a plurality of the frames of the image is stored in an image container, wherein the request includes an identifier that identifies the type of the requested frame, wherein a frame comprises data that may be used to display a view of the image, and wherein the type of each frame comprises one of a thumbnail type, a full-resolution type, an embedded preview type, a fast preview type, or a raw sensor data type, wherein the decoder is configured to recognize a canonical set of frame names corresponding to each frame type such that each frame type is identifiable by its corresponding name; locating the requested frame via the identifier; and providing a reference to the requested frame such that the requesting component determines the type of the received frame based on the request that identifies the type of the requested frame rather than based on an evaluation of the characteristics of the frame received in response to the request.