changeset 17332:eb7e9a991ffb

Implement writing of CMYK and fix writing of image alpha channel (bug #32986). * __magick_read__.cc (bitdepth_from_class, init_encode_image): new functions created from pieces of encode_indexed_images () to be used by the other encode image functions. (encode_indexed_images): make use of new bitdepth_from_class(), and init_encode_image() functions. (encode_bool_image): rewritten to match flow of the other encode functions, use fortran_vec for performance, and use only 4th dimension for frames. (encode_uint_image): completely rewritten to identify images of CMYK type and not confuse them with RGB plus alpha channel. Now accepts the alpha channel as separate argument. Image argument must now be of same class as the template. (__magick_write__): changed to match new API for the encode functions. * private/__imwrite__.m: set default and input check for alpha channel option. * imwrite.m: document alpha channel option as separate argument. * NEWS: announce rewrite of the image IO functions and warn about possible backwards incompatibilities.
author Carnë Draug <carandraug@octave.org>
date Mon, 19 Aug 2013 16:11:18 +0100
parents 636d75a58cd9
children 51c011825bcc
files NEWS libinterp/dldfcn/__magick_read__.cc scripts/image/imwrite.m scripts/image/private/__imwrite__.m
diffstat 4 files changed, 381 insertions(+), 166 deletions(-) [+]
line wrap: on
line diff
--- a/NEWS	Mon Aug 26 21:26:25 2013 +0200
+++ b/NEWS	Mon Aug 19 16:11:18 2013 +0100
@@ -138,9 +138,27 @@
 
     Other changes include fixes to the way indexed images are read from a
     colormap depending on the image class (integer images have a -1 offset to
-    the colormap row number), and always returning the actual indexed image
-    with imread instead of a RGB image if the colormap was not requested
-    as output.
+    the colormap row number).
+
+ ** The imread and imwrite functions have been completely rewritten
+
+    The main changes relate to the alpha channel, support for reading and
+    writing of floating point images, implemented writing of indexed images,
+    and appending images to multipage image files.
+
+    The issues that may arise due to backwards incompatibility are:
+
+      * imwrite no longer interprets a length of 2 or 4 in the third dimension
+        as grayscale or RGB with alpha channel (a length of 4 will be saved
+        as CMYK image).  Alpha channel must be passed as separate argument.
+      * imread will always return the colormap indexes when reading an indexed
+        image, even if the colormap is not requested as output.
+      * transparency values are now inverted from the previous Octave versions
+        (0 is for completely transparent instead of completely opaque).
+
+    In addition, the function imformats has been implemented to expand
+    reading and writing of images of different formats through imread
+    and imwrite.
 
  ** The colormap function now provides new options---"list", "register",
     and "unregister"---to list all available colormap functions, and to
--- a/libinterp/dldfcn/__magick_read__.cc	Mon Aug 26 21:26:25 2013 +0200
+++ b/libinterp/dldfcn/__magick_read__.cc	Mon Aug 19 16:11:18 2013 +0100
@@ -752,6 +752,49 @@
   return out;
 }
 
+// Gets the bitdepth to be used for an Octave class, i.e, returns 8 for
+// uint8, 16 for uint16, and 32 for uint32
+template <class T>
+static octave_idx_type
+bitdepth_from_class ()
+{
+  typedef typename T::element_type P;
+  const octave_idx_type bitdepth =
+    sizeof (P) * std::numeric_limits<unsigned char>::digits;
+  return bitdepth;
+}
+
+static Magick::Image
+init_enconde_image (const octave_idx_type& nCols, const octave_idx_type& nRows,
+                    const octave_idx_type& bitdepth,
+                    const Magick::ImageType& type,
+                    const Magick::ClassType& klass)
+{
+  Magick::Image img (Magick::Geometry (nCols, nRows), "black");
+  // Ensure that there are no other references to this image.
+  img.modifyImage ();
+
+  img.classType (klass);
+  img.type (type);
+  // FIXME: for some reason, setting bitdepth doesn't seem to work for
+  //        indexed images.
+  img.depth (bitdepth);
+  switch (type)
+    {
+      case Magick::GrayscaleMatteType:
+      case Magick::TrueColorMatteType:
+      case Magick::ColorSeparationMatteType:
+      case Magick::PaletteMatteType:
+        img.matte (true);
+        break;
+
+      default:
+        img.matte (false);
+    }
+
+  return img;
+}
+
 template <class T>
 static void
 encode_indexed_images (std::vector<Magick::Image>& imvec,
@@ -763,8 +806,7 @@
   const octave_idx_type nRows     = img.rows ();
   const octave_idx_type nCols     = img.columns ();
   const octave_idx_type cmap_size = cmap.rows ();
-  const octave_idx_type bitdepth  =
-    sizeof (P) * std::numeric_limits<unsigned char>::digits;
+  const octave_idx_type bitdepth  = bitdepth_from_class<T> ();
 
   // There is no colormap object, we need to build a new one for each frame,
   // even if it's always the same. We can least get a vector for the Colors.
@@ -781,16 +823,9 @@
 
   for (octave_idx_type frame = 0; frame < nFrames; frame++)
     {
-      Magick::Image m_img (Magick::Geometry (nCols, nRows), "black");
-
-      // Ensure that there are no other references to this image.
-      m_img.modifyImage ();
-
-      m_img.classType (Magick::PseudoClass);
-      m_img.type (Magick::PaletteType);
-      // FIXME: for some reason, setting bitdepth doesn't seem to work for
-      //        indexed images.
-      m_img.depth (bitdepth);
+      Magick::Image m_img = init_enconde_image (nCols, nRows, bitdepth,
+                                                Magick::PaletteType,
+                                                Magick::PseudoClass);
 
       // Insert colormap.
       m_img.colorMapSize (cmap_size);
@@ -830,183 +865,312 @@
 }
 
 static void
-encode_bool_image (std::vector<Magick::Image>& imvec, const octave_value& img)
+encode_bool_image (std::vector<Magick::Image>& imvec, const boolNDArray& img)
 {
-  unsigned int nframes = 1;
-  boolNDArray m = img.bool_array_value ();
+  const octave_idx_type nFrames   = img.ndims () < 4 ? 1 : img.dims ()(3);
+  const octave_idx_type nRows     = img.rows ();
+  const octave_idx_type nCols     = img.columns ();
 
-  dim_vector dsizes = m.dims ();
-  if (dsizes.length () == 4)
-    nframes = dsizes(3);
-
-  Array<octave_idx_type> idx (dim_vector (dsizes.length (), 1));
+  // The initialized image will be black, this is for the other pixels
+  const Magick::Color white ("white");
 
-  octave_idx_type rows = m.rows ();
-  octave_idx_type columns = m.columns ();
-
-  for (unsigned int ii = 0; ii < nframes; ii++)
+  const bool *img_fvec = img.fortran_vec ();
+  octave_idx_type img_idx = 0;
+  for (octave_idx_type frame = 0; frame < nFrames; frame++)
     {
-      Magick::Image im (Magick::Geometry (columns, rows), "black");
-      im.classType (Magick::DirectClass);
-      im.depth (1);
+      // For some reason, we can't set the type to Magick::BilevelType.
+      // However, this will still work fine and a binary image will be
+      // saved because we are setting the bitdepth to 1.
+      Magick::Image m_img = init_enconde_image (nCols, nRows, 1,
+                                                Magick::GrayscaleType,
+                                                Magick::DirectClass);
 
-      for (int y = 0; y < columns; y++)
+      Magick::PixelPacket *pix = m_img.getPixels (0, 0, nCols, nRows);
+      octave_idx_type GM_idx = 0;
+      for (octave_idx_type col = 0; col < nCols; col++)
         {
-          idx(1) = y;
-
-          for (int x = 0; x < rows; x++)
+          for (octave_idx_type row = 0; row < nRows; row++)
             {
-              if (nframes > 1)
-                {
-                  idx(2) = 0;
-                  idx(3) = ii;
-                }
+              if (img_fvec[img_idx])
+                pix[GM_idx] = white;
 
-              idx(0) = x;
-
-              if (m(idx))
-                im.pixelColor (y, x, "white");
+              img_idx++;
+              GM_idx += nCols;
             }
+          GM_idx -= nCols * nRows - 1;
         }
-
-      im.quantizeColorSpace (Magick::GRAYColorspace);
-      im.quantizeColors (2);
-      im.quantize ();
-
-      imvec.push_back (im);
+      // Save changes to underlying image.
+      m_img.syncPixels ();
+      imvec.push_back (m_img);
     }
 }
 
 template <class T>
 static void
 encode_uint_image (std::vector<Magick::Image>& imvec,
-                   const octave_value& img)
+                   const T& img, const T& alpha)
 {
-  unsigned int bitdepth = 0;
-  T m;
+  typedef typename T::element_type P;
+  const octave_idx_type channels  = img.ndims () < 3 ? 1 : img.dims ()(2);
+  const octave_idx_type nFrames   = img.ndims () < 4 ? 1 : img.dims ()(3);
+  const octave_idx_type nRows     = img.rows ();
+  const octave_idx_type nCols     = img.columns ();
+  const octave_idx_type bitdepth  = bitdepth_from_class<T> ();
 
-  if (img.is_uint8_type ())
+  Magick::ImageType type;
+  const bool has_alpha = ! alpha.is_empty ();
+  switch (channels)
     {
-      bitdepth = 8;
-      m = img.uint8_array_value ();
-    }
-  else if (img.is_uint16_type ())
-    {
-      bitdepth = 16;
-      m = img.uint16_array_value ();
+    case 1:
+      if (has_alpha)
+        type = Magick::GrayscaleMatteType;
+      else
+        type = Magick::GrayscaleType;
+      break;
+
+    case 3:
+      if (has_alpha)
+        type = Magick::TrueColorMatteType;
+      else
+        type = Magick::TrueColorType;
+      break;
+
+    case 4:
+      if (has_alpha)
+        type = Magick::ColorSeparationMatteType;
+      else
+        type = Magick::ColorSeparationType;
+      break;
+
+    default:
+      {
+        // __imwrite should have already filtered this cases
+        error ("__magick_write__: wrong size on 3rd dimension");
+        return;
+      }
     }
-  else if (img.is_uint32_type ())
-    {
-      bitdepth = 32;
-      m = img.uint32_array_value ();
-    }
-  else
-    error ("__magick_write__: invalid image class");
 
-  const dim_vector dsizes = m.dims ();
-  unsigned int nframes = 1;
-  if (dsizes.length () == 4)
-    nframes = dsizes(3);
-
-  const bool is_color = ((dsizes.length () > 2) && (dsizes(2) > 2));
-  const bool has_alpha = (dsizes.length () > 2 && (dsizes(2) == 2 || dsizes(2) == 4));
+  // We will be passing the values as integers with depth as specified
+  // by QuantumDepth (maximum value specified by MaxRGB). This is independent
+  // of the actual depth of the image. GM will then convert the values but
+  // while in memory, it always keeps the values as specified by QuantumDepth.
+  // From GM documentation:
+  //  Color arguments are must be scaled to fit the Quantum size according to
+  //  the range of MaxRGB
+  const double divisor = (pow (2, bitdepth) - 1) / MaxRGB;
 
-  Array<octave_idx_type> idx (dim_vector (dsizes.length (), 1));
-  octave_idx_type rows = m.rows ();
-  octave_idx_type columns = m.columns ();
-
-  double div_factor = (uint64_t(1) << bitdepth) - 1;
+  const P *img_fvec = img.fortran_vec ();
+  const P *a_fvec   = alpha.fortran_vec ();
+  switch (type)
+    {
+    case Magick::GrayscaleType:
+      {
+        octave_idx_type GM_idx = 0;
+        for (octave_idx_type frame = 0; frame < nFrames; frame++)
+          {
+            Magick::Image m_img = init_enconde_image (nCols, nRows, bitdepth,
+                                                      type,
+                                                      Magick::DirectClass);
 
-  for (unsigned int ii = 0; ii < nframes; ii++)
-    {
-      Magick::Image im (Magick::Geometry (columns, rows), "black");
-
-      im.depth (bitdepth);
-
-      im.classType (Magick::DirectClass);
+            Magick::PixelPacket *pix = m_img.getPixels (0, 0, nCols, nRows);
+            for (octave_idx_type col = 0; col < nCols; col++)
+              {
+                for (octave_idx_type row = 0; row < nRows; row++)
+                  {
+                    Magick::Color c;
+                    c.redQuantum (double (*img_fvec) / divisor);
+                    pix[GM_idx] = c;
+                    img_fvec++;
+                    GM_idx += nCols;
+                  }
+                GM_idx -= nCols * nRows - 1;
+              }
+            // Save changes to underlying image.
+            m_img.syncPixels ();
+            imvec.push_back (m_img);
+          }
+        break;
+      }
 
-      if (is_color)
-        {
-          if (has_alpha)
-            im.type (Magick::TrueColorMatteType);
-          else
-            im.type (Magick::TrueColorType);
+    case Magick::GrayscaleMatteType:
+      {
+        octave_idx_type GM_idx = 0;
+        for (octave_idx_type frame = 0; frame < nFrames; frame++)
+          {
+            Magick::Image m_img = init_enconde_image (nCols, nRows, bitdepth,
+                                                      type,
+                                                      Magick::DirectClass);
 
-          Magick::ColorRGB c;
+            Magick::PixelPacket *pix = m_img.getPixels (0, 0, nCols, nRows);
+            for (octave_idx_type col = 0; col < nCols; col++)
+              {
+                for (octave_idx_type row = 0; row < nRows; row++)
+                  {
+                    Magick::Color c;
+                    c.redQuantum   (double (*img_fvec) / divisor);
+                    c.alphaQuantum (MaxRGB - (double (*a_fvec) / divisor));
+                    pix[GM_idx] = c;
+                    img_fvec++;
+                    a_fvec++;
+                    GM_idx += nCols;
+                  }
+                GM_idx -= nCols * nRows - 1;
+              }
+            // Save changes to underlying image.
+            m_img.syncPixels ();
+            imvec.push_back (m_img);
+          }
+        break;
+      }
 
-          for (int y = 0; y < columns; y++)
-            {
-              idx(1) = y;
-
-              for (int x = 0; x < rows; x++)
-                {
-                  idx(0) = x;
+    case Magick::TrueColorType:
+      {
+        // The fortran_vec offset for the green and blue channels
+        const octave_idx_type G_offset = nCols * nRows;
+        const octave_idx_type B_offset = nCols * nRows * 2;
+        octave_idx_type GM_idx = 0;
+        for (octave_idx_type frame = 0; frame < nFrames; frame++)
+          {
+            Magick::Image m_img = init_enconde_image (nCols, nRows, bitdepth,
+                                                      type,
+                                                      Magick::DirectClass);
 
-                  if (nframes > 1)
-                    idx(3) = ii;
-
-                  idx(2) = 0;
-                  c.red (static_cast<double>(m(idx)) / div_factor);
-
-                  idx(2) = 1;
-                  c.green (static_cast<double>(m(idx)) / div_factor);
-
-                  idx(2) = 2;
-                  c.blue (static_cast<double>(m(idx)) / div_factor);
+            Magick::PixelPacket *pix = m_img.getPixels (0, 0, nCols, nRows);
+            for (octave_idx_type col = 0; col < nCols; col++)
+              {
+                for (octave_idx_type row = 0; row < nRows; row++)
+                  {
+                    Magick::Color c (double (*img_fvec)          / divisor,
+                                     double (img_fvec[G_offset]) / divisor,
+                                     double (img_fvec[B_offset]) / divisor);
+                    pix[GM_idx] = c;
+                    img_fvec++;
+                    GM_idx += nCols;
+                  }
+                GM_idx -= nCols * nRows - 1;
+              }
+            // Save changes to underlying image.
+            m_img.syncPixels ();
+            imvec.push_back (m_img);
+          }
+        break;
+      }
 
-                  if (has_alpha)
-                    {
-                      idx(2) = 3;
-                      c.alpha (static_cast<double>(m(idx)) / div_factor);
-                    }
+    case Magick::TrueColorMatteType:
+      {
+        // The fortran_vec offset for the green and blue channels
+        const octave_idx_type G_offset = nCols * nRows;
+        const octave_idx_type B_offset = nCols * nRows * 2;
+        octave_idx_type GM_idx = 0;
+        for (octave_idx_type frame = 0; frame < nFrames; frame++)
+          {
+            Magick::Image m_img = init_enconde_image (nCols, nRows, bitdepth,
+                                                      type,
+                                                      Magick::DirectClass);
 
-                  im.pixelColor (y, x, c);
-                }
-            }
-        }
-      else
-        {
-          if (has_alpha)
-            im.type (Magick::GrayscaleMatteType);
-          else
-            im.type (Magick::GrayscaleType);
-
-          Magick::ColorGray c;
+            Magick::PixelPacket *pix = m_img.getPixels (0, 0, nCols, nRows);
+            for (octave_idx_type col = 0; col < nCols; col++)
+              {
+                for (octave_idx_type row = 0; row < nRows; row++)
+                  {
+                    Magick::Color c (double (*img_fvec)          / divisor,
+                                     double (img_fvec[G_offset]) / divisor,
+                                     double (img_fvec[B_offset]) / divisor,
+                                     MaxRGB - (double (*a_fvec) / divisor));
+                    pix[GM_idx] = c;
+                    img_fvec++;
+                    a_fvec++;
+                    GM_idx += nCols;
+                  }
+                GM_idx -= nCols * nRows - 1;
+              }
+            // Save changes to underlying image.
+            m_img.syncPixels ();
+            imvec.push_back (m_img);
+          }
+        break;
+      }
 
-          for (int y = 0; y < columns; y++)
-            {
-              idx(1) = y;
+    case Magick::ColorSeparationType:
+      {
+        // The fortran_vec offset for the Magenta, Yellow, and blacK channels
+        const octave_idx_type M_offset = nCols * nRows;
+        const octave_idx_type Y_offset = nCols * nRows * 2;
+        const octave_idx_type K_offset = nCols * nRows * 3;
+        octave_idx_type GM_idx = 0;
+        for (octave_idx_type frame = 0; frame < nFrames; frame++)
+          {
+            Magick::Image m_img = init_enconde_image (nCols, nRows, bitdepth,
+                                                      type,
+                                                      Magick::DirectClass);
 
-              for (int x=0; x < rows; x++)
-                {
-                  idx(0) = x;
-
-                  if (nframes > 1)
-                    {
-                      idx(2) = 0;
-                      idx(3) = ii;
-                    }
+            Magick::PixelPacket *pix = m_img.getPixels (0, 0, nCols, nRows);
+            for (octave_idx_type col = 0; col < nCols; col++)
+              {
+                for (octave_idx_type row = 0; row < nRows; row++)
+                  {
+                    Magick::Color c (double (*img_fvec)          / divisor,
+                                     double (img_fvec[M_offset]) / divisor,
+                                     double (img_fvec[Y_offset]) / divisor,
+                                     double (img_fvec[K_offset]) / divisor);
+                    pix[GM_idx] = c;
+                    img_fvec++;
+                    GM_idx += nCols;
+                  }
+                GM_idx -= nCols * nRows - 1;
+              }
+            // Save changes to underlying image.
+            m_img.syncPixels ();
+            imvec.push_back (m_img);
+          }
+        break;
+      }
 
-                  if (has_alpha)
-                    {
-                      idx(2) = 1;
-                      c.alpha (static_cast<double>(m(idx)) / div_factor);
-                      idx(2) = 0;
-                    }
-
-                  c.shade (static_cast<double>(m(idx)) / div_factor);
+    case Magick::ColorSeparationMatteType:
+      {
+        // The fortran_vec offset for the Magenta, Yellow, and blacK channels
+        const octave_idx_type M_offset = nCols * nRows;
+        const octave_idx_type Y_offset = nCols * nRows * 2;
+        const octave_idx_type K_offset = nCols * nRows * 3;
+        octave_idx_type GM_idx = 0;
+        for (octave_idx_type frame = 0; frame < nFrames; frame++)
+          {
+            Magick::Image m_img = init_enconde_image (nCols, nRows, bitdepth,
+                                                      type,
+                                                      Magick::DirectClass);
 
-                  im.pixelColor (y, x, c);
-                }
-            }
+            Magick::PixelPacket *pix = m_img.getPixels (0, 0, nCols, nRows);
+            Magick::IndexPacket *ind = m_img.getIndexes ();
+            for (octave_idx_type col = 0; col < nCols; col++)
+              {
+                for (octave_idx_type row = 0; row < nRows; row++)
+                  {
+                    Magick::Color c (double (*img_fvec)          / divisor,
+                                     double (img_fvec[M_offset]) / divisor,
+                                     double (img_fvec[Y_offset]) / divisor,
+                                     double (img_fvec[K_offset]) / divisor);
+                    pix[GM_idx] = c;
+                    ind[GM_idx] = MaxRGB - (double (*a_fvec) / divisor);
+                    img_fvec++;
+                    a_fvec++;
+                    GM_idx += nCols;
+                  }
+                GM_idx -= nCols * nRows - 1;
+              }
+            // Save changes to underlying image.
+            m_img.syncPixels ();
+            imvec.push_back (m_img);
+          }
+        break;
+      }
 
-          im.quantizeColorSpace (Magick::GRAYColorspace);
-          im.quantizeColors (1 << bitdepth);
-          im.quantize ();
-        }
-
-      imvec.push_back (im);
+    default:
+      {
+        error ("__magick_write__: unrecognized Magick::ImageType");
+        return;
+      }
     }
+  return;
 }
 
 void static
@@ -1081,14 +1245,18 @@
 
   if (cmap.is_empty ())
     {
+      const octave_value alpha = options.getfield ("alpha");
       if (img.is_bool_type ())
-        encode_bool_image (imvec, img);
+        encode_bool_image (imvec, img.bool_array_value ());
       else if (img.is_uint8_type ())
-        encode_uint_image<uint8NDArray> (imvec, img);
+        encode_uint_image<uint8NDArray>  (imvec, img.uint8_array_value (),
+                                          alpha.uint8_array_value ());
       else if (img.is_uint16_type ())
-        encode_uint_image<uint16NDArray> (imvec, img);
+        encode_uint_image<uint16NDArray> (imvec, img.uint16_array_value (),
+                                          alpha.uint16_array_value ());
       else if (img.is_uint32_type ())
-        encode_uint_image<uint32NDArray> (imvec, img);
+        encode_uint_image<uint32NDArray> (imvec, img.uint32_array_value (),
+                                          alpha.uint32_array_value ());
       else if (img.is_float_type ())
         {
           // For image formats that support floating point values, we write
@@ -1097,12 +1265,18 @@
           // But here, even for formats that would support floating point
           // values, GM seems unable to do that so we at least make them uint32.
           uint32NDArray clip_img;
+          uint32NDArray clip_alpha;
           if (img.is_single_type ())
-            clip_img = img_float2uint<FloatNDArray> (img.float_array_value ());
+            {
+              clip_img   = img_float2uint<FloatNDArray> (img.float_array_value ());
+              clip_alpha = img_float2uint<FloatNDArray> (alpha.float_array_value ());
+            }
           else
-            clip_img = img_float2uint<NDArray> (img.array_value ());
-
-          encode_uint_image<uint32NDArray> (imvec, octave_value (clip_img));
+            {
+              clip_img   = img_float2uint<NDArray> (img.array_value ());
+              clip_alpha = img_float2uint<NDArray> (alpha.array_value ());
+            }
+          encode_uint_image<uint32NDArray> (imvec, clip_img, clip_alpha);
         }
       else
         {
--- a/scripts/image/imwrite.m	Mon Aug 26 21:26:25 2013 +0200
+++ b/scripts/image/imwrite.m	Mon Aug 19 16:11:18 2013 +0100
@@ -40,6 +40,13 @@
 ## are supported:
 ##
 ## @table @samp
+## @item Alpha
+## Alpha (transparency) channel for the image.  This must be a matrix with
+## same class, and number of rows and columns of @var{img}.  In case of a
+## multipage image, the size of the 4th dimension must also match and the third
+## dimension must be a singleton.  By default, image will be completely
+## opaque.
+##
 ## @item Quality
 ## Set the quality of the compression.  The value should be an
 ## integer between 0 and 100, with larger values indicating higher visual
--- a/scripts/image/private/__imwrite__.m	Mon Aug 26 21:26:25 2013 +0200
+++ b/scripts/image/private/__imwrite__.m	Mon Aug 19 16:11:18 2013 +0100
@@ -42,12 +42,28 @@
 
   ## set default for options
   options = struct ("writemode", "overwrite",
-                    "quality", 75);
+                    "quality",   75,
+                    "alpha",     cast ([], class (img)));
 
   for idx = 1:2:numel (param_list)
 
     switch (tolower (param_list{idx}))
 
+      case "alpha"
+        options.alpha = param_list{idx+1};
+        if (! isnumeric (options.alpha))
+          error ("imwrite: value for %s option must be a numeric matrix",
+                 param_list{idx});
+        elseif (size (options.alpha, 3) != 1)
+          error ("imwrite: 3rd dimension of matrix for %s must be singleton",
+                 param_list{idx});
+        elseif (ndims (options.alpha) > 4 ||
+                any (size (options.alpha)([1 2]) != size (img)([1 2])) ||
+                size (options.alpha, 4) != size (img, 4))
+          error ("imwrite: matrix for %s must have same dimension as image",
+                 param_list{idx});
+        endif
+
       case "writemode",
         options.writemode = param_list{idx+1};
         if (! ischar (options.writemode)