public class AssignOperation<T extends RealType<T>>
extends Object

An AssignOperation computes values in an output image. The output image is preallocated here. The AssignOperation uses a RealFunction to compute each pixel value from any number of input images. The passed in function must accept the same number of parameters as the number of input images given. (Better name welcomed: ImageAssignment? FunctionalEvaluation? Others?) A user of this class creates an AssignOperation, constrains it as desired, and calls execute(). Note that execute() can be interrupted from another Thread using the quit() method. (this code is currently single threaded). The operation can be constrained in a number of ways: - the output image and each input image can be constrained to sample values only within user specified rectangular subregions. All subregions must be shape compatible before calling execute(). See setInputRegion() and setOutputRegion(). - the generation of an output pixel can be further constrained by Conditions - up to one per image. An output pixel is changed at a pixel location only when all Conditions are satisfied. Conditions can be as complex as desired and can be composed of other Conditions. Conditions can even have a spatial component. See setInputCondition() and setOutputCondition(). - the execute() iteration can be observed by any class implementing an Observer interface. A statistical query could be constructed this way. An image can be repeated multiple times within the input image list. Therefore separate regions of one image can be used as input. An image can act as both input and output. Thus one can transform an existing image in place. Limitations - the regions are shape compatible. Thus one pixel is computed from some function of all the pixels located in the same place relative to their own images. Thus you can't compute a function on a neighborhood very easily. As it stands you could create an AssignOperation on 9 input images that are the same input image with 9 different subregions. You could then pass a MedianFunction to calculate a median filter. Could be better. (With appropriate out of bounds behavior this is how you could do a convolution too). - if a user reuses an input image as an output image they have to take care to not change pixels used in further input calculations. Usually this is not a problem unless you are using a spatial Condition or if you have set the output image subregion to partially overlap it's input image region. We could add some checking. Ideally we'd enhance Imglib such that functions are more integrated in the core. An Image is just a function that maps input coordinates to output values. An image with an out of bounds behavior is a function composed of two functions: the image function and the out of bounds function. A neighborhood is a function that maps input coordinates to output values over a subdomain (thus it should be an Img also). A RealFunction could operate on neighborhoods and return values. Neighborhoods could be within one Image or span multiple Images. But really Image is wrong here as it could just be a function we sample. If a neighborhood can't span multiple images then we'd want ways to compose images out of other images that is all done by reference and delegation. i.e. a 3d composed z stack image made of thirteen 2d images. See how imgib2 supports these concepts.