PCX is a bitmap image format originally used by PC Paintbrush from ZSoft Corporation. Originally, it was a relatively simple 128-byte header + uncompressed bitmap format, but latest versions introduced more complicated palette support and RLE compression.
There's an option to encode 32-bit or 16-bit RGBA pixels, and thus it can potentially include transparency. Theoretically, it's possible to encode resolution or pixel density in the some of the header fields too, but in reality there's no uniform standard for these, so different implementations treat these differently.
PCX format was never made a formal standard. "ZSoft Corporation Technical Reference Manual" for "Image File (.PCX) Format", last updated in 1991, is likely the closest authoritative source.
This page hosts a formal specification of .pcx file format using Kaitai Struct. This specification can be automatically translated into a variety of programming languages to get a parsing library.
All parsing code for JavaScript generated by Kaitai Struct depends on the JavaScript runtime library. You have to install it before you can parse data.
The JavaScript runtime library is available at npm:
npm install kaitai-structSee the usage examples in the JavaScript notes.
Parse structure from an ArrayBuffer:
var arrayBuffer = ...;
var data = new Pcx(new KaitaiStream(arrayBuffer));
After that, one can get various attributes from the structure by accessing fields or properties like:
data.hdr // => get hdr
// This is a generated file! Please edit source .ksy file and use kaitai-struct-compiler to rebuild
(function (root, factory) {
if (typeof define === 'function' && define.amd) {
define(['kaitai-struct/KaitaiStream'], factory);
} else if (typeof module === 'object' && module.exports) {
module.exports = factory(require('kaitai-struct/KaitaiStream'));
} else {
root.Pcx = factory(root.KaitaiStream);
}
}(typeof self !== 'undefined' ? self : this, function (KaitaiStream) {
/**
* PCX is a bitmap image format originally used by PC Paintbrush from
* ZSoft Corporation. Originally, it was a relatively simple 128-byte
* header + uncompressed bitmap format, but latest versions introduced
* more complicated palette support and RLE compression.
*
* There's an option to encode 32-bit or 16-bit RGBA pixels, and thus
* it can potentially include transparency. Theoretically, it's
* possible to encode resolution or pixel density in the some of the
* header fields too, but in reality there's no uniform standard for
* these, so different implementations treat these differently.
*
* PCX format was never made a formal standard. "ZSoft Corporation
* Technical Reference Manual" for "Image File (.PCX) Format", last
* updated in 1991, is likely the closest authoritative source.
* @see {@link https://web.archive.org/web/20100206055706/http://www.qzx.com/pc-gpe/pcx.txt|Source}
*/
var Pcx = (function() {
Pcx.Versions = Object.freeze({
V2_5: 0,
V2_8_WITH_PALETTE: 2,
V2_8_WITHOUT_PALETTE: 3,
PAINTBRUSH_FOR_WINDOWS: 4,
V3_0: 5,
0: "V2_5",
2: "V2_8_WITH_PALETTE",
3: "V2_8_WITHOUT_PALETTE",
4: "PAINTBRUSH_FOR_WINDOWS",
5: "V3_0",
});
Pcx.Encodings = Object.freeze({
RLE: 1,
1: "RLE",
});
function Pcx(_io, _parent, _root) {
this._io = _io;
this._parent = _parent;
this._root = _root || this;
this._read();
}
Pcx.prototype._read = function() {
this._raw_hdr = this._io.readBytes(128);
var _io__raw_hdr = new KaitaiStream(this._raw_hdr);
this.hdr = new Header(_io__raw_hdr, this, this._root);
}
/**
* @see {@link https://web.archive.org/web/20100206055706/http://www.qzx.com/pc-gpe/pcx.txt|- "ZSoft .PCX FILE HEADER FORMAT"}
*/
var Header = Pcx.Header = (function() {
function Header(_io, _parent, _root) {
this._io = _io;
this._parent = _parent;
this._root = _root || this;
this._read();
}
Header.prototype._read = function() {
this.magic = this._io.readBytes(1);
if (!((KaitaiStream.byteArrayCompare(this.magic, [10]) == 0))) {
throw new KaitaiStream.ValidationNotEqualError([10], this.magic, this._io, "/types/header/seq/0");
}
this.version = this._io.readU1();
this.encoding = this._io.readU1();
this.bitsPerPixel = this._io.readU1();
this.imgXMin = this._io.readU2le();
this.imgYMin = this._io.readU2le();
this.imgXMax = this._io.readU2le();
this.imgYMax = this._io.readU2le();
this.hdpi = this._io.readU2le();
this.vdpi = this._io.readU2le();
this.palette16 = this._io.readBytes(48);
this.reserved = this._io.readBytes(1);
if (!((KaitaiStream.byteArrayCompare(this.reserved, [0]) == 0))) {
throw new KaitaiStream.ValidationNotEqualError([0], this.reserved, this._io, "/types/header/seq/11");
}
this.numPlanes = this._io.readU1();
this.bytesPerLine = this._io.readU2le();
this.paletteInfo = this._io.readU2le();
this.hScreenSize = this._io.readU2le();
this.vScreenSize = this._io.readU2le();
}
/**
* Technically, this field was supposed to be "manufacturer"
* mark to distinguish between various software vendors, and
* 0x0a was supposed to mean "ZSoft", but everyone else ended
* up writing a 0x0a into this field, so that's what majority
* of modern software expects to have in this attribute.
*/
return Header;
})();
var TPalette256 = Pcx.TPalette256 = (function() {
function TPalette256(_io, _parent, _root) {
this._io = _io;
this._parent = _parent;
this._root = _root || this;
this._read();
}
TPalette256.prototype._read = function() {
this.magic = this._io.readBytes(1);
if (!((KaitaiStream.byteArrayCompare(this.magic, [12]) == 0))) {
throw new KaitaiStream.ValidationNotEqualError([12], this.magic, this._io, "/types/t_palette_256/seq/0");
}
this.colors = [];
for (var i = 0; i < 256; i++) {
this.colors.push(new Rgb(this._io, this, this._root));
}
}
return TPalette256;
})();
var Rgb = Pcx.Rgb = (function() {
function Rgb(_io, _parent, _root) {
this._io = _io;
this._parent = _parent;
this._root = _root || this;
this._read();
}
Rgb.prototype._read = function() {
this.r = this._io.readU1();
this.g = this._io.readU1();
this.b = this._io.readU1();
}
return Rgb;
})();
/**
* @see {@link https://web.archive.org/web/20100206055706/http://www.qzx.com/pc-gpe/pcx.txt|- "VGA 256 Color Palette Information"}
*/
Object.defineProperty(Pcx.prototype, 'palette256', {
get: function() {
if (this._m_palette256 !== undefined)
return this._m_palette256;
if ( ((this.hdr.version == Pcx.Versions.V3_0) && (this.hdr.bitsPerPixel == 8) && (this.hdr.numPlanes == 1)) ) {
var _pos = this._io.pos;
this._io.seek((this._io.size - 769));
this._m_palette256 = new TPalette256(this._io, this, this._root);
this._io.seek(_pos);
}
return this._m_palette256;
}
});
return Pcx;
})();
return Pcx;
}));