ISO/IEC 12087-3:1995

Overview

ISO/IEC 12087-3:1995 defines the Image Interchange Facility (IIF) - a standardized data format and gateway API for exchanging digital images in open, heterogeneous environments. Part of the ISO/IEC 12087 family (which includes the common architecture and the Programmer’s Imaging Kernel System), this standard specifies the IIF data format (IIF-DF) using ASN.1 formal syntax and a manual-page description of the IIF Gateway (API) functions. It is intended both as an interchange format and as a local file format for imaging applications.

Key topics and requirements

• IIF data format (IIF-DF): formal syntax defined with ASN.1; encoding rules referenced to ISO/IEC 12089.
• IIF Gateway (API): functional specification for import/export, parse/generate, data-structure access and manipulation, compression/decompression, error handling, and application-oriented services.
• Compression support: inclusion of standardized compressed image streams (e.g., CCITT T.4/T.6, ISO/IEC 10918 (JPEG), ISO/IEC 11544 (JBIG), ISO/IEC 11172 (MPEG-1)). IIF-DF allows mixtures of compressed and uncompressed regions and multiple compression methods within one image (e.g., tiled images).
• Image representation: support for pixel and band interleaving, tiled images, pixel-field placement and encoding, image attributes, annotations, and related image data.
• Profiles and conformance: standard conformance profiles (Full PIKS, Foundation, registered application-specific profiles) and extension/constraining methods to tailor the format to domains.
• Interworking: defined interaction between IPI-IIF and IPI-PIKS (Programmer’s Imaging Kernel System) and potential use within OSI-based communication services (e.g., FTAM, MOTIS/X.400).

Practical applications

ISO/IEC 12087-3 is suitable wherever interoperable, application-independent image interchange is required:

• Medical imaging archives and exchange
• Remote sensing and geospatial imagery
• Publishing and desktop electronic publishing workflows
• Industrial machine vision and inspection systems
• Scientific visualization, animation, and mission planning
• Document processing and facsimile integration It supports scenarios requiring metadata, annotations, tiled/large images, and mixed compression strategies.

Who should use it

• Imaging software developers and system integrators implementing import/export pipelines
• Device manufacturers (cameras, scanners, printers) seeking a standardized interchange/device format
• Standards implementers and archivists managing long-term image repositories
• Network and protocol engineers integrating image transfer into OSI/FTAM/MHS systems

Related standards (referenced)

• ISO/IEC 12087-1 (Common architecture for imaging)
• ISO/IEC 12087-2 (IPI-PIKS)
• ISO/IEC 12089 (IIF encoding rules)
• CCITT T.4, T.6 (facsimile)
• ISO/IEC 10918 (JPEG), 11544 (JBIG), 11172 (MPEG-1)
• ISO/IEC 8571 (FTAM), ISO/IEC 10021 / CCITT X.400 (MHS)

Keywords: ISO/IEC 12087-3, IPI-IIF, IIF data format, image interchange, ASN.1, imaging gateway API, image compression, JPEG, JBIG, MPEG-1, conformance profiles.